The current director of the Riley County Police Department says he hopes his successor keeps up strong communication with the community and department employees. Dennis Butler said on KMAN’s In Focus Friday morning he took note early on during his tenure that communication is a priority. Butler says he also made a point from day one to ensure consisted communication with the multiple county governing boards. Butler announced his pending retirement earlier this month because of health concerns that developed over the summer. While he didn’t go into specifics, Butler says he’s healthy now and says he has always made…
Author: KMAN Staff
NEW YORK — U.S. health officials may have solved the mystery of how four people in different states came down with a serious tropical disease, even though none had traveled internationally. The four people may have been infected by an aromatherapy spray, labeled ‘Better Homes & Gardens.’ Two of them died. One was a child. The others were from Kansas, Minnesota and Texas. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that its scientists found the same type of bacteria that causes the disease in an aromatherapy spray found in the Georgia patient’s home. The spray was made in…
On Monday’s edition of In Focus we spoke with Melissa Kirkwood with Sunset Zoo. We also spoke with Tana Warner with Thrive! Flint Hills. In our final segment we spoke with long time KMAN reporter Nick McNamara on his return to KMAN.
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) A 44-year-old Kansas City woman has pleaded guilty to solicitation of capital murder after she helped set up a plan to kill an inmate at the Lansing Correctional Facility. During a plea hearing Friday, Renee Johnson-Fritz admitted that she sent a message to inmate Andrew Hogue ordering the death of another inmate. The target inmate was attacked in April 2019 but survived. Johnson-Fritz’s husband, Frederick Fritz, is also charged with solicitation of capital murder. Prosecutors said he sent his wife a letter demanding the death of the Lansing inmate. Witnesses at a preliminary hearing said Frederick Fritz…
The following summary of calls for service/reports filed by the Riley County Police Department is a portion of those received by police. Some names, addresses, and case details are withheld to follow local, state, and federal law as well as in an attempt to protect community members from being victimized further. Those arrested are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. MANHATTAN, KAN. – Officers responded to the report of a medical call in the 5000 block of Lakewood Dr. in Manhattan on October 22, 2021, around 8:54 a.m. When officers arrived on scene, they found a deceased…
The 4th annual Manhattan Walk to End Alzheimer’s was held Saturday with nearly 600 people gathering at City Park to bring awareness to Alzheimer’s and dementia. Chairman of the Manhattan Walk to End Alzheimer’s, KelLee Parr, said that he enjoys seeing members of the community jump on board to participate in this event every year, to support the many patients and caregivers who are affected by Alzheimer’s. Parr went on to say that he is pleased that a majority of the money goes back into the community, and that it is great to get back outside for the event, which…
LIBERAL, Kan. — Police say a man has been arrested on suspicion of human trafficking after investigators found 14 people hidden in a van in southwest Kansas. The Liberal police department said a minivan going through the town on U.S. 54 on Thursday was stopped after an officer “suspected criminal activity.” The release said investigators found 14 people in the van. KAKE-TV reports police said some of the people were stacked on top of each other in the vehicle’s trunk. Police arrested a 23-year-old man on a requested charge of human trafficking. His name was not released.
WICHITA, Kan. — A man is jailed on $5 million bond after being charged in a shooting at a Wichita club that left one dead and six injured. Keshawn Dawson made his first court appearance Thursday after being extradited from Arizona on Wednesday. Dawson is charged with first-degree murder, six counts of aggravated battery and criminal discharge of a weapon. He also faces drug and weapons charges in separate cases. Dawson fled after the shooting Sept. 7 at the Enigma Club & Lounge. Police said he came back to the lounge and started shooting after being kicked out. He was…
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The Overland Park Police Department is expanding a team that responds to police calls involving mental health crises. The mental health unit will have more than a dozen members and six co-responders. The change comes after the Overland Park City Council voted in September to raise property taxes to fund the unit, and the city received a nearly $250,000 federal grant. When the mental health team responds to a call, it will be joined by a clinician from Johnson County Mental Health. Sgt. Stewart Brought said the department’s goal is to let the mental health team…
Researchers at Kansas State University are the first in the country to look into methods of keeping a foreign tick-borne livestock disease at bay. The Center of Excellence for Vector-Borne Diseases recently received $250,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and an additional $75,000 from the Kansas National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility to build upon past research into containing and controlling heartwater disease. Heartwater is deadly to cattle, sheep, and goats. Center Director Roman Ganta and his team recently published results of the first heartwater risk assessment experiments in sheep. While heartwater originally was identified as a sub-Saharan African disease,…