WICHITA — The alleged ringleader of a foiled plot to massacre Somali Muslims in southwest Kansas is appealing his conviction and prison sentence. The attorney representing Patrick Stein filed Monday a formal notice of appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Stein was one of three militia members convicted of planning to blow up a mosque and apartments housing Somalis in Garden City. A judge sentenced Stein last month to 30 years for conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and 10 years for conspiracy against civil rights. The sentences will run concurrently. Stein will also return to…
Author: KMAN Staff
LAWRENCE — A Silicon Valley company has donated $2 million to the University of Kansas to support research related to cryptocurrency and digital payments, such as Bitcoin. The university says in a news release that the donation from Ripple will provide $400,000 each year for five years. It will go to the Information and Telecommunication Technology Center at the Kansas School of Engineering. The university will determine its own research topics and Ripple, which provides digital commerce services, will collaborate with students and faculty and provide technical resources and expertise. The gift also will support the KU Blockchain Institute, a…
LAWRENCE — The Kansas Farm Bureau has given an achievement award to a 28-year-old, first-generation farmer who had a profitable year by diversifying his offerings. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the bureau recognized Scott Thellman as its Young Farmer and Rancher of the Year. Bureau official Edie Doane says Thellman is unique because he doesn’t fit the mold of the average young farmer working within a multigenerational family farm. Doane says it’s challenging for first-generation farmers to enter the industry. Thellman owns the 50-acre Juniper Hill Farms, LLC, near Lawrence. He grows specialty crops, including lettuce, watermelon, pumpkins and winter…
WICHITA — A federal judge is refusing to again delay the trial of Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell after plea negotiations break down. U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren on Monday noted O’Donnell’s trial had already been postponed four times. The judge chided co-defense attorney Joshua Ney for not attending the status conference where the date was set and then waiting until two weeks before trial to ask for another continuance. Ney cited in a motion last week his heavy workload, telling the court plea negotiations stalled on Feb. 4. The government has accused O’Donnell of fraudulently obtaining $10,500 from his…
Riley County was proclaimed a POW MIA (prisoner of war, missing in action) county from the Jefferson Barracks Museum out of St Louis during the Riley County commission meeting on Monday. VFW Post 1786 Commander Dan Watkins, along with fellow VFW members, presented the POW MIA county sign to commissioners. He said this day was an important day for the county since the county will be the first POW MIA county in Kansas and the second in the country. Watkins was also joined Museum Executive Secretary Richard Heigert who provided the proclamation. He said this POW MIA City and County program…
Tuesday’s guest was Riley County Commissioner Marvin Rodriguez.
MARSHALL COUNTY — A Frankfort woman was hospitalized after her vehicle was struck by a semi in rural Marshall County Monday. The Kansas Highway Patrol says shortly before 12:30 p.m., 18-year-old Elizabeth Taylor was attempting a northbound turn from Parallel Road onto Kansas Highway 99. The location is about five miles north of Blaine. As she did so, a northbound semi struck her vehicle from behind. Taylor was transported to Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka with a suspected serious injury. She was wearing a seat belt. The semi driver, 47-year-old William Fuller of Platte City, Missouri was not injured. He…
Manhattan area vexillologists have an opportunity to show off their skills in a new city contest announced Monday, Feb. 11. Manhattan is seeking designs for a new flag and will accept submissions through Friday, March 29. Submissions will be reviewed and narrowed down to one or two options by the Arts and Humanities Advisory Board, with the winning design to be decided by a public vote sometime in May. The winner will also be recognized by Mayor Mike Dodson and receive a flag of their own. Assistant City Manager Dennis Marstall says the city hopes the new flag will be…
A bridge about 1 mile east of Tuttle Creek Boulevard in Northern Riley County is closed indefinitely, according to a release from Riley County Public Works. The Stockdale Park Road bridge over Mill Creek — located in Grant Township — has sustained critical concrete section loss in its deck. Photos released by the department show that enough concrete has been lost that re-bar is showing in some sections. Officials recommend any motorists use alternate routes.
TOPEKA — Kansas has a 100 percent annual turnover rate among entry-level equipment operators on highway maintenance crews. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has pointed to Department of Transportation staffing woes as a prime example of where she found worse-than-expected problems before she took office last month. But some Republican legislators are skeptical that KDOT faces a crisis. They believe Kelly is overstating state government’s problems to push the GOP-controlled Legislature into higher spending. Kansas has had a national reputation for good highways because of its commitment to big, multi-year transportation programs since the late 1980s. But the department says it…