TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas labor officials are saying that new security protocols are blocking thousands of fraudulent attempts every hour to access Kansas’ unemployment benefits system. But those assurances did little Wednesday to dispel the concerns of Republican lawmakers. The state Department of Labor reported that it had blocked more than 538,000 attempts from internet bots or human scammers to log into its unemployment system during the 27 hours after a shutdown of the system ended Tuesday morning. The department shut down the system Saturday afternoon to add new security protocols after a flood of fraudulent claims for benefits. GOP…
Author: KMAN Staff
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An Independence business owner who admitted he hired a man to burn down a rival business has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison. Federal prosecutors say 44-year-old William “Bill” Joseph Reneau, of Overland Park, Kansas, was sentenced Tuesday to 78 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $167,085 in restitution to his victims. Reneau pleaded guilty in August to single counts of arson and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Investigators say Reneau was the owner of Gold Rush Exchange in Independence when he hired a man…
WICHITA, Kan. — Wichita police have found the body of a woman whose boyfriend was found dead earlier this week. Wichita police spokesman Charley Davidson said officers found 18-year-old Kaylah Blackmon dead inside her car Thursday. The car was located in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Wichita. Authorities have been searching for Blackmon since the body of her boyfriend, 17-year-old Michael Beasley, was found near an abandoned church in Wichita on Monday. Authorities have released no other details about the deaths.
NBAF Coordinator Dr. Ken Burton, Communications Director Katie Pawlosky and NBAF Foreign Animal Disease Research Unit Research Leader Dr. Luis Rodriguez joined us. Dr. Rodriguez highlighted some of the promising research his office will bring to the Manhattan site, once moved from Plum Island. From the Governor’s Military Council, Executive Director Gen. Perry Wiggins was our guest Thursday to discuss Fort Riley happenings and other military related news.
The USD 383 school board has approved on first reading new boundaries for its elementary and middle schools for the upcoming school year. The board voted 6-1 to accept the redistricting committee’s option 4, which allows students living along Scenic and Ledgestone Drives as well as Stone Pointe to stay in Manhattan instead of being bussed to Ogden. Assistant Superintendent Eric Reid says the difficult nature of meeting priorities set forth by both the district and the public, balancing demographics and building utilization, came at the cost of sacrificing other priorities, such as keeping neighborhoods intact and contiguous attendance areas.…
New outdoor dining platforms will soon be constructed next to AJ’s Pizza and Pool House Kitchen and Bar in downtown Manhattan. The move, which was unanimously approved by the city commission, will bring the number of outdoor dining platforms in Manhattan to nine. Mayor Wynn Butler says he supports the decision because of how the other platforms have helped downtown businesses during the pandemic. “I also felt it was very important to do so because the government put them in a bad situation by limiting the amount of patrons they can put in their restaurant,” Butler said. “So this expanded…
A name change for a Manhattan street will honor a late civil rights leader. The Manhattan City Commission Tuesday officially approved renaming 17th St. to Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. during its meeting Tuesday, While the decision was made unanimously, it has faced some opposition. Daniel Bosch, a 17th St. resident, says the change could affect someone’s ability to receive mail, navigate the city and address envelopes. “I sat there and counted and there’s 23 characters in the name,” Bosch said. “What do I abbreviate it to, just MLK? Or do I put the zip code 66502 dash four digits…
TOPEKA, Kan. — Republican lawmakers narrowed their proposal to cut Kansas’ income taxes before it cleared its first legislative hurdle. A GOP leader said Wednesday that they’ll put off further action at least a short while to consider how the plan might affect the next state budget. The Republican-controlled Senate tax committee endorsed a bill reducing income taxes by about $170 million during the budget year that begins July 1. The measure would provide relief to individuals and businesses paying more in state income taxes because of changes in federal tax laws in 2017. The bill initially would have provided…
GARDNER, Kan. — The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office has identified skeletal remains found last month in northeastern Kansas near Gardner Lake. Television station WDAF reports that officials announced Tuesday that the remains are those of 48-year-old Matthew Lee Manion. Officials say the cause of death remains under investigation. Manion’s remains were found Jan. 11 near the lake located just north of Gardner and recovered by crime scene investigators and detectives the next day. No other information on Manion or the investigation was immediately released.