SALINA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says a body found near Salina is that of a man believed to be a homicide victim. Fingerprint tests confirmed the body found Wednesday evening in Lincoln County was 37-year-old Jeffrey B. Powell, who had been missing since July 31. The Salina Journal reports Sheriff Glen Kochanowski declined to release details of where the body was found or a possible cause of death. A 29-year-old man was arrested Aug. 2 and is being held on a second-degree murder charge in Powell’s death. Authorities believe Powell was killed the day he went missing.
Author: KMAN Staff
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) Two Kansas law enforcement agencies are receiving more than $550,000 in federal grants to help reduce backlogs in testing DNA samples. U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom says the Kansas Bureau of Investigation will receive about $319,000 from the National Institute of Justice and the Department of Justice. Johnson County will receive slightly more than $247,000 from the same entities. Grissom says the demand for DNA testing is growing faster than crime labs can process the requests. He says the grants announced Thursday are intended to help state and local governments reduce DNA backlogs and sample turnaround time.…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A general aviation industry group says airplane shipments and billings rose in the first half of 2012 amid signs of stability and growth. The new report from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association shows airplane shipments up 5.9 percent, with 918 planes delivered in the first half the year. The value of those deliveries rose 13.2 percent, to $8.2 billion. GAMA president Pete Bunce says those figures, combined with positive trends in the used airplane market, may signal the start of the industry’s recovery. But he says more work must be done to improve the efficiency of the…
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration holds a forum next week to tout newly enacted income tax cuts, and the economist whose work inspired them is expected to attend. The forum takes place Tuesday afternoon at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park. It’s billed as a chance for business owners to learn how the tax cuts will benefit them. Scheduled speakers include Arthur Laffer, who advised President Ronald Reagan. Laffer had a $75,000 contract with the Brownback administration to help develop tax policy. The Kansas cuts will reduce individual income tax rates for 2013 and exempt…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Members of a Kansas National Guard aviation unit that flies Black Hawk helicopters are coming home from a yearlong deployment to Kuwait. A welcoming ceremony is scheduled Saturday at Washburn University in Topeka for about 112 soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 108th Aviation Regiment. The rest of the unit’s approximately 250 soldiers will return later. Since arriving in Kuwait last August, the battalion conducted air movement and air assault operations to support the winding down of the war in Iraq. The unit is headquartered in Topeka, with companies based in Topeka and Salina and in Austin, Texas.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A 91-year-old Kansas prison inmate convicted in a botched murder for hire has been granted parole. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the Kansas Prisoner Review Board recently granted Joseph Johnson’s second request for parole. A spokesman for the state Corrections Department said Thursday it takes effect Jan. 1, provided he moves to what the agency called a structured living environment that can address his medical needs. A Topeka man hired Johnson in 1992 to arrange the killing of the man’s estranged wife. Johnson paid a 16-year-old boy $300 to carry out the attack and drove him to the…
A former executive of a high tech company in Manhattan has pleaded guilty to wire fraud according to U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom. Aaron Madison, 42, former chief operating officer of NanoScale Corporation, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. NanoScale is a privately held company that contracted to perform work for the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Together, those contracts accounted for approximately 90 percent of NanoScale’s business. In his plea, Madison admitted that he committed the crime at a time when NanoScale was in financial distress. At times, NanoScale’s accounts…
A new facility for military affiliated folks is available on the Kansas State campus. The Veteran Center located in the Kansas State Union hosts a number of resources to help that demographic. The Veteran Center was created by K-State’s Nontraditional Student and Veteran Services department, and Director Suzanne Lueker says the center has a number of computer stations, tables, and even a Skype station for those with family deployed overseas. The Veteran Center is having an open house from 4 to 6pm on Monday and Tuesday fromAugust 20th to the 21st. To find out more information you can call director…
The Clay County sheriff’s office is reporting two drug-related arrests Thursday. Taken into custody were Randy Sutton, 34, and Danny Gingles, 29, both of Clay Center. Sutton’s bond was set at $25,000 and charges include distribution of methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of school property and possession charges involving meth, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia. Gingles bond is $1500 and charges include possession of meth, paraphernalia, and a warrant out of Wabaunsee county for faliure to appear. The arrests followed a search in the 1000 block of Lane Street in Clay Center, which was conducted by the Clay County Sheriff’s office and the…
A 34-year-old Manhattan man faces several drug-related charges following his arrest late Thursday night. Tyrice Johnson was taken into custody during a traffic stop in the 600 block of Yuma. The stop was part of an ongoing investigation by Riley County Police into drug activity. Johnson was charged with a total of six counts, including possession of marijuana and ecstasy,both with intent to distribute, and possession of hydrocodone. Johnson’s bond was set at $15,000.