Manhattan is now looking at a 0.47 mill increase in the proposed 2020 city budget after the City Commission agreed to shuffle expenses between a few accounts at its Tuesday meeting. If passed as is, the total mill levy for the city in the 2020 budget will be 49.821 mills compared to 49.355 in 2019. Entering the fourth budget session, the city was looking at a 1.657 mill increase until commissioners gave consent to use Economic Development money to fund the Flint Hills Area Transportation Agency as well as the portion of Conference Center funding that was in the Bond…
Author: KMAN Staff
STERLING — A man on horseback has found a missing 87-year-old Kansas woman with Alzheimer’s. KWCH-TV reports that 76-year-old Garry Battey was out riding when he found Vonita Renae Colle safe Tuesday about a quarter mile (0.4 kilometer) from her home in Sterling. Colle had been reported missing Monday, leading to a search. Battey says the Lord told him where to go. Colle was taken to a hospital for evaluation, and a statewide Silver Alert for her was canceled.
TORONTO — A moderate Republican legislator from southeast Kansas plans to resign Saturday for health reasons. State Rep. Larry Hibbard of Toronto told The Hutchinson News that he has chronic hives and has to “get rid of some stress.” Hibbard said he already had planned not to seek re-election next year. Hibbard is a rancher who won his House seat easily in 2012 but faced a serious Republican primary challenge in 2018. He voted in 2017 to reverse past income tax cuts championed by former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback. He supported GOP tax relief legislation this year but voted to…
WICHITA — Wichita State University’s aviation research program has landed a $33 million contract for the Army’s high-speed missile program. The Wichita Eagle reports that the three-year contract calls for the National Institute for Aviation Research to make the missiles lighter and cheaper while improving performance. Wichita State interim president Andy Tompkins said in a news release Tuesday that the contract will give students, both undergraduates and graduates, “an advantage no other university in the country can match.” The university previously was awarded a three-year, $23.5 million Air Force contract develop technology for automated, in-service inspection of military aircraft.
Officers filed a report for theft in the 2800 block of Amherst Ave. in Manhattan on July 9, 2019, at approximately 10:15 AM. Officers listed Little Apple Honda as the victim when it was reported an unknown suspect took two Michelin Primacy tires. The estimated total loss associated with this case is approximately $766.00. Police ask that anyone with information please contact RCPD or the Manhattan Riley County Crime Stoppers. Using the Crime Stoppers service can allow you to remain anonymous and could qualify you for a cash reward of up to $1,000.00. Officers filed a report for theft in the…
Wednesday’s guests were Wamego USD 320 Superintendent Tim Winter and Rock Creek USD 323 Superintendent Kevin Logan joining us for the first half hour. Then joining in on the last two segments were Drew Casper and members of his family.
Tuesday’s guest was Riley County Commission Chairman Ron Wells.
TOPEKA — A one-time speechwriter for former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius says she will begin a campaign on Tuesday for an eastern Kansas congressional seat. The Kansas City Star reports that Democrat Abbie Hodgson will seek the party’s nomination to challenge freshman GOP Rep. Steve Watkins in Kansas’ 2nd Congressional District, which includes Lawrence, Topeka and Leavenworth. The 37-year-old Hodgson is a former Kansas House Democratic staff member who has spent the past two years working in Washington, D.C., for Pew Charitable Trusts. She has moved back to Kansas and says she will step down from her position with Pew’s State…
TOPEKA — A state court judge is declining to give a Kansas clinic permission to provide telemedicine abortions. Shawnee County District Judge Teresa Watson Monday rejected a request from the Trust Women Foundation to block Kansas from prohibiting telemedicine abortions. Trust Women operates a Wichita clinic that in October began providing pregnancy-ending medications to patients who conferred with off-site doctors by webcam. But the clinic stopped Dec. 31 because the legal climate was uncertain. Another Shawnee County judge ruled Dec. 31 in another case that three bans enacted by the Republican-controlled Legislature since 2011 can’t be enforced. But Trust Women…
WICHITA — A new government report shows Kansas growers are still far behind in bringing in this season’s winter wheat crop. The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Monday that 61% of wheat in the state has been harvested. That is well behind the 84% typically cut by this late in the season. About 92% of the wheat in Kansas has matured. The agency said about 58% of the wheat out in the field is in good to excellent condition. About 27% is rated as good with 15% in poor to very poor shape.