HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A Nickerson teen suspected of distributing marijuana has been formally charged.

Justin Porting, 19, is charged with being in possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia with intent to distribute. The arrest came in the 5600 block of West K-96 on April 8.

Porting reportedly had between 25 grams and 450 grams at the time of his arrest.

Porting is free on bond and will be back in court May 15.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Despite the cool weather, the Mennonite Relief Sale on the Kansas State Fairgrounds was a success.

“The crowds were better than last year,” Matt Voth, sales manager for the event, said.

The unofficial total from the event is at $504,296. Officials say there are a few auction items outstanding and often donations come in after the sale.

Money was raised in a multitude of ways:

Quilt auction – $115,479
General auction – $69,189
Silent auction – $9,535
Kansas Crafts – $15,710
Quilters Corner – just over $25,000
Feeding the multitudes – $46,701
New Years Cookies – just over $19,000
Baked goods – $20,496
Verenika – just over $29,000
Run for relief – $29,198
My coins count – $18,878

The Mennonite Relief Sale is the second-largest single event on the fairgrounds each year.

WICHITA, Kan. – It’s finally time to say farewell. Demolition of the old Mid-Continent Airport terminal is scheduled to begin Monday.

Officials say tearing down the structure, which houses the building maintenance division in the basement, is delicate work. Workers are wrapping up the final stages of the interior demolition. This consisted of asbestos mitigation, electrical relocation, mechanical work, and East Data Center relocation. Servers, hardware, conduit, and fiber from the East Data Center are all being transferred from the old terminal building to another secured site on airport property.

The old building consists of two components, the main terminal and the concourse. Demolition of the east and west concourses was completed at the tail end of the new terminal project. Still remaining is the main terminal building, which included ticketing, baggage claim, retail food and beverage, security and rental car counters.

The section with the ticketing wing will remain and will be renovated to house airport operations, store airport vehicles and serve utility functions.

Conco Construction was selected as the general contractor to complete the demolition. Bradburn Wrecking Company was selected to do the demolition along with several sub-contractors.

Bradburn will begin the demo on the southeast end of the structure, using demolition equipment such as a wrecking ball, track hoe, and front-end loaders to knock down and remove the old structures.

This process is expected to take roughly six months.

In mid-to-late August, they will begin back-filling. This process will ultimately fill the hole in the ground that will be left once the structure is gone.

The total cost of the entire project is $8.8 million and is funded with airport revenue.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A 36-year-old Hutchinson man entered pleas to 22 charges Friday for crimes spanning from July 18 to Dec. 15 of 2018.

Sammy Cox was charged with aggravated burglary, theft, forgery and drug charges — which included forging checks stolen from a local church and other businesses.

Reno County District Judge Joe McCarville sentenced Cox to five years in prison for all of the charges.

TOPEKA, Kan. — The Kansas Court of Appeals denied the state’s appeal Friday in a drug distribution case after Reno County District Judge Trish Rose suppressed evidence in the case.

It started on July 17, 2016, when law enforcement officers received a report that a man lying in a ditch off K-61 Highway in rural Reno County might be injured. The officers responded to the call and found Richard Manwarren II lying in the grass about five feet from the highway.

As officers arrived on the scene, Manwarren stood up and walked toward the officers to greet them. There was no indication of criminal activity and Manwarren did not appear to be injured or intoxicated.

He told officers he was waiting for a ride. They then asked for his ID. Manwarren produced a Kansas photo ID card. Instead of returning the card to Manwarren, an officer ran a warrant check and dispatch indicated he had an active warrant for failure to appear.

Manwarren was placed under arrest and was asked whether he had anything the officer should know about. Manwarren said he had drugs in his pocket and scales in his backpack.

He was charged by the state with possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to distribute, and possession of hydrocodone.

Manwarren filed a motion to suppress. Judge Rose agreed and suppressed the evidence. The state appealed, but the appeals court agreed with Judge Rose and affirmed the judge’s decision.