TOPEKA, Kan. — Coronavirus hospitalizations have fallen in Kansas from their high last month. Staffing is under less strain as the shaky vaccine rollout gains momentum. But overall case numbers remain stubbornly high. Kansas Department of Health and Environment data shows that 889 adults were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases as of Tuesday. That’s down 30% from a high of 1,282 on Dec. 2. It was the lowest COVID-19 patient count since early November. The drop is good news for fatigued staff, who had to work overtime while co-workers were infected or quarantined. The situation grew so dire that…
Author: KMAN Staff
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Officials in Lawrence say a woman has died after being hit by a train in Lawrence. Television station KSNT reports the incident happened late Wednesday night at BNSF tracks near Second and Indiana streets. Officers and medics were called to the scene by someone reporting that a person had been hit by a train. Arriving officers found a gravely injured woman. Medics attempted life-saving measures, but police say she died at the scene. Her name was not immediately released.
WICHITA, Kan. — A 61-year-old Wichita man will have to serve up to 225 years in prison for sexually abusing three children of women he knew or dated. Nathan Brazille was sentenced Tuesday for the abuse of three children as young as 6 or 7 between 2016 and 2018. Brazille was convicted on nine counts in September 2019. Sedgwick County District Judge Jeffrey Syrios ordered Brazille to serve nine consecutive life sentences. Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said that because the sentences are consecutive, Brazille would not be eligible for parole for 225 years.
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 in the 500 block of McCall Rd. in Manhattan on January 13, 2021, at approximately 3:19 p.m. Officers listed Menards as the victim when it was reported an…
Thursday’s program featured guests from Fort Riley’s Tax Assistance Center, which opens Jan. 26. Director Elizabeth Thurston and Officer In Charge 1st. Lt. Brittany Simon previewed the free service, which is open to soldiers and their families, as well as military retirees. Fort Riley Garrison Commander Col. Will McKannay delivered the State of the Garrison update to media members on Tuesday and we replayed that on In Focus Thursday morning. We also got an update from Manhattan Regional Airport Director Jesse Romo regarding 2020 enplanement numbers, revenues and runway improvement plans as well as an update on a proposed parking…
A big change is coming for the Manhattan Mercury. Ned Seaton, Mercury publisher and editor in-chief, says the newspaper will be switching from five days a week print schedule to three days a week. Seaton says the Mercury will be utilizing their digital platform more and only printing the paper on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday each week. He adds that it is tough, but it might actually have an upside for the readers. “First and foremost we are still publishing in print, and we are doing so three days a week,” Seaton says. “We anticipate that those versions of the…
OMAHA, Neb. — An environmental group is challenging a recent U.S. government decision to reclassify a large scavenging beetle as threatened instead of endangered with a lawsuit. The Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity said Tuesday it plans to sue over last fall’s move to list the American burying beetle as threatened. It had been considered an endangered species since 1989, and the location of its habitat in Plains states created issues for the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Federal officials have said that conservation efforts over the past 30 years have helped the beetle’s population recover. It can now be found…
TOPEKA, Kan. — Gov. Laura Kelly has told fellow Kansas residents that her usual yearly call for bipartisanship is not enough in light of last week’s mob violence in Washington and said the state’s leaders “must commit ourselves to set an example.” Kelly focused much of the annual State of the State address Tuesday night on the COVID-19 pandemic and avoided outlining broad new initiatives outside of promising to push again for Medicaid expansion. The Democratic governor turned near the end of her speech to the failed insurrection last week in which extremist supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the…
OLATHE, Kan. — A Kansas man has been found guilty of federal securities fraud and sentenced to four years’ supervised probation. The office of U.S. Attorney General for Kansas Derek Schmidt says in a news release that 64-year-old Michael Davin, of Olathe, also was ordered Monday to pay more than $81,000 in restitution to a former client. Davin pleaded no contest to a single count back in December. Prosecutors say Davin failed to disclose to the investor that he had prior felony convictions, including two for theft. The securities case was initially filed in October 2018.