TOPEKA — Kansas State Rep. Greg Lewis says he will resign to concentrate on his battle with a cancerous brain tumor. Lewis, a Republican from St. John, said Monday on the Kansas House floor it is becoming apparent to him that he can’t represent his district to the level his constituents deserve. His resignation will be effective Friday. The fourth-generation cattle rancher was first elected to represent the 113th District in November 2016. The Wichita Eagle reports Lewis said he learned of his cancer while visiting his son in Kansas City on Christmas Eve. He says he has had three…
Author: KMAN Staff
The Vietnamese Student Association at Kansas State University held a Lunar New Year celebration at the Student Union on Saturday. The event kicked off in Forum Hall with a presentation on the folklore that started the holiday known as Tết. Afterwards a strange man entered on stage starting the traditional dragon lion dance. The dancers danced on stage and then made their way through the audience leading them out into the Union Courtyard. The dance continued into the courtyard, which was filled with food, drinks, and traditional Tet celebration paraphernalia. This dance was followed up by another traditional dance used with…
WICHITA — A new $4.4 million facility is being built at the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center in Wichita to treat veterans’ addictions. Medical center director Rick Ament said at a groundbreaking Friday that the inpatient center is “a badly needed service for veterans between Kansas City and Oklahoma City.” The Wichita Eagle reports that the hospital sends between 15 and 20 veterans every month to Leavenworth or Kansas City for residential treatment for substance abuse. VA spokesman Akeam Ashford says the new facility will have 12 beds to treat veterans in Wichita. There are currently 183 veterans enrolled…
Monday’s guests on In Focus were Manhattan City Commissioner Jerred McKee, Manhattan Public Library Author Maddy Ogle, and Krystin Guggisberg and Rachel Pate with the Polar Plunge.
TOPEKA — Kansas’ two Republican U.S. senators worry about the precedent set by President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the border with Mexico to secure more money for a wall. Sens. Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts said Saturday that they are concerned that a future president could use a similar declaration to impose policies that Congress has not authorized. The White House has said $6.1 billion will be redirected to the wall. But the senators said they are still studying the question of how much authority the president has under the U.S. Constitution to make such a…
HUTCHINSON — The deadline is approaching for applications to grow the state’s new industrial hemp research crop. The Kansas Department of Agriculture will take applications for growers who want to be part of the state’s research program until March 1. The Hutchinson News reports state lawmakers created the research program last April. The federal government also has declassified industrial hemp as a controlled substance as part of the 2018 Farm Bill. State agriculture department spokeswoman Heather Lansdowne says Kansas law still allows only research on the crop. Previous to the federal farm bill, Kansas could only establish a research program…
The Kansas City Royals reached a deal with Drew Storen at the end of last week. Storen joins Brad Boxberger and Jake Diekman as bullpen arms added to the Kansas City organization this offseason. Storen joined the Royals at their Spring Training facility in Arizona as a non-roster invitee, but with a wide open bullpen, he has a strong shot at making the Opening Day roster. Storen will be a reclamation project for the Royals as he is coming off Tommy John Surgery, missing the 2018 season and last playing in 2017 with the Cincinnati Reds where he had a…
A Kansas bill co-sponsored by an area legislator that says homosexuality is intrinsically religious and would ban counties from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples faces hurdles to becoming a law as well as criticism from some area political and religious leaders. The Marriage and Constitution Restoration Act (HB 2320), introduced by Sabetha Rep. Randy Garber and co-sponsored by multiple representatives including Wamego Rep. Ron Highland, would define same-sex marriages as “parody marriages,” prohibit the state from legally enforcing any policies that permit or respect such marriages in addition to disallowing counties from issuing licenses for parody marriages. It also…
Change of both perspective and leadership were the night’s themes during the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting and Banquet. The Chamber held the 94th annual event in the Manhattan Conference Center Friday, Feb. 15. “Change is debilitating when done to us, but exhilarating when done by us,” says Matt Crocker, 2018 Chamber Board of Directors Chair. “Let’s be exhilarating, Manhattan.” Crocker started off the night by recapping the year which included plenty of change — from the retirement announcements of multiple big names around the community such as Chamber President and CEO Lyle Butler to the unveiling of…
TOPEKA — Payless ShoeSource appears headed for a second bankruptcy which could lead to the closure of all of its retail stores including a location in Manhattan. Multiple media outlets are reporting that the struggling shoe store, founded in Topeka, is heading back to bankruptcy court. It would be the second time in as many years. According to Reuters, Payless had been trying unsuccessfully to find a buyer and when it became apparent no deal could be reached, the store opted for liquidation. In 2017, Payless restructured its business with hopes it could survive its financial woes. It exited bankruptcy…