WICHITA, Kan. — Identity theft rose sharply last year during the COVID-19 pandemic, and no place was hit harder than Kansas. The Wichita Eagle reports that 43,211 Kansans alerted the Federal Trade Commission in 2020 that someone had stolen or tried to steal their identity. That was 2,272 more cases than in 2019. Kansas’ 1,802% year-over-year increase was the highest among the states and more than three times the national average. Of all the 2020 identity theft reports in Kansas, 88% were classified as government documents or benefits fraud. The Kansas Department of Labor has cited a barrage of fraudulent…
Author: KMAN Staff
OLATHE, Kan. — A Kansas school board has fired a high school baseball coach for allegedly using a racial slur toward a Black player. The Kansas City Star reports that the Olathe board met Monday morning and announced the firing of Olathe North High School Coach Pete Flood. The father of the team’s only Black player told the Star last week that his son was playing rap music through speakers during batting practice before a recent game. Tony Banks said Flood walked up to Banks’ son and used a racial slur in describing rap music. Banks shared the story on…
On Monday’s edition of In Focus we spoke with Dr. Sarah Kaufman with KSU Vet Med. Manhattan Public Library Head of Community Engagement Maddy Ogle and Programs and Children’s Services Manager Jennifer Bergen also joined the program. And in our final segment Artist EuGene Byrd III discusses the new mural he’s working on at the Douglass Activity Center.
EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) — Three teenagers died and a fourth teen was injured when the car they were riding in crashed into the Cottonwood River south of Emporia. The Lyon County Sheriff’s office said the wreck was discovered around 6:30 p.m. Saturday after the injured girl, 15-year-old Ashley Edwards, was spotted walking down the road. Edwards told deputies that she had been a passenger in a car that crashed. Authorities pulled a 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix from the river with three people inside. The sheriff’s office said 17-year-old Chase Luby, 13-year-old Paxton Luby and 17-year-old Shelby Phoenix were all dead.…
Kansas State University will change its face covering guidance for fully vaccinated individuals in outdoor settings beginning May 17, following the expiration of Manhattan’s mask ordinance. The new policy states that everyone, including faculty, staff, students, contractors, vendors and visitors must continue to wear face coverings over their mouths and noses in all indoor spaces while on university property unless you are alone in your own private office or workspace. Fully vaccinated people may participate in outdoor activities and recreation without a mask, except in certain crowded settings and venues, including live performances, parades or sporting events. Masks will be…
Blue Valley High School’s class of 2021 looks more like a close-knit family than school classmates. With just four students in this year’s graduating class, Jeremiah Duncan, Grace Johnson, Madison O’Shea and Shianne Shelton represent the high school’s smallest graduating class in its history. The four of them have been together since kindergarten, which at the time consisted of 11 students. “For whatever reason over the years we never could fill their grade level with more students,” said Marion Mazouch, Blue Valley High School principal. None of the four students seem to mind. In fact, they appreciate the close bond…
A mural depicting a number of scenes tied to the Douglass community in Manhattan is being painted at the new Activity Center there by a Wichita native. EuGene V. Byrd III returned to his home state from Atlanta to paint the piece that has the man who led the Exodusters to Kansas, Benjamin “Pap” Singleton, at its center. Byrd credits high school friend Lee McFarley, who now lives in Manhattan, with tipping him off about the city’s request for proposals on the project. He says he spent two weeks learning of the history the mural depicts before putting his proposal…
TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas has requested less than 9% of its federal allocation of COVID-19 vaccine doses for this week. Meanwhile, the GOP-controlled Legislature is trying to revive proposals to ban government vaccine passports and restore limits on tracing the close contacts of people exposed to the virus. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s office said Thursday that the state has asked for fewer than 14,000 vaccine doses for the week, out of a federal allotment of almost 162,000. Kansas has seen its vaccination rate slow in recent weeks, and counties have been turning down vaccine doses as demand has waned.
TOPEKA, Kan. — A bill to legalize medical marijuana has passed in the Kansas House for the first time, but the Senate isn’t expected to consider it in the final days of the annual session. Kansas House members on Thursday voted 79-42 to advance the measure to the Senate for consideration. Although some legalization advocates were hopeful that strong support for the bill among Republicans in the House would spur Senate leaders to debate it this session, Senate President Ty Masterson’s spokesperson, Mike Pirner, told The Associated Press that a budget bill and school funding legislation have taken priority this…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Police in Kansas City, Kansas, are on the lookout for a driver they say dragged an officer during a police stop. Television station WDAF reports the incident happened Thursday afternoon in the Argentine neighborhood. Police say that while the officer was outside the stopped vehicle, the driver sped off, dragging the officer over a grassy area for about 200 feet. Police say the officer suffered minor injuries to his legs and was taken to an area hospital for treatment. Police had not reported finding the suspected driver by Friday morning.