WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A federal appeals court says the reaction of drivers to phony drug checkpoints set up by law enforcement is not sufficient grounds to justify stopping vehicles. A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday for a man who was searched and arrested after exiting Interstate 70 after the Kansas Highway Patrol posted signs warning of a drug checkpoint ahead. Dennis Neff was sentenced to five years after pleading guilty to one count of traveling in interstate commerce with intent to distribute cocaine. Neff argued the stop was illegal because troopers lacked a…
Author: KMAN Staff
IOLA, Kan. (AP) A southeastern Kansas woman will be sentenced next month for the unattended death of her son within hours of his birth. The Iola Register reports prosecutors will seek the maximum sentence of slightly more than 13 years in prison for 23-year-old Karen Bailey, of Le Roy. Bailey was initially charged with first-degree murder in the death of Benjamin Edward Riggs-Geisler. She pleaded no contest last week to second-degree murder. Coffey County Attorney Doug Witteman says the charge reflects that the death resulted from an act of omission. Investigators said Bailey gave birth on April 2, 2011, while…
SALINA, Kan. (AP) The future of the Salina-Saline County Health Department is unclear after its building was closed because of concerns its roof might collapse. Salina city commissioners voted Monday to approve a contract that will temporarily move the department to two buildings owned by Salina Regional Health Center. Salina building officials closed the building Thursday after inspectors said its roof was in danger of collapsing. The Salina Journal reports the building is about 95 years old. The health department has used it since 1994. The county owns the building and the city maintains it. After the structure was closed,…
CONCORDIA, Kan. (AP) A rural Concordia man died after he was pinned under a riding lawn mower while mowing a neighbor’s lawn. The Cloud County Sheriff says passing motorists tried to help 63-year-old Bob Johnson, but he died at a hospital after the accident on Saturday. Johnson was mowing a steep slope near the road when the mower tipped over and rolled, landing on top of him. Witnesses were able to get the mower off of Johnson but he died at the hospital.
DODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) A daylong conference on oil and gas activity in parts of western and south-central Kansas will be held June 19 in Dodge City. The Kansas Department of Commerce says the region was considered to have been tapped out by vertical drilling. But the agency says hydraulic fracturing also known as fracking has the potential to increase oil and gas activity significantly. The free symposium is intended to bring together people from communities affected by drilling and let them hear from industry experts. Panel discussions will focus on housing, education and public safety; public infrastructure and health…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has ordered flags lowered to half-staff throughout the state Thursday to honor three soldiers killed last year in Afghanistan. Sgt. Alexander J. Bennett, Spc. Spencer C. Duncan and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bryan J. Nichols were among 30 U.S. military personnel who were killed last August when their helicopter was shot down. The three soldiers were assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, U.S. Army Reserve, based at New Century, Kan. Nichols was from Hays. Bennett and Duncan were from Olathe. All 30 service members will be honored Thursday at Arlington National…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) About 75 percent of incumbent Kansas legislators have filed for re-election, despite uncertainty about boundaries for their districts. All 40 state Senate seats are up for grabs in November, and the secretary of state’s office reports online that 27 senators have filed to run again. The latest was Dwayne Umbarger, a Thayer Republican. Ninety-eight of the 125 House members have also filed for re-election. The latest include veteran Republicans Forrest Knox of Altoona and Bill Otto of LeRoy, and longtime Democrat Bill Feuerborn of Garnett. The filing deadline is noon on June 11. But candidates don’t yet…
WESTMORELAND, Kan. – The Pottawatomie County Commission green-lighted Elbo Creek Estates for expansion on Monday. The commission unanimously approved a rezone of the property that belongs to David Nelson, which creates 21 lots in the area just southeast of the intersection of Junietta Road and Green Valley Road. “Property was classified as R1, which allows single-family detached housing,” Planning Advisor John Keller said. “The proposal was for R2, which allows single-family attached housing or duplex (housing).” The Pottawatomie County Planning Commission met on May 17 to finalize all of the loose ends before appealing to the county commission for a…
Kansas Secretary of State, Kris Kobach, made a stop on his 11 city tour in Manhattan Tuesday to talk about the new Voter Identification Law. Kobach gave a short presentation at the Manhattan Public Library about which forms of identification can be used when going to vote at the polls, how identification will be verified with absentee and oversea ballots, and the new citizenship verification process that will begin in 2013. Kobach also showed the different voter education media plans and took questions from the general public. Kobach said that the main reason for the tour was to educate the…
The first round of jury selection for the Luis Aguirre capital murder trial took place on Tuesday morning at the Riley County Courthouse in Manhattan. Aguirre is charged with the murders of 18-year-old Tanya Maldanado and her 15 -month-old son Juan in September of 2009. 18 potential jurors faced questions from prosecutors and defense attorneys to ascertain their positions on issues such as the death penalty, and availability for the trial dates. During the extensive questions and answer session Assistant county attorney Barry Disney told the potential jurors that the vetting process is a lot like applying for a job that you don’t want. The selection…