TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas school district that is named for a Ku Klux Klan leader is paying an advisory group to help lead discussions on how to change the name. The Seaman School District’s Board of Education voted Monday to pay $30,000 to the Kansas Leadership Center for advise on the issue. The Seaman district is named for Fred Seaman, an “exalted cyclops,” or chief officer, in the Topeka KKK in the 1920s. Students, teachers and some community leaders want the board to change the name. The district has named its own advisory board, but the school board…
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 theft and criminal damage to property in the 2600 block of Eureka Ter. in Manhattan on April 19, 2021, at approximately 8:15 a.m. Officers listed Larson Construction as the…
On Tuesday’s edition of In Focus we spoke with Manhattan City Manager Ron Fehr and Mayor Wynn Butler.
The Riley County Police Department will soon celebrate the 30th anniversary of its CALEA accreditation. CALEA, or the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, gives accreditation to agencies that remain in compliance with certain standards. RCPD director Dennis Butler says only about five to six percent of law enforcement agencies nationwide are accredited. “It’s an important component in today’s world to have the confidence that your local police department is professional, accountable [and] transparent,” Butler said during the Riley County Law Board meeting Tuesday. Re-accreditation is awarded every four years, with CALEA reviewing 25 percent of RCPD policies each…
ATCHISON, Kan. — A Kansas district has decided to ditch its “Redmen” and “Braves” mascots after public opinion shifted. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the Atchison school board approved the change unanimously this past week. It was a reversal from 2018 when the board voted to keep the “Redmen” mascot for the district’s high school and the “Braves” mascot for the middle school. Board member Carrie Sowers said she changed her vote because the community “spoke loud and clear.“ Sowers said the board heard considerable support in 2018 for keeping Native American-themed mascots. But this time, all nine people who…
WICHITA, Kan. — Two Wichita women who helped organize protests in the city last summer calling for changes in police conduct have been found guilty of misdemeanor charges connected to the demonstrations. Gabrielle Griffie and Marissa Gonzalez both received probation sentences after their convictions for unlawful assembly in Wichita Municipal Court last week. Both women were acquitted of disorderly conduct in the protests last July that at times blocked traffic while protesters marched down streets. Their trials focused on whether the protesters could occupy the roads to deliver their message, and Judge Bryce Abbott ultimately decided that protesters had no…
WICHITA, Kan. — Wichita city leaders are considering overhauling their ethics code and for the first time setting a limit on gifts to city council members. The proposed rules drafted over the past year would ban gifts worth more than $150 a year and establish an anonymous hotline for reporting ethics violations. The City Council will decide later this spring whether to adopt the new rules. Mayor Brandon Whipple has pushed for the reforms to restore public confidence after several high-profile ethical breaches in city government led to several local officials leaving office in recent years and raised questions about…
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Firefighters in south-central Kansas say one person was taken to a hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation early Monday after a fire that started in camper parked in a driveway spread to the home. Television station KSNW says the fire was reported around 3 a.m. Monday in Hutchinson. Firefighters arrived to find a camper engulfed in flames in the home’s driveway, and the fire had spread to the exterior of the home and into the home’s attic. Officials say two people were home at the time of the fire, with one suffering from smoke inhalation. The fire…
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 rape in Manhattan on April 17, 2021, at approximately 9:55 a.m. Officers listed a 29-year-old female as the victim and a 62-year-old male known to her as the suspect.…
Riley County Historical Museum Director Cheryl Collins and Aggieville historian Dan Walter, founder of Custom Family Stories and creator of Aggieville Archives joined us Monday. We discussed the history of Aggieville.