HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The number of farms in Reno County fell according to the latest farm census recently released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The total number of farms for the latest year of data was 1,552 in 2017 compared with 1,633 in 2012. The number of acres was also down slightly over the five-year period at 788,966 in 2017 compared with 789,525 in 2012.
The total value of a farm did increase and eclipsed the seven-figure mark for the first time with an average farm valued at $1,097,423 in 2017 compared with $862,492 five years earlier. The total amount of expenses for farmers did decrease in the county. In 2012, total farm expenses was $234.5 million or an average of $143,653 per farm. In 2017, the total expenses for the county was $203.8 million or an average of $131,378.
Farmers also made less in 2017 with an average net cash farm income of $25,567 compared with $37,412 in 2012.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A Hutchinson park could be getting a new name. A push is underway to convince the city council to rename Avenue A Park “Smallville Park.” The matter will come before the city council Tuesday.
The city has been tagged as Smallville — the official birthplace of Superman — and has held the Smallville Con for several years now. Chris Wietrick, who has been one of the forces behind the Smallville movement, has gathered a number of supporters for the name change.
The park, which is more than 20 years old, is also in need of a facelift. Wietrick feels the name change could spur more pride in the park and begin the movement to renovate the area along Avenue A and Main. The park is also the only one in the city that is not named for a person or neighborhood.
City Manager John Deardoff will also present to the council the policy for renaming parks and facilities.
Also Tuesday, the council will go over the proposed job incentive package it tabled last month. The issue surrounding whether the policy should include wording on job retention was a major sticking point that provided more than an hour of discussion but no action.
Tuesday’s Hutchinson City Council meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the Hutchinson city offices.
LYONS, Kan. — Officials have announced a benefit ride for the Rice County sheriff and undersheriff who were wounded earlier this week.
The Blue Iron Motorcycle club, which is a law enforcement club, will take the fundraising ride on May 22 at 10 a.m.
The ride will start at the old Shopko parking lot in Lyons and end at Sonic in Sterling.
All donations from this ride will benefit Sheriff Bryant Evans and Undersheriff Chad Murphy.
Murphy was wounded after attempting to serve a warrant on David Madden. He was initially taken to a Wichita hospital in critical condition.
Later, while approaching a home in Raymond, Sheriff Evans was wounded in the leg. Madden was found dead inside the home after a standoff with numerous law enforcement agencies including the Reno County Sheriff’s Office. It is believed Madden shot and killed his father before turning the gun on himself.
For more information on this ride, contact Justin Holiday at 620-680-0503 or Mark Towery at 620-680-0853.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — It was not expected, but Hutchinson motorists will get a bit of a break from the long-running Main Street renovation project this summer.
According to Jeff Peterson with Hutchinson Public Works, delays in getting some of the preliminary agreements completed and other factors mean only a small part of the next phase will be done this year.
Peterson says by mid- to late-summer work will begin on the utility portion of the project before they stop for winter. Then the rest of the work will be completed in the spring and summer of 2020.
The fourth phase of the project will run from 13th Avenue all the way to 5th Avenue. The project is expected to cost up to $4 million. Peterson says they hope to send the project out for bid in the next 30 days.
LYONS, Kan. — The Kansas Bureau of Investigation gave a brief update on the Monday shooting involving the Rice County sheriff and undersheriff.
The KBI also took time Wednesday to address David Madden’s possible connection to Megan Foglesong, whose name came up during the Wednesday press conference. The KBI stated that the case remains open and considerable efforts continue in an effort to solve the case. David Madden is suspected to have been involved in Foglesong’s disappearance. Madden and Foglesong dated off and on. She was last seen December of 2015.
KBI officials said any new information or evidence discovered during the course of the current investigations taking place in Rice County will be pursued and fully investigated. They also said that no new information or leads in the missing person case have emerged since the recent shootings.
Meanwhile, a fund was established for those inquiring about how they can assist undersheriff Chad Murphy during his recovery. Donations can be made at the Alden State Bank in Sterling or mailed to the bank at P.O. Box 288, Sterling, Kansas 67579.
Donations will be used for medical expenses or other personal or family expenses related to this incident. Murphy has been upgraded to serious, but stable, condition after he was shot four times by Madden.
Updated April 30 at 3:36 p.m.
STERLING, Kan. — The investigation continues into the shooting of both the Rice County sheriff and undersheriff in two separate incidents. Stephen Rosebrough the assistant special agent in charge with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation gave an update on the shooting that left Undersheriff Chad Murphy in critical condition and Sheriff Bryant Evans with a leg wound.
