Little Apple Pride held a picnic Saturday in Manhattan’s Blue Earth Plaza. The picnic is a change from the normal, larger pride festivities that would traditionally take place in April. Both the 2020 and 2021 April festivities had to be cancelled due to COVID-19. Kevin Stilley, Treasurer of the Flint Hills Human Rights Project and Little Apple Pride, spoke about putting on the picnic Little Apple Pride Chair Jonathan Mertz spoke about the event and how it’s more well received locally now than in previous years. Mertz spoke about how plans came to fruition after COVID scrapped plans for their…
Author: KMAN Staff
A Lawrence woman in her late 20s is the latest to bring forward additional rape allegations in an ongoing sex abuse case against a former Manhattan restaurant owner. The woman, who was 19 and living in Riley County at the time of the alleged incident, accuses Bob Iacobellis of raping her at his restaurant in August or September 2011. Iacobellis, who pleaded not guilty to the additional charge, now faces 27 counts of sexual assault and rape involving three minors and one adult. Riley County Attorney Barry Wilkerson and Iacobellis’s defense team, Brenda Jordan and Lora Ingels, questioned the alleged…
USD 475 Geary County Schools students and staff will not be required to wear face masks during the upcoming school year. The district is encouraging those who have not been vaccinated to continue wearing a mask, per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Administrators are acknowledging that the policy could change as the CDC and Kansas Department for Health and Environment release more information.
The Riley County Police Department is expanding its fingerprinting services for general licensing applications effective July 1. Among the application types involved in this expansion are teaching, daycare, adoption, nursing and insurance. Fingerprinting services will be available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the RCPD front lobby on a walk-in only basis. Prior to this expansion, RCPD fingerprinting services were only available for Concealed Carry Licensing. Fingerprinting will cost $20, or $32.50 for Concealed Carry Licensing, and can be paid with cash, check or money order.
A Manhattan man is jailed in connection to sex crimes involving a child. Brewster Lee Jones is charged with three counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child under the age of 14. Riley County District Court records allege the alleged crimes occurred on three different occasions between November 2018 and December 2020. Jones is also charged with violating his probation. Jones was sentenced last year to 12 months probation for a motor vehicle theft. He remains jailed on a $50,000 bond.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Two teenagers have been arrested in the shooting death of a 15-year near a Kansas City, Kansas, elementary school earlier this month. Authorities said Thursday that U.S. Marshals took the suspects , ages 16 and 17, into custody. A news release from police said they will face criminal charges in Wyandotte County. Both had been sought in the killing of Kaden Bauswell, who was found shot near Hazel Grove Elementary School on June 8.
TOPEKA, Kan. — Topeka police are investigating a shooting death on the city’s north side. Officers were called just after 10 p.m. Thursday to Northwest Polk Street and found an adult with a gunshot wound. The person died at the scene. Police did not disclose the victim’s name and didn’t say if it was a man or a woman. No arrests have been made.
MISSION, Kansas — The end of tenant protections at the end of July has raised concerns that thousands of Kansas residents will be unable to afford their monthly rent and face eviction. The state has set aside $220 million to help with outstanding rents, utility payments and other expenses, but extensive federal rules have slowed the flow of money to those in need. Kansas has one of the shortest timeframes in the country for evicting a tenant who falls behind on rent. In Wichita, the Salvation Army already is seeing an increase in calls from people asking for shelter.
DODGE CITY, Kan. — A Dodge City police corporal has been indicted after a woman died in a traffic crash while he was responding to a call. A Ford County grand jury this week indicted Cpl. Shane Wade Harris on an involuntary manslaughter charge, or an alternative vehicular homicide charge. Investigators said Harris was responding to reports of a break-in on Jan. 25, 2020, when his car collided with a vehicle driven by Vanessa Guzman, of Dodge City. Guzman was thrown from the car and died at the scene. Dodge City Police Chief Drew Francis declined to comment because the…
After a year of preparations, Flint Hills Christian School broke ground on their new building Thursday which will see an expansion of the school to accommodate growth. The project has raised $5.9 million of its fundraising goal so far, nearly $2.5 million ahead of initial projections. Honorary Chair and school co-founder Dennis Mullin spoke about the project, which will double the space for students enrolled at the school. Seven year board member D.C. Hackerott spoke about the personal impact the project will have on her family. The groundbreaking ceremony included festivities such as a sidewalk art contest, a bouncy house, and food trucks.