WICHITA, Kan. — A judge has ruled that a Kansas newspaper can have access to two Wichita Police body camera videos. The ruling Wednesday came more than three years after The Wichita Eagle requested copies. Sedgwick County District Judge Jeffrey E. Goering ruled that the city of Wichita “acted in bad faith and without a reasonable basis in law” by withholding the footage. The city disagrees but says it will abide by the ruling. One video relates to an alleged police cover-up of a hit-and-run collision involving an off-duty police officer. The other features an Iraqi-American man who was wrongly…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA, Kan. — Kansas’ four state-owned casinos reported a 28% drop in revenue last year when they were closed for two months because of the coronavirus pandemic. The four casinos in Kansas City, Mulvane, Dodge City and Pittsburg generated about $300 million revenue in 2020, down from $416 million the year before. That means state and local governments are receiving less money from gambling. The Kansas Lottery’s executive director Stephen Durrell said the casinos had a difficult year just like many other businesses. The casinos were closed from March 17 to May 22. And ever since reopening, the casinos have…
Mercy Community Health Foundation Development Director Tina Rockhold talked about Mercy’s “No-Gala” Gala – a 10 day online charity fundraiser Feb. 18 through Feb. 28 online at justgiving.com/campaign/MercyNoGalaGala. Sunset Zoo Marketing and Development Officer Melissa Kirkwood highlighted some educational opportunities including Call of the Wild, for early learners and FrogWatch of the Flint Hills, a conservation effort with the local Chapter of FrogWatch USA. Melissa also spoke on the zoo’s temporary closure due to the extreme cold and construction in and around the zoo.
FBI agents on Friday arrested a Kansas State University graduate teaching assistant in connection to the events surrounding the January 6th U.S. Capitol insurrection.. William Pope of Topeka, a doctoral student in leadership communication at K-State, was taken into custody without incident by individuals from the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and Topeka Police Department. Pope was charged with obstruction or impeding an official proceeding; civil disorder; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; impeding passage through the Capitol grounds of buildings;…
Ascension Via Christi President and CEO Bob Copple joined us Friday. We also chatted with guests from the Manhattan Soup Kitchen and Manhattan Public Library. 66th District Rep. Sydney Carlin (D-Manhattan) also joined us during the KMAN Morning Show.
The coronavirus pandemic has, yet again, thrown a wrench into the plans of an annual event in Manhattan. Maddy Ogle, Manhattan Public Library Development and Public Relations Coordinator, says the library has made the decision to cancel the annual book sale this year. Ogle tells KMAN that the book sale has been an important part of the library, and the decision to cancel it was tough. “This is an annual event that would raise money that would go back in to fund library programs and purchases,” Ogle says. “So, like new books, book giveaways, special events, and especially the summer…
Riley County has identified 35 new positive coronavirus cases and 3 additional recoveries since Wednesday. This brings the county’s total to 6,115 with 213 of those cases being active. The total number of recoveries in the county has reached 5,870. Ascension Via Christi Hospital in Manhattan is caring for three positive patients at this time. Two of the positive patients are in the Intensive Care Unit. This week, the Health Department continued vaccinating those 65 and older and began administering “boosters”, second doses, to individuals who were vaccinated as part of Phase 1. K-12 teachers and staff in Riley County…
MISSION, Kan. (AP) – Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are making their tentative first steps toward easing visitor restrictions that were put in place to stem the spread of the coronavirus, as health officials finish the first round of vaccinations. Dr. Lee Norman, head of the state health department, told the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Thursday, that 83% of residents have received a first dose and 53% a second dose, with some turning down the vaccination at least for now. He said the most recent data shows 56% of staff had agreed to the vaccine.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – Five people prosecutors have linked to a Kansas City metro chapter of the Proud Boys have been arrested on federal charges for their alleged roles in the Jan. 6 breach at the U.S. Capitol. A probable cause affidavit alleges they conspired to impede certification of the Electoral College vote. William Norman Chrestman and Christopher Charles Kuehn, both of Olathe, Kansas, and Louis Enrique Colon, of Blue Springs, Missouri, were charged with conspiracy, civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding, among other charges. Chrestman also separately faces an additional charge of threatening to assault a federal…
The initial results for the Riley County portion of the Regional Business Confidence Survey, which was conducted by the Flint Hills Regional Council in part as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, are now available. About 59 percent of the 39 Riley County businesses that responded saw a decrease in revenue while the remainder reported normal or increased revenue. According to Marissa Jones-Flaget, Flint Hills Regional Council recovery and resiliency planner and grant specialist, the remainder of the survey was a bit of a mixed bag. “81 percent felt that they had the resources to bring employees back (safely),” Flaget-Jones…