David Madden photo courtesy of the KBI.
Rosebrough was not able to shed a lot of light on the matter other than a rundown of the events that took place up to the point they found suspect David Madden dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Officials also announced that the other body found in the home where the standoff occurred was Madden’s father, 65-year-old Thomas Madden.
According to Rosebrough, the investigation suggests that when Madden shot the undersheriff, a female and a child accompanied him in the vehicle. Madden then fled the area and drove to his residence in Alden to retrieve guns and ammunition. He then went to his father’s home, where it is believed he fatally shot Thomas Madden before the sheriff and deputy arrived. Then it is believed the female left the scene. A short time later, when the sheriff arrived at approximately 5:40 p.m., he was fired upon and shot in the leg. After the sheriff was shot, Madden exchanged gunfire with additional responding law enforcement officers.
KBI agents and the Crime Scene Response Team remain in Rice County interviewing witnesses and assisting the Rice County Sheriff’s Office in processing multiple crime scenes. The condition of the undersheriff remains critical but stable. The sheriff was released from the hospital. So far, the woman that was with Madden has not been arrested. Rosebrough could not disclose her name or what possible connection she had with the suspect.
Madden was a suspect in the 2015 disappearance of Megan Foglesong and was also indicted last week on federal firearms charges. Rosebrough says the warrant that officers were stopping Madden for was not related to the woman’s disappearance.
STERLING, Kan. (AP) — The latest on a shooting that wounded a Kansas sheriff and undersheriff (all times local):
7:25 a.m.
Authorities have found two bodies in a Kansas home after a standoff that followed the shooting of a sheriff and undersheriff.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said in a news release that the Rice County undersheriff was shot and critically wounded around 5 p.m. Monday after attempting to stop a car north of the small town of Sterling, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) northwest of Wichita.
The release says the sheriff and a deputy then pursued the suspect to a home in a nearby town, where the sheriff was shot in the leg in an exchange of gunfire.
A KBI official said at the scene early Tuesday that two men’s bodies were found at the home after a standoff. Authorities haven’t released their identities, but the bureau says there is no risk to the community.
RICE COUNTY – The Rice County Sheriff Bryant Evans and Undersheriff Chad Murphy were shot at separate locations in Rice County, on Monday evening. Agents of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) responded to investigate the shootings, and assist in attempts to apprehend the suspect.
Preliminary information indicates that at approximately 5:10 p.m. Monday, Rice County Undersheriff Murphy attempted a car stop near the Sonic Restaurant, just north of the Sterling city limits. The car stop was related to a warrant for the vehicle’s occupant, David L. Madden, 37, of Alden.
Within approximately thirty seconds of initiating the car stop, the Undersheriff radioed to dispatch that he had been shot. EMS responded, and he was flown to a Wichita hospital. Murphy is being treated for four gunshot wounds, and is currently in critical, but stable condition.
Following the shooting of the Undersheriff, Rice County Sheriff Bryant Evans learned information that Madden likely fled to a residence in rural Rice County, southeast of Raymond. He and another sheriff’s deputy arrived at the residence and encountered Madden. Gunshots were exchanged, and one round struck the Sheriff in the leg.
David Madden photo KBI
The Sheriff and deputy called for assistance and additional law enforcement agencies responded. Authorities were able to surround the home, and establish a perimeter.
The Sheriff was taken to a hospital in Lyons, Kan., and was then transported to a Wichita hospital. The Sheriff is currently in good condition.
With multiple law enforcement agencies on scene, the standoff at the residence in Rice County ended early Tuesday, according to the KBI.
RICE COUNTY— The Kansas Bureau of Investigation respond to the city Sterling in Rice County late Monday afternoon, according to a statement of the Bureau.
Two law enforcement officers from the Rice County Sheriffs Office have been shot.
According to the KBI, the two officers wounded in Sterling are Rice County Sheriff Bryant Evans and the Rice County Undersheriff Chad Murphy.
The suspect is 37-year-old David L. Madden.
We are trying to confirm their conditions but the situation is still very fluid currently. Information is still pending on the status of the suspect, according to Melissa Underwood with the KBI.
Check the Post for additional details as they become available.
RENO COUNTY — One person died in an accident just after 1p.m. Monday in Reno County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1996 Saturn S driven by Marilyn C. Brooks, 61, Sylvia, was northbound on Thompson at U.S. 50. The driver failed to yield the right of way.
