TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The interim Topeka city manager has told Shawnee County that the city is offering to prosecute all misdemeanor cases except domestic battery. Dan Stanley met Thursday with Shawnee County Commission Chairwoman Shelly Buhler to discuss prosecution of misdemeanor domestic battery cases in Topeka. The city wants District Attorney Chad Taylor to prosecute those cases. It is the latest development in a flurry of activity that began after Taylor said in September that budget cuts were forcing him to stop prosecuting misdemeanors that occur in Topeka. That prompted the city to repeal its domestic battery ordinance so Taylor…
Author: KMAN Staff
LINCOLN, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is examining the death of a 22-year-old Glen Elder man who was being held at the Lincoln County Jail. Lincoln County attorney Jennifer O’Hare says Nathaniel Grabast was jailed on Monday after being arrested in a non-injury hit-and-run accident in Barnard. During routine checks Monday evening, Grabast was found unconscious in a cell. O’Hare said a deputy administered CPR and an ambulance was called, but Grabast was pronounced dead at a hospital in Lincoln. The Salina Journal reports that O’Hare says the death is being investigated but no foul play is suspected.
While we’d already heard over the past several months, even years, of the possibility of a visitor’s center on I-70 at the Manhattan exit, that became a reality with an announcement in Junction City. Jay Nelson, who is a member of the Flint Hills Regional Welcome Center Core committee tells KMAN a lot of deliberation was involved, with the matter considered beginning in 1996. Nelson says the committee went into the decision making process with neutral expectations of all six sites along the interstate that were considered. Riley, Geary, Pottawatomie, Morris, and Wabaunsee counties were involved in the process.…
Smoke at the East Campus of Manhattan High School triggered a brief evacuation this morning, though no fire was discovered. USD 383 Communications Coordinator Michele Jones tells KMAN the fire alarm activated Wednesday morning and that all students and staff were evacuated safely. The smoke was coming from the area of the library. A burned out motor on a water fountain is listed as the cause.
A Manhattan man reported a theft to Riley County police on Tuesday. Tyler Thomas, 19, told RCPD that two wetsuits and a surfboard were taken from his home located in the 900 block of Claflin Rd. The theft occurred during a party that took place at the victim’s home over the weekend. The estimated loss is $1,125. RCPD representatives announced Wednesday that there are no suspects at this time and that the case is under further investigation.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Authorities in Missouri have searched woods, landfills, sewers and a 36-foot well at an abandoned house. They have chased down more than 300 tips in their effort to find a baby reported missing last week. But as the search for Lisa Irwin heads into its second week, there’s still no sign of the child, whose first birthday is now just a month away. Lisa’s parents reported their daughter missing Oct. 4. Her father said he returned from a late shift at work and found the house lights on, a window tampered with and his child gone.…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) About two dozen people are protesting a Kansas prosecutor’s decision not to pursue domestic violence and other misdemeanor cases. The protesters gathered Tuesday outside the Shawnee County Courthouse, where district attorney Chad Taylor has his office. Taylor announced in early September that he would no longer pursue misdemeanor cases from within the Topeka city limits. He says his office can’t afford to handle those cases because of a 10 percent cut in his budget for 2012. In theory the city of Topeka could prosecute the cases, but its officials say it doesn’t have the resources, either. Protesters…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The latest government snapshot of Kansas crop progress shows that 69 percent of the planned winter wheat crop has been planted. In a report Tuesday, Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service also said about 35 percent of the 2012 winter wheat crop has already emerged. Farmers are also busy harvesting the last of this season’s crops. The report says the Kansas corn harvest reached the 65 percent mark by Sunday. About 43 percent of the state’s soybeans have been cut, along with 15 percent of the sorghum crop.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Securities Commissioner Aaron Jack has named Jeffery Kruske as the new general counsel for the regulatory agency. Kruske has been an attorney in private practice, recently merging his practice with Schlagel and Kinzer of Olathe. As general counsel he will be the chief legal officer of the agency and oversee all legal, regulatory and enforcement actions taken by the securities commissioner. Kruske is a 2000 graduate of the Washburn University School of Law. He has been a securities litigator for the majority of his professional career, representing investors in securities disputes and industry professionals in employment…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A national industry group reports that sales of farm tractors are nearly flat so far this year. In a report Tuesday, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers also said sales of self-propelled combines from January through September fell 6.1 percent from the same period last year. The organization reports that U.S. farmers bought slightly more than 127,000 farm tractors and 7,200 combines during the first nine months of this year.