TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas is recalling hundreds of license plates that have the letter combination NGA amid concerns that the lettering could be seen as a racial slur. Department of Revenue spokesman Zach Fletcher said that 828 Kansas license plate holders have received letters telling them that they must return the plates or risk being ticketed for having invalid tags. The Kansas City Star reports that he explained in an email that the “plate combination, if read as a phrase, can be perceived to read as a racial epithet.” Kansas also recalled more than 700 plates in 2018 that contained…
Author: KMAN Staff
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 burglary and criminal damage to property in the 1500 block of Yuma St. in Manhattan on October 29, 2020, at approximately 6:27 a.m. Officers listed Belfor Property Restoration and…
The start of November marks the beginning of the Kansas Corporation Commission’s recognition of the Cold Weather Rule, designed to help Kansans behind on their utility payments avoid disconnection during the winter months. The rule, in place from Nov. 1 to March 31, mandates a utility company cannot disconnect a customer’s service when local temperatures are forecast to drop below 35 degrees within the following 48-hour period. It was first enacted in Kansas in 1983 to prevent such disconnection during periods of extreme cold. Any residential customer with a past due balance qualifies for payment arrangements. It is the customer’s…
Tuttle Creek State Park Manager Todd Lovin and Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism – Riley County Natural Resources Officer Ben Jedlicka joined us to discuss outdoor events coming up including the Little Apple Marathon, hunter education and vehicle versus deer statistics. Our series of candidate interviews continued Friday with a conversation featuring John Matta, the Republican candidate for the Riley County Commission 3rd district seat. Greg McKinley, the Republican candidate for the Riley County Commission 2nd district seat also joined us.
Riley County commissioners have decided they won’t move forward with a new Aggieville substation inside the City of Manhattan’s new planned parking garage. Commissioners tabled the decision initially until they could meet with city officials for more information. On Thursday, the commission canceled that meeting. Earlier in the meeting, RCPD Director Dennis Butler tried to clear up some of the issues they had with the project. Commissioner John Ford says he won’t argue that RCPD needs the space, but doesn’t think the garage is the place to be. Butler told the commission that the substation is a benefit to the…
WICHITA, Kan. — Court documents say a retired firefighter who is charged with threatening to kidnap and kill the mayor of Wichita because he was upset about the city’s mask ordinance had been texting an acquaintance on the city council for more than a month before his arrest. The Wichita Eagle reports that the document were released Tuesday in the case against 59-year-old Meredith Dowty, who was charged last week three counts of criminal threat. They say Wichita City Council member James Clendenin started receiving texts from Dowty on Sept. 9. But he said he didn’t feel the conversation went…
WICHITA, Kan. — Wichita police say officers have shot and wounded a man in an exchange of gunfire while attempting to arrest him because he is suspected of firing at an officer from a nearby town last week. Police said in a tweet that the suspect fled Tuesday night before coming to a stop and firing at officers. The officers returned fire, striking the man. He was taken to a hospital with serious injuries. No one else was in the car with the suspect, and no officers were injured. Police described the man as a “violent felon” and said he…
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — A Kansas mother whose estranged husband is charged with killing the couple’s two sons before fleeing with their two daughters is thanking the people who helped track down the girls nearly 400 miles (643.74 kilometers) away in Oklahoma. Tara Jackson’s attorney, Gary Nelson, also described the deaths of 14-year-old Logan Jackson and 12-year-old Austin Jackson as “traumatic“ in a statement released Wednesday. He asked for privacy “during the next very few hard few weeks and months that Tara and her family have ahead of them.“ The Leavenworth County Sheriff’s Office said she went to the home of…
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 fraud in Manhattan on October 28, 2020, at approximately 2:41 pm. Officers listed a 64-year-old female as the victim when it was reported an unknown suspect cashed fraudulent checks…
A few Riley County school districts could have up to 50 percent capacity for indoor athletic events this winter, per league rules. However, John Cox, Blue Valley/Randolph USD 378 superintendent, says his school district could take safety precautions a step further. “We may go a little bit less than the 50 percent capacity because some of those schools are a little further out and a little more rural than we are,” Cox said. “We’re going to follow our health department guidelines. I’ve been in contact with them. So far, the guidance has been anywhere between 25 to 35 percent for…