MCPHERSON, Kan. (AP) A preliminary hearing resumes Thursday afternoon for two suspects in the death of a Tabor College football player. The hearing for Alton Franklin and DeQuinte Flournoy began last week. But it was continued to give prosecutors time to search for a key witness to a fight that led to the death of Brandon Brown, 26. The redshirt defensive lineman from Tabor College was found unconscious Sept. 16 at a McPherson Party and died about a week later. The suspects both are former McPherson College football players. They’re charged with being accessories to second-degree murder. The missing witness…
Author: KMAN Staff
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) A Kansas City, Mo., lawyer has pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder the drug money of an undercover agent posing as a marijuana dealer. Ronald Partee, 66, entered the plea Wednesday in federal court in Kansas City, Kan. Partee admitted that he and the operators of a credit counseling service agreed to funnel drug money through Kansas bank accounts. As part of the scheme, a certificate saying the purported dealer had completed training as a bankruptcy specialist was created. Prosecutors say that Partee served on the counseling service’s board and approved two wire transfers that he…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Senate has approved a proposal to give the governor and legislators more power over appointments to the state’s appellate courts. Wednesday’s vote on the proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution was 28-12, slightly more than the two-thirds majority needed for passage. The measure would have the governor appoint judges to the Kansas Court of Appeals and the state Supreme Court, subject to Senate confirmation. The proposal would scrap an attorney-led commission that screens applicants and nominates three finalists for each vacancy. The governor must pick one, with no role for legislators. The measure goes next…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Two Kansas lawmakers are introducing measures aimed at limiting employers’ access to job applicants’ social media accounts. The Kansas City Star reports that Rep. Gail Finney and Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, both Democrats, are supporting measures that seek to protect job seekers from employers who want access to user names and passwords to look through social media accounts like Facebook or Twitter. Finney is also pushing a bill that would ban colleges and universities from asking for the same information from students and potential students. Finney understands why employers might research applicants using Facebook, but says she doesn’t…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) A California company is buying two financially troubled hospitals in eastern Kansas. The Kansas City Star reports that Providence Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., and Saint John Hospital in Leavenworth are being sold to Prime Healthcare Services. Both Kansas hospitals had been operating at a loss. The financial terms of the sale weren’t disclosed Tuesday, when the sale was announced. The hospitals’ current owner is SCL Health System, which was founded by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth and moved its headquarters last year from Lenexa to Denver. The announcement says Prime Healthcare “will make…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Two men accused in the death of a 34-year-old Topeka woman have been extradited to Kansas from Texas. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Benjamin Brian Anaya, 20, and Gabino Campos Alcala, 20, both of El Paso, Texas, are charged with felony first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit felony first-degree murder in the Oct. 18 shooting death of Ashley Alcala at her Topeka home. Two other people are also charged in Ashley Alcala’s death, and are scheduled to stand trial in March. Anaya and Gabino Alcala were booked into the Shawnee County jail on Tuesday and are being…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A vote is looming in the Kansas Senate on overhauling the way judges are selected for the state Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. Senators planned to vote Wednesday on a proposed constitutional amendment to give the governor and legislators more power over appellate court appointments. The measure is favored by conservative Republicans frustrated by past court rulings ordering lawmakers to boost spending on public schools. Under the measure, the governor would appoint appellate court members, subject to Senate confirmation. The change would scrap an attorney-led commission that screens applicants and nominates three finalists for each vacancy.…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) A northeast Kansas man has been sentenced to more than a year in prison on a federal bank fraud charge. The U.S. Attorney’s office said Tuesday that Kevin Mahoney, 44, of Stilwell, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison and was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine. Prosecutors say Mahoney admitted lying on loan applications he submitted to mortgage lenders to fraudulently obtain loans for several Kansas City area properties.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Officials of Sedgwick County and the city of Wichita are preparing to release a community survey about future community and infrastructure investments. A joint news conference was scheduled Wednesday at Wichita City Hall on the so-called Community Investments Plan, which sets out a framework for the future. The survey and plan focus on public transportation; water, sewer and storm water improvements; cultural, recreational and parks amenities; and economic development.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A new study by a non-partisan Washington research group says the poorest Kansans pay a much higher percentage of their incomes in state and local taxes than do the state’s wealthiest residents. Wednesday’s report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy says that for the poorest 20 percent of non-elderly Kansans, state and local taxes equal 10.3 percent of their income. For the wealthiest one percent, the figure is 3.9 percent. The institute’s data considers income tax cuts enacted last year. The report also says the percentage of income going to taxes for the poorest Kansans…