WICHITA, Kan. (AP) With Kansans driving less and using more fuel-efficient vehicles, the state is studying the possible impact of a drop in fuel tax revenue. The Kansas Department of Transportation says the decline in revenue from motor fuel taxes is a concern because that money is the primary way the state funds its highway projects. The Wichita Eagle reports Kansans drove 82.2 million miles each day last year. That’s an increase from 81.9 million miles in 2010, but a drop from 83 million in 2006. Leif Holliday, a traffic engineer for the transportation department, said traffic had grown 1…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Department of Agriculture is considering moving its headquarters out of Topeka to Manhattan or southwest Kansas. The state department that handles facilities for state agencies is soliciting bids for office space for the Department of Agriculture. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports bids are being sought from Topeka, Manhattan and Great Bend, Garden City and/or Dodge City. Agriculture department official Max Foster said Monday the department’s lease in Topeka ends Sept. 30, 2013. A spokeswoman for Secretary of Agriculture Dale Rodman says the department has been working for the past six months to find a space that…
SALINA, Kan. (AP) A search committee is working to find a new president for Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina. The search started after the university’s board of trustees accepted the sudden resignation of Fletcher Lamkin on Friday. They appointed provost Wayne Lowen as interim president while the search is conducted. The Salina Journal reports Lowen will continue to serve as provost and additional staff might be hired to help with those duties. Trustees chairman James Nelson says no timetable has been set for finding a replacement. Lamkin’s resignation on Friday came after 2.5 years as president. His tenure was marked…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Hutchinson man who sent two letters to a Kansas mental hospital threatening to kill President Barack Obama has been sentenced to two years in federal prison. U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom says 27-year-old Michael Scott Ramsey was sentenced Monday in Wichita. He pleaded guilty in March. Grissom says Ramsey delivered letters on July 1, 2009, to Larned State Hospital saying he was going to kill the president. In one of the letters he said “this is Michael Ramsey telling you this.” Ramsey received a mental evaluation at a federal detention center in Los Angeles, where experts found…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas officials are preparing to hear objections to listings on primary election ballots for three state House seats. The State Objections Board is scheduled to convene Tuesday. The board is made up of Secretary of State Kris Kobach, Attorney General Derek Schmidt and Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer, all Republicans. A group called the Kansas Equality Coalition wants to remove Democratic Rep. Jan Pauls, of Hutchinson, from the ballot. The group questions whether Pauls lives at the address she listed on her filing form. Another objection involves two House Republicans from Johnson County who were placed in the…
After 6 years in the position of administrator and principal at the Flint Hills Christian School, Frank Leone is stepping down to make room for someone new, Tim McDonald. According to Leone, McDonald will bring an international perspective to the school due to his recent service in China and Kenya. “I also see [McDonald] raising the profile of the school in the community and connecting the school better to area Christian churches,” Leone said. Leone began transferring his role to McDonald at the beginning of the month, as his final day was expected to be June 18. With the change in leadership, Flint…
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Jurors took in several hours of a video interrogation as the capital murder trial of Luis Aguirre continued inside Riley County District Court on Tuesday. Aguirre, 24, is being charged for premeditating the 2009 murders of his 18-year old ex-girlfriend Tanya Maldonado and the couple’s 13-month old son Juan. The footage was filmed in an interrogation room inside the Austin (Texas) Police Department on Oct. 30, 2009; five days after the bodies of Tanya and Juan were discovered in Ogden, Kan. During the interrogation, Riley County Police Detective Ryan Runyan asked Aguirre several questions concerning the whereabouts…
Manhattan had a special visitor Tuesday morning, with U-S Attorney Barry Grissom making an appearance at a training session involving anti-terrorism efforts. Grissom also made a stop at the KMAN studios, and says he appreciated the invitation to speak at the K-State campus. Grissom adds only as a team can law enforcement groups do what’s necessary to protect citizens against another act of terrorism. The U-S attorney describes protection against terrorism as a number one priority, whether the threat comes from abroad or at home. Grissom represents the District of Kansas with the U.S. Department of Justice. Grissom stresses his…
The Riley County Law Board took a hard look at insurance broker services during its meeting Monday. No decision was reached, partly due to a last minute communication from the City of Manhattan suggesting a more competitive process. Riley County Police director Brad Schoen indicated he agreed with some of what City Manager Ron Fehr had said in a recent email to that effect. The city of Manhattan has suggested a more competitive process, and there was even some consideration of eventual consolidation with the city on the insurance matter. The Assurance Group has been working on a proposal. In fact,…
HOUSTON (AP) Brian Bixler drove in a career-high three runs on three hits, including his first career homer, and Justin Maxwell and Brian Bogusevic also homered as the Houston Astros held off the Kansas City Royals for a 9-7 win Monday night. J.A. Happ (5-7) yielded four hits and two runs in 6-plus innings to break a four-game losing streak. It was his first start since allowing 11 hits and eight runs–both career highs in Houston’s 10-0 loss to San Francisco in which Matt Cain threw a perfect game. Maxwell hit a two-run homer after Bogusevic’s solo shot…