EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) About one-third of the employees at an Emporia soybean processing plant will be temporarily laid off because of a lack of a crop. Officials with the Bunge plant announced Tuesday that crush operations at the plant will be suspended, effective May 1. The company says crush operations are expected to resume with the fall harvest. A spokeswoman for the company says the drought depleted the available soybean crop. That combined with a strong export demand in Asia led to the layoffs. The remaining employees will work reduced hours, doing maintenance and other projects. The Emporia Gazette reports…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The city of Wichita wants to hear residents’ ideas on how the region should respond to prolonged drought. Wichita is in the third year of drought, and it is unclear when it will end or how severe it will be. Officials have scheduled six public meetings around the city April 16-18 to hear how residents are affected by the drought and how they think the city might extend its water supply. The public feedback will be presented later to the City Council. Wichita gets about 60 percent of its water from Cheney Reservoir. Officials have predicted that…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Senate has approved a modified version of Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposal to hold back young pupils who lack sufficient reading skills. The compromise measure worked out with House negotiators cleared the Senate Thursday on a vote of 29-11. A vote in the House was expected Friday. The bill would require low-performing school districts to retain first-graders who aren’t proficient in reading based on an assessment. Any decision to hold a child back would require consultation between parents and school officials. Brownback proposed in January that third-graders be held back if their reading scores were lacking.…
On today’s InFocus, Cathy talks with John Armbrust, Executive Director of the Governor’s Military Council. [mp3-jplayer]
Ideas have been thrown around, drawings have been made, and now it’s time to conduct some studies. The Fieldhouse project has been a talked about project in Manhattan for some time. A presentation was made during a previous Riley County commission meeting regarding the layout of the project and the impact it could potentially have on the economy. During Thursday’s commission meeting, Fieldhouse Advisory Group Chair, Gail Urban provided an update on the project, saying studies need to be done. With five potential locations for the facility, a study needs to be done to see which location is best. Besides that,…
The Kansas Department of Agriculture is becoming a pillar tenant at Kansas State University’s Research Park, and the vision for a north campus corridor of bioscience-focused research in Manhattan is becoming much clearer. This new building will feature 50,000 square feet and be three stories high. It will be undertaken by the Kansas State University Foundation, and will be leased to the department for a 20 year period. The new location will enable access to university expertise and research, as it is in the same area as the Kansas state University Institute of Commercialization and the upcoming National Bio and…
Riley County police reported a couple of warrant-related arrests Wednesday, including Dustin Howell, 34, of Emporia. Howell’s arrest involved an out of jurisdiction warrant from Ellsworth county, including charges of theft and driving while a habitual violator. Bond in Ellsworth is five-thousand dollars. Also taken into custody was Dennis J. Millering Jr., 26, of Manhattan, for a federal warrant from the military for extradition. No bond amount was listed, but Millering remains confined. ### A couple of car thefts and a related burglary are being investigated by Riley county police. One reportedly occurred last Friday (March 29th) but was just reported Wednesday. Rachel…
The Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office is investigating three separate residential burglaries that have occurred within the last week. On Sunday a resident of Westmoreland reported being a victim of a residential burglary. Several items were taken including firearms and jewelry. On Tuesday the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office received two separate reports of residential burglaries in rural Manhattan, near Pottawatomie State Lake #2.. These burglaries are believed to have occurred during the daytime hours. Several firearms were taken in these two burglaries. The Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information regarding the burglaries, or who may have seen a suspicious activity in the areas…
Update as of noon Thursday: More details were released just before noon Thursday regarding a fatal accident involving a law enforcement pursuit, KMAN news first told you about early in the morning. A news release from the Kansas Highway patrol indicates On Wednesday at approximately 10:30 p.m., a trooper observed a vehicle travelling the wrong direction on I-70 near Grandview Plaza. The trooper attempted to stop the vehicle, and a chase ensued. During the pursuit, a GMC utility vehicle with three occupants steered away from the fleeing vehicle, resulting in them entering a south ditch. The GMC rolled and came to…
Jared Moore threw four and two-thirds innings of scoreless, two-hit relief as K-State pulled out a 3-2 victory over Omaha on Wednesday night at Tointon Family Stadium. Senior right hander Jake Doller started on the hill for the Wildcats, but walked three and gave up a run on two hits in three and one-third innings. Moore (1-0) gave up a single to the first batter he faced, but then retired the next 12 Mavericks. Gerardo Esquivel surrendered a run on four hits in the top of the ninth, but earned his first career save. K-State got just enough offense against…