Author: KMAN Staff

SHAWNEE MISSION, Kan. — Authorities in northeastern Kansas say a Shawnee Mission elementary teacher has been charged with a child sex crime. The Kansas City Star reports that 63-year-old Kim Zier, who worked as a fifth-grade teacher at Pawnee Elementary School before being placed on leave, is charged in Johnson County District Court with one count of aggravated indecent liberties involving a child. Investigators say he is accused of lewdly fondling or touching a child under the age of 14 on Jan. 28. Zier was arrested Monday and charged the same day. He is scheduled to appear in court again…

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WICHITA, Kan. — Wichita State University is seeking to tear down its 74-year-old Cessna Stadium and replace it with a new smaller, multi-purpose stadium. The Wichita Eagle reports that the university has asked the Kansas Board of Regents to allow it to raze the 30,000-seat stadium. Cessna is currently home to the Wichita State track and field team and is also home the nation’s largest high school track and field meet. The proposal leaves in limbo what would happen to the Kansas high school state track and field meet, which has hosted around 3,500 athletes for all six championship meets…

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TOPEKA, Kan. — A Kansas man who spent nearly two years behind bars before his 1987 burglary conviction was reversed by the Kansas Supreme Court has been awarded nearly $240,000. Attorney General Derek Schmidt said Tuesday in a news release that it will not appeal a Sedgwick County Court ruling that Bobby Harper is entitled to compensation. Harper also was granted a certificate of innocence, along with education and counseling benefits. Lawmakers passed the wrongful compensation statute in 2018.

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TOPEKA, Kan. — Gov. Laura Kelly called a teleconference meeting with top Kansas legislators Wednesday to consider aid for hospitals and funding to cover costs associated with the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Democratic governor scheduled the session with legislative leaders only four days after successfully thwarting top Republicans’ attempt to revoke an order limiting in-person worship services and other religious gatherings to 10 or fewer people. She’s also faced GOP criticism as the state Department of Labor has struggled to handle a huge surge in unemployment claims from jobless workers.

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Kansas State University is extending a suspension of in-person activities through at least July 31. Any activities that can’t be canceled or held online that involve 10 or fewer people must have physical-distancing practices in place. K-State President Richard Myers says the goal is for in-person classes and activities to resume in the fall. K-State is putting together a work group to address this goal. They will aim to form a plan and timeline for on-campus classes, activities, events and research to resume and will take factors such as the availability of testing recommendations from health officials into account. A…

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Wednesday’s program featured USD 383 Manhattan/Ogden Assistant Superintendent Eric Reid and board member Darell Edie with a preview of their April 15 board meeting. Riley County Historical Museum Curator of Design Allana Parker joined us also to discuss artifacts the museum has related to the 100th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage and the amendment which gave women the right to vote nationally. We also talked briefly about how current events are being documented for the future.

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Recently unemployed due to business shut-downs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a Manhattan man as well as a local renters’ advocacy group are calling for a statewide rent and mortgage holiday. Area property managers, though, say such a large loss of revenue would have financial consequences that would not just harm their businesses, but their tenants as well. Christopher Howard, who often goes by Howey, was the manager at the Radina’s Coffeehouse and Roastery in the College of Business building at Kansas State University before being furloughed after students were advised not to return following spring break and the…

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