WICHITA, Kan. — Former Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell could be on the hook for potentially thousands of dollars in civil fines if an ethics panel this week finds he violated state campaign finance law. A complaint shows O’Donnell faces nine counts of campaign finance violations for allegedly funneling money from his campaign account to his personal checking account and to four friends he fraudulently reported as campaign workers. The Wichita Eagle reports that the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission has scheduled a hearing Wednesday in Topeka. O’Donnell could not be reached for comment Monday.
Author: KMAN Staff
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — A large Kansas City area school district is ditching the Braves and Indians mascots that four of its schools use. The board for the Shawnee Mission district, which is the state’s third-largest with about 27,000 students, voted 7-0 Monday to make a change that requires mascots to be culturally and racially sensitive and appropriate. The board then decided that the mascots at Shawnee Mission North High School and Belinder, Shawanoe, Ruston elementary schools violated that policy and will need to be replaced.
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 filed a report for criminal use of a financial card in the 1200 block of Marlatt Ave. in Manhattan on January 25, 2021, at approximately 10:33 a.m. Officers listed two 29-year-old females, Apple,…
Pottawatomie County Commission Chair Greg Riat and Assistant Public Works Director Dustin Newman joined us. *Programming note – the third segment ended abruptly due to connection issues.
Jason Hilgers, City of Manhattan deputy city manager, suggested to the Manhattan City Commission at a retreat last Friday that they consider a five-year plan for the general fund. The general fund, which is around $31 million this year, has stayed about the same the past five years. Hilgers says increasing it by a few percent each year could help the city keep up with operating expenses. “Those two, three, four percent increases allow us to keep doing our jobs – what’s expected of us,” Hilgers said. “When we go zeros or we’re expected to just use what we had…
Riley County has confirmed two new COVID-19 related deaths. The first was a 91-year-old woman who tested positive on Jan. 9 and died on Jan. 22 at Via Christi Village. The second was a 72-year-old man who tested positive on Jan. 9 and died on Jan. 23 at Via Christi Hospital. This brings the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in Riley County to 30. Riley County has also confirmed 28 new positive cases and 174 recoveries since Friday’s report, bringing the number of active cases to 256. Ascension Via Christi Hospital is currently caring for 10 COVID-19-positive patients, one…
TOPEKA, Kan. — At least 89 coronavirus cases have been reported at the Topeka Correctional Facility since Jan. 8 to make the prison the largest current hotspot in the state. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment says no other school, day care, long-term care facility, business, sport or religious gathering had as many coronavirus cases as the Topeka prison had in the past two weeks. The next largest outbreaks in the state were reported at two long-term care facilities that each reported 25 cases.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Police in Kansas City, Kansas, say they are investigating the death of a man whose body was found inside an apartment. Police say officers were sent to the apartment complex along Orville Street on Saturday morning to check on the welfare of a man. Arriving officers discovered the body of the man, believed to be in his 70s, inside the apartment. His name has not yet been released. Police say the department’s Major Case Unit is investigating the death and have asked the public for any information to help in the investigation.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Fire officials say a Hutchinson resident who used a lighter as a flashlight accidently lit the underside of the bed, starting a fire that heavily damaged the house. The Hutchinson News reports that firefighters responding to a call at 5:20 p.m. Sunday found heavy smoke and fire coming from a window on the front of the single-story home, The two adults and child who were in the home got out unharmed. Crews were able to contain the fire to the room where it started, but the two-bedroom home sustained smoke and heat damage throughout. Red Cross is…