A date has been set for the sentencing in a prominent Riley county rape case. Daniel Brewer, who pleaded no contest to a rape charge and guilty to another charge in connection with rapes in Ogden in 1981, will be sentenced December 19th at 3:45. Judge David Stutzman’s office announced the date Friday morning. One of the cases, the one which Brewer pleaded guilty to, involved a 75-year-old Ogden woman, which received a lot of attention with the wrongful conviction of Fort Riley Soldier Eddie Lowery. Brewer entered into a plea bargain in July, presented by the Kansas Attorney General’s office.…
Author: KMAN Staff
In response to declining patient volumes and uncertainty over federal funding in the near future, Mercy Regional Health Center has announced a restructuring plan. One of the goals of the restructuring plan is to decrease the number of leaders at all levels. As a result of this plan, five middle management and upper administrative positions were eliminated. Employees who were affected by the reductions were notified on Thursday, Nov. 17, and all will receive severance packages. Despite growth in the Manhattan community and the increased number of medical staff providers, Mercy’s patient volumes have steadily decreased for several years. Mercy’s…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is scheduled to be the speaker at next year’s annual dinner of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce. The event is set for Feb. 21 in Topeka. The chamber is the largest business group in Kansas, and the dinner is its biggest event. Bush, a Republican, served as governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is president and chairman of the Tallahassee-based Foundation for Excellence in Education, which advocates rigorous academic standards and expanding so-called school choice programs in public education. He also is the brother of former President George W. Bush…
SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) Police in northeastern Kansas are searching for a man who reportedly tried to kidnap a girl walking home from a bus stop. The Shawnee Police Department says the 13-year-old girl reported Thursday afternoon that a man driving a dark SUV pulled up and asked for help finding an address. The girl says she walked away after noticing the man was holding a blank piece of paper, but he approached her again. The girl told authorities the man claimed to have a gun and threatened to shoot her unless she got into the vehicle. He drove onto the…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A nonprofit advocacy group is holding a weekend forum in Wichita on the issue of wage theft. Sunflower Community Action says the public meeting will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Evergreen Park Recreation Center. The group contends there’s a growing problem of employees being misclassified and cheated out of proper compensation, which it calls wage theft. It says companies sometime misclassify workers as contractors rather than employees to avoid paying certain taxes and benefits. Labor activists are trying to build support for Kansas legislation to penalize businesses and individuals who repeatedly violate wage laws.…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Six community and technical colleges are sharing $500,000 in job training grants from the Kansas Department of Commerce aimed at partnerships with private companies. One grant will help Neosho County Community College in Chanute provide training for a new aviation facility planned by Spirit Aerosystems in the southeast Kansas town. Coffeyville Community College, also in southeastern Kansas, will use its grant to train workers for the regional petroleum industry. Other recipients are the North Central Kansas Technical College, Northwest Kansas Technical College, Washburn Institute of Technology and the Wichita Area Technical College. Commerce Secretary Pat George says…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A 57-year-old Wichita man died after an explosion and fire at his home. Battalion Chief John Turner says the man was found in his basement after firefighters arrived at his home Thursday evening. He was pulled from the house with critical injuries and died later at a hospital. Firefighters say the blaze caused about $25,000 in damage. An investigation into the cause of the fire continues.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) A fight is brewing over whether parachuting is allowed at the Lawrence Municipal Airport. Businessman William McCauley has filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration over the city of Lawrence’s efforts to limit his proposed parachuting business. The city argues that allowing a parachuting business at the small airport would be a safety problem. It says aircraft would have to be notified not to use the airport when the parachutists were jumping. Because the airport does not have a traffic control tower, that communication would be difficult. But McCauley says FAA regulations give him the right…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Topeka school district has expanded its anti-discrimination policy to include homosexual and transgender students and staff. The board voted Thursday night to expand the policy to include the words “sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.” The district’s attorney, Cindy Kelly, said the additions are designed to help students who are being bullied or harassed because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that board member Janel Johnson cast the only no vote. She said the current anti-bullying policy already protects all students. Other board members said they supported the move because…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A 21-year-old soldier from the Wichita was killed this week in Afghanistan. The U.S. Department of Defense announced Friday that Spc. James R. Burnett Jr. died Wednesday when an improvised explosive device hit a Jeep in which he was riding in a convoy. Twenty-two-year-old Pfc. Matthew C. Colin of Navarre, Fla., also died in the attack in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan. Burnett and Collins were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska. Burnett attended Clearwater High School in Wichita and joined the Army after…