The Saturn struck the right front of an eastbound 2005 Dodge Ram 3500 driven by Brian Nisly, 49, Partridge, as it crossed US 50.
Brooks was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to the Sedgwick County Forensics Center. Nisly and a passenger in the Dodge were not injured.
Books and Nisly were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.
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SYLVIA, Kan. — Reno County sheriff’s deputies are responding to a serious accident on U.S. 50 near Sylvia, according to their Twitter page.
According to 911 dispatch, it involves two vehicles and might be a fatality situation.
HutchPost.com will have more updates as they are made available.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A standoff with a man believed to be in his 50s ended peacefully around 4:40 p.m. Sunday after the man surrendered without incident.
It started just after noon when police were called on the report of a man waiving guns and yelling at a residence on Dogwood Street on the north side of Hutchinson.
When police arrived, the man had already gone back inside the home and the standoff began. Officers attempted to make contact. At one point, the man’s parents were allowed to leave. They were checked out by EMS and released.
Eventually, the man came out and gave himself up. “He was taken to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center to be evaluated,” Hutchinson Police Chief Jeffrey Hooper said.
Hooper added that he was thankful it ended peacefully. The man had a handgun and a long gun, according to Chief Hooper. Hooper could not specify any details.
No criminal charges will be filed at this point. The investigation continues.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Siemens Gamesa won two projects in recent days.
The first comes from EDF Renewables North America to supply turbines for the Coyote and Oso Grande projects located in the United States. The deals further confirm the commercial success of the new SG 4.5-145 and feature a service and maintenance agreement for Siemens Gamesa’s premium maintenance program.
The Coyote project, located in Scurry County, Texas, will feature 48 SG 4.5-145 and 11 SWT-2.3-108 wind turbines. Project completion is expected for the summer of 2020.
The Oso Grande wind project will also utilize 48 SG 4.5-145 and 13 SWT-2.3-108 wind turbines and is located about 43 miles southeast of Roswell, New Mexico. The commissioning of the wind farm is scheduled for the last quarter of 2020.
The company also announced it secured a project in Canada with a signed contract to supply and commission 43 SG 4.5-145 wind turbines for a wind project with an undisclosed customer.
Assembly of the nacelles and hubs for the EDF projects will be shared by Hutchinson and other SG facilities.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Fourteen people have been jailed on suspicion of drug distribution after a series of warrants were issued by law enforcement.
The Reno County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Hutchinson Police Department, began serving several arrest warrants in Reno County on Wednesday. Thirteen people were arrested Wednesday. One more person was arrested Thursday. The sheriff’s department says the location of these arrests were from several different areas in Hutchinson, South Hutchinson and the rural areas of Reno County.
Phoebe Shaylor, Carolyn Herren, Joseph and Mandy Franklin, Casey Mead, Joseph Winkler, Dawn Gunn, Donald Trass, Jamie Davis, Martin Althaus, Duane Schwindt, Robert Harris, Larry Felker and Christina Groves were all taken into custody.
The arrest warrants stemmed from drug distribution cases that began about a year ago by the Reno County Drug Enforcement Unit. So far, approximately 65 arrest warrants have been issued for subjects of these investigations. Some of the subjects had multiple warrants issued for them because of different dates and locations where the violations occurred. Some of these arrest warrants were served on subjects that were already in custody. A few outstanding warrants remain and will be served to other subjects.
The distribution involves methamphetamine, heroin and other drugs. Many of the cases include using a cellphone to make transactions. Some suspects also face a charge of conspiracy to distribute drugs.
Most who appeared in court asked for a bond reduction, but all were denied.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Associates of the Kroger offices in Hutchinson presented the Reno County Correctional Facility with a nice check.
Capt. Shawn McClay, who is in charge of the jail, and Program Director Michael Hill Jr. accepted the check from Kroger for $2,152.
The money was collected by Kroger for allowing associates to wear jeans on Fridays.
McClay says it was his wife that really got it started. “My wife is an associate that works out at Kroger. She was telling me about their Friday jeans day,” McClay said. She wanted to put the GED program in for it to see if we got picked.”
This donated money will help inmates pay for GED testing. Each test costs $132 and is not funded through tax dollars, so either inmates pay for the classes and tests or the money comes from donations. The sheriff’s office also holds several events to help fund programs at the correctional facility.
Since opening in 2015, there have been 21 people receive GEDs while at the facility. The program is facilitated by Hutchinson Community College.
Sheriff’s officials thanked the associates at Kroger for helping make this a better community.
