It was the debut for one of the presentations regarding the half-cent sales tax renewal proposal, to be on the Riley county ballot in November. County Commissioner Dave Lewis and Manhattan City Manager Ron Fehr made the presentation to intergovernmental leaders Monday, with Lewis telling the group it had been fine-tuned late that morning. Lewis stressed one important message that needs to be made when educating members of the public, and said “the operating word is renewal”. Lewis says so far there are around 15 presentations geared up to go that will include representatives from Riley County Commissioners, the Manhattan…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A 26-year-old Wichita man will spend nearly 27 years in prison in a federal “sexting” prosecution. U.S. District Judge Monti Belot on Monday sentenced Shane McClelland as a repeat sex offender. The judge said a long sentence was necessary to deter him from further crimes and protect the public. McClelland was convicted earlier of enticing a 14-year-old girl from upstate New York to send nude photos to his cellphone. He was acquitted of a similar count involving another teen. McClelland’s lawyer argued 20 percent of teens are “sexting” and said the sentence amounted to cruel and unusual…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is taking steps in Kansas to prevent the spread of a beetle that is killing ash trees in the Northeast and Midwest. Starting Friday, campers at Perry Lake in northeastern Kansas will be barred from bringing in firewood that did not originate in surrounding Jefferson County. The Corps is also banning all firewood from ash trees, no matter where it comes from. The goal is to protect Perry Lake’s trees from the emerald ash borer beetle, which was recently detected in northwestern Missouri’s Platte County. The Corps says that’s the beetle’s…
Strong winds are kicking up waves on the New Orleans-Lake Ponchartrain shoreline early Tuesday. Tropical Storm Isaac is closing in on the city, and expected to hit Tuesday night or Wednesday.
Republicans launched Mitt Romney’s national convention Monday with the bang of a gavel before a smattering of delegates as Tropical Storm Isaac led them to cancel most of the opening-day program.
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) A 16-year-old driver who led police on a car chase in northeast Kansas crashed into a family’s car, injuring himself and three other people. KCTV reports that the police chase started in Leavenworth County on Saturday morning when officers began pursuing the teen’s van. Police have not said why the teen was being pursued. Leavenworth Police Chief Pat Kitchens said officers ended the chase, but the driver of the van continued to drive erratically. The teen’s van then hit a van carrying a Leavenworth family. The Kansas Highway Patrol says the teen was ejected from his vehicle…
GLEN ELDER, Kan. (AP) Crews have been searching a north-central Kansas lake for a missing boater. KAKE-TV reports that the man fell out of the boat Saturday on Waconda Lake in Mitchell County. Authorities say another man who was in the boat was rescued early Sunday morning. The two men were boating on the lake late Saturday night when their boat capsized. The Mitchell County Sheriff’s department says the search was continuing Sunday evening for the missing man.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and legislative leaders are considering whether to grant permission for the state to issue bonds to help finance a visitor center at the Statehouse. The proposal on their agenda Monday is part of a larger plan to help finish a Statehouse renovation that has lasted 12 years and cost $320 million. State budget director Steve Anderson outlined the proposal last week. It also calls for tapping $7 million in transportation funds for work on the Statehouse grounds. Anderson said in a memo that an additional $5 million in savings from other parts of…
WICHITA, Kan. — A Wichita man has been sentenced to 320 months in federal prison for enticing a 14-year-old girl to send him nude photos of herself, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today. Shane M. McClelland, 26, Wichita, Kan., was convicted in a jury trial in May on one count of producing child pornography. During trial, prosecutors presented evidence that McCelland used the Internet to strike up a relationship with a 14-year-old girl in Batavia, N.Y. At McClelland’s request, the girl sent photographs of herself naked to McClelland. The mother of one of the girl’s friends became aware of…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A prosecutor is close to deciding whether to file charges over illegal homemade fireworks found in a pickup parked near the Kansas Statehouse in February. A spokeswoman says Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor expects to make a decision in the coming week. The pickup’s owner was detained but released from custody the same day after officers saw the fireworks in the vehicle in a parking lot south of the Capitol. The Capitol Police initially described the materials as improvised explosive devices, or homemade bombs. The owner was detained in a tunnel connecting the Statehouse to a…