TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly says Kansas should stop giving local officials the final say over the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic because experience has shown “a patchwork approach” does not work. Kelly made the comments Wednesday during an Associated Press interview a day after she and her top public health administrator argued that Kansas is now controlling the spread of COVID-19, despite high case numbers. The Republican-controlled Legislature already has committed to considering changes in emergency management laws after opening its annual 90-day session Jan. 11. Top Republican lawmakers earlier this year forced Kelly to…
Author: KMAN Staff
EL DORADO, Kan. (AP) – Another Kansas prison worker has died from complications of the coronavirus. The El Dorado Correctional Facility described Gabe Morales as a “wonderful asset” in announcing his death on Wednesday. Morales began his career with the Kansas Department of Corrections at the Winfield Correctional Facility in May 2014 and moved to the El Dorado prison in July 2015. Part of Morales’s job was to prepare inmates for life after their sentences ended. He told KAKE-TV for a story last year that, “It’s not about the person they are when they came in, you really want to…
Riley County is saying goodbye to its long serving emergency management director and fire chief this month. Pat Collins has been working for Riley County since 1977, one of the longest serving county employees. He started off working in the public works department. He was then named emergency management director in 1991, and fire chief for the District 1 Fire Department in 1995. “When I first started, they had 16 stations out there and were old block buildings. We used old forestry equipment that had been given to us. We also had over 400 people on a list, but there…
Fort Riley first responders and medical staff received the first doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday at the Irwin Army Community Hospital. “We have to continue our COVID-19 defenses—masking, hygiene and physical distancing—but as of today, we are taking the fight to the virus,” Major General D.A. Sims said. The first person on base to receive a vaccine was an emergency room doctor. In addition to medical staff, soldiers who volunteer will also be offered the vaccine so as to “protect the nation’s defense force, prevent further spread and preserve mission-essential personnel.” While the vaccine is currently being administered on a…
Riley County has reported its 20th COVID-19-related death. The victim was an 88-year-old man who died Wednesday morning at Ascension Via Christi Hospital after first testing positive on Dec. 14. Since Monday’s report, Riley County has reported 108 new positive COVID-19 cases and 37 recoveries. This brings the total number of active cases to 360 and recoveries to 4,293. Ascension Via Christi is currently caring for 11 positive patients and two persons under investigation. Last week’s percent positive rate came in at 17 percent. This is up from the week of Dec. 6, which had a rate of 12.4 percent.
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 responded to the report of an injury crash near the intersection of Tuttle Creek Blvd. and Bluemont Ave. in Manhattan on December 22, 2020, at approximately 2:46 p.m. When officers arrived on scene…
TOPEKA, Kan. — Gov. Laura Kelly has named the Kansas Department of Labor’s deputy secretary as its top administrator. Her announcement Tuesday showed she still is working to find another, permanent leader for an agency that struggled for months to process claims from workers left unemployed by the coronavirus pandemic. Acting Secretary Brett Flachsbarth is the third person to lead the Department of Labor in less than seven months. Kelly’s first labor secretary was Delia Garcia, and she resigned in June amid problems with the system for distributing unemployment benefits. Her replacement was Acting Secretary Ryan Wright, and he was…
WICHITA, Kan. — A Wichita city councilman who has been under fire for his role in a plot to frame the local GOP chairman for a false ad against a mayoral candidate has resigned. James Clendenin said Tuesday in a written statement that had “become a distraction” and that his resignation was taking effect Dec. 31. Last month, the Sedgwick County district attorney’s office filed a civil petition seeking the ouster of Clendenin. District Attorney Marc Bennett accused Clendenin of misconduct while in office, making false allegations against the chairman of the county’s Republican party and soliciting financial donations to…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A man is now charged with attempted capital murder in the shooting that injured a Kansas City, Kansas, police officer. Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe on Tuesday announced the charge against 33-year-old Jesse James Flaugher of Kansas City, Kansas. It wasn’t immediately clear if Flaugher had an attorney. The charge stems from an exchange of gunfire that occurred Dec. 15 between the suspect and the officer who had contacted him in Overland Park, Kansas. The officer was struck by gunfire in the arm and ballistic vest. He was treated for non-life threatening injuries.
WICHITA, Kan. — A Wichita woman is dead after an accident on Interstate 235. The Kansas Highway Patrol reports that the accident happened Tuesday afternoon. A woman in her 30s was traveling south in an SUV when a trailer attached to a Dodge pickup became detached, crossed the median and struck her car. The woman was taken to a hospital where she later died. Her name was not released.