TOPEKA — The American Civil Liberties Union is asking a federal judge to make it easier to protest inside the Kansas Statehouse. The group sought to show during a court hearing Wednesday that restrictions on demonstrations violate protesters’ rights to free speech and due legal process. The ACLU asked U.S. District Judge Holly Teeter to block enforcement of the rules while a lawsuit challenging them goes forward. The ACLU sued after three college students were banned from the Statehouse for a year for hanging banners promoting Medicaid expansion in the Statehouse in March. The ban was lifted the next day,…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has named former state Senate President Steve Morris as co-chairman of a council she is creating to review the state’s tax laws. The Democratic governor said Thursday that Morris will lead her Council on Tax Reform along with former state Sen. Janis Lee. Morris is a moderate Hugoton Republican who was Senate president from 2005 through 2012. He lost his Senate seat in a primary-election purge in 2012 by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s conservative allies. Morris and Brownback had been at odds over income tax cuts championed by Brownback. Lee is a Kensington Democrat…
Story by Nick McNamara/News Radio KMAN The Manhattan City Commission was largely supportive of the sole proposal they received to renovate the historic Community House in which they would sell the building with limitations and protections of its historical registry status. The Commission discussed the proposal, but held no vote at its Tuesday meeting. The Community House was built in 1917 by Rotarians in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma as a refuge for soldiers of World War I and II and has been on the National and State historical registries since 2006. The current proposal would sell the building, which has…
MANHATTAN — Motorists have had their fair share of detours this month in and around Manhattan. City Manager Ron Fehr on Tuesday’s In Focus said drier weather has helped keep a number of street projects on or ahead of schedule. On Monday, city officials were able to reopen Vanesta Drive. That alleviates some of the congestion as construction continues along Kimball — specifically from Plymouth Road east to Hudson — which will be closed for the Summer. “A lot of businesses in Vanesta Village that relied on some of that traffic going by Kimball are feeling that, so if that’s…
The City of Manhattan and USD383 will share the costs to re-orient the planned Middle School recreation centers to accommodate planned additions at the schools that include storm shelters. The City Commission approved the decision 4 to 1, Mayor Pro Tempore Usha Reddi opposed. The cost of the change will be at most $500,000 (a guaranteed maximum price from McCownGordon) — though city administration believes it will total less than that — to be split 50/50 between the district and city. The two recreation centers will be rotated about 45 degrees in order to allow for multiple entry points into…
MANHATTAN — Kansas State University has announced it’s selection for Dean of the College of Agriculture and KSRE. Ernie Minton has been serving as the interim dean of the college, and was appointed this week to hold the position permanently. K-State Provost Charles Taber made the announcement today in a media release. Minton’s appointment is effective this week. Before his appointment as interim dean, Minton served as the college’s associate dean of research and graduate programs and associate director of research for K-State Research and Extension from 2016-2018. A professor of animal sciences since 1995, Minton has been a member…
TOPEKA — Kansas’ tax collections have beaten expectations nearly every month for the past two years and the state expects to end June with close to $1 billion in cash reserves, but the budget problems that followed a former governor’s notorious tax-cutting experiment aren’t necessarily a thing of the past. The steep income tax cuts that former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback championed to try to stimulate the Kansas economy contributed to persistent and severe budget shortfalls that caused some GOP legislators to rebel and gave the state’s new Democratic governor, Laura Kelly, a potent issue to successfully campaign on last…
USD 384 Blue Valley/Randolph Superintendent Brady Burton joined us to discuss the Kansas Supreme Court’s recent ruling on school funding adequacy. Manhattan Area Technical College Director of Adult Education and Adult Learning Center Chris Boxberger joined us for an update on services and upcoming classes.
MANHATTAN — The Flint Hills Discovery Center was akin to a wild prairie Friday night for the finals of the Kansas Cowboy Poetry Contest. Dinner jackets, t-shirts and cowboy hats represented the diverse crowd who listened intently to eight brave souls reciting their original Cowboy prose. The poems fell into two categories; Serious and Humor. Some told sweeping stories of cowboy life and landscapes… Others chose more whimsical tales of renegade possums and tough-skin cowgirls… The winners, Scott Wisewell of Valley City for Serious and Danny McCurry from Ash Grove, Missouri on the Humorous side will don the coveted Governors…
Update WICHITA — A federal magistrate has spared a Wichita businessman prison time after he pleaded guilty for his role in concealing the transfer of betting information from illegal poker games. Brandon Steven was sentenced Tuesday to three years of probation and 200 hours of community service. He also forfeited nearly $1.1 million as part of a plea deal on one misdemeanor count of being an accessory after the fact to the transmission of wagering information. Prosecutors say Steven assisted a person prevent apprehension, trial or punishment related to illegal gambling. Defense attorney James Hobbs told the judge his client…