TOPEKA, Kan. — A court affidavit alleges a Kansas teenager posted a video on social media showing the setting of a blaze that heavily damaged a Topeka mall in December. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports a tip to provided the next day to Crime Stoppers led investigators to the video posted on messaging service Snapchat. It led to the arrest of 18-year-old Joel Sink and two other youths. They face charges that include arson tied to the Dec. 29 fire that caused an estimated $100,000 in damage at the former White Lakes Mall in Topeka. Snapchat is a messaging service in…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. — Gov. Laura Kelly has signed a bill to extend the state’s disaster emergency declaration, allowing Kansas to continue to tap into resources for its pandemic response efforts. The legislation signed Monday extends the declaration to March 31. Health officials say 132,145 people, or about 4.5% of the state’s population, have received the COVID-19 vaccine as of Monday. Meanwhile, the state has added another 2,602 COVID-19 cases since Friday, pushing Kansas’ pandemic total to 269,255 cases. It has reported 24 more coronavirus-related deaths since Friday, bringing the state’s death toll to at least 3,622.
TOPEKA, Kan. — Advocates for older Kansans in assisted living facilities are pushing for legislation that would allow them to appeal to the state if a facility evicts them. The Topeka Capital Journal reports that the House Children and Seniors Committee plans to have a hearing Thursday on the measure. It would allow older Kansans who’ve been involuntarily discharged from an adult residential care facility to appeal to the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services. While advocates worry about evicted residents having no recourse, a Kansas Adult Care Executives official says the measure would add more burdens to an…
WICHITA, Kan. — Former Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell could be on the hook for potentially thousands of dollars in civil fines if an ethics panel this week finds he violated state campaign finance law. A complaint shows O’Donnell faces nine counts of campaign finance violations for allegedly funneling money from his campaign account to his personal checking account and to four friends he fraudulently reported as campaign workers. The Wichita Eagle reports that the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission has scheduled a hearing Wednesday in Topeka. O’Donnell could not be reached for comment Monday.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — A large Kansas City area school district is ditching the Braves and Indians mascots that four of its schools use. The board for the Shawnee Mission district, which is the state’s third-largest with about 27,000 students, voted 7-0 Monday to make a change that requires mascots to be culturally and racially sensitive and appropriate. The board then decided that the mascots at Shawnee Mission North High School and Belinder, Shawanoe, Ruston elementary schools violated that policy and will need to be replaced.
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 criminal use of a financial card in the 1200 block of Marlatt Ave. in Manhattan on January 25, 2021, at approximately 10:33 a.m. Officers listed two 29-year-old females, Apple,…
Pottawatomie County Commission Chair Greg Riat and Assistant Public Works Director Dustin Newman joined us. *Programming note – the third segment ended abruptly due to connection issues.
Jason Hilgers, City of Manhattan deputy city manager, suggested to the Manhattan City Commission at a retreat last Friday that they consider a five-year plan for the general fund. The general fund, which is around $31 million this year, has stayed about the same the past five years. Hilgers says increasing it by a few percent each year could help the city keep up with operating expenses. “Those two, three, four percent increases allow us to keep doing our jobs – what’s expected of us,” Hilgers said. “When we go zeros or we’re expected to just use what we had…
Riley County has confirmed two new COVID-19 related deaths. The first was a 91-year-old woman who tested positive on Jan. 9 and died on Jan. 22 at Via Christi Village. The second was a 72-year-old man who tested positive on Jan. 9 and died on Jan. 23 at Via Christi Hospital. This brings the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in Riley County to 30. Riley County has also confirmed 28 new positive cases and 174 recoveries since Friday’s report, bringing the number of active cases to 256. Ascension Via Christi Hospital is currently caring for 10 COVID-19-positive patients, one…