Author: Brandon Peoples

The Riley County Health Department on Monday will begin offering free testing for influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and COVID-19 viruses from their mobile response trailer.  Officials say appointments are required and there is no charge to patients for any of these tests. Residents can schedule a testing appointment online at rileycountyks.gov/test. Same day appointments are available. Results from flu and COVID-19 tests will be sent via text or email. RSV tests are generally available within 15 minutes in person. Testing appointments are available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Support from the Kansas Department of Health and…

Riley County Commissioners were presented Thursday with a briefing on its EMS headquarters renovation project, which is currently under design. Director David Adams shared concepts for a first floor plan that ArchImages is proposing as well as a concept for a possible basement for the facility, to serve as space for an emergency operations center and conference space. A geotechnical study had been planned for next week, but Adams says that process has been streamlined and got underway Thursday. Adams says there is a possibility to keep the current EMS space as a storage facility for equipment for both EMS…

USD 475 school board members are moving forward with an application for a federal defense community infrastructure program (DCIP) grant to help fund a future early childhood education center proposed on the site of the former Junction City High School. Results likely won’t be known until August. Board members Thursday expressed frustration about how district staff presented the application process, with some board members believing they had approved a motion that didn’t fiscally bind the board with matching funds. However the district at a previous meeting had noted it had earmarked $15 million of its own funds for such a…

Two Junction City men were arrested Wednesday after police seized over 2,500 counterfeit prescription pills, believed to be fentanyl, and over 13 grams of Crack Cocaine, while serving a search warrant in the 600 block of West 4th Street. The Junction City Police Department says 49-year-old Juan Castro and 35-year-old Justin West are charged with possession with intent to distribute and no drug tax stamp. Both remain in custody in the Geary County Jail, awaiting first court appearances.  According to police, the pills seized were counterfeit Oxycodone M30 tablets, commonly known on the street as “Dirty 30s.” According to the…

A Republican state lawmaker has resigned his seat in the legislature to lead the state’s largest agricultural lobbying organization. Wilson County farmer Joe Newland, of Neodesha, was elected president of Kansas Farm Bureau during the 104th annual meeting, which wrapped up in Manhattan Monday. Newland represented the 13th district in the Kansas House of Representatives, but resigned from the legislature, after being elected to replace the retiring Rich Felts, who had led the organization since 2014. Felts was honored during a Sunday banquet that included remarks from Sen. Jerry Moran. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Newland’s top priority will be…

More than 1,100 students at Kansas State University are candidates for graduation, which will take place at a number of ceremonies in Manhattan and Salina this weekend. Ceremony information, including parking and accommodations, as well as livestream information is available at k-state.edu/graduation.  Friday ceremonies include the Graduate School at 1 p.m. in Bramlage Coliseum. Regent Jon Rolph will represent the Kansas Board of Regents at the ceremony. K-State President Richard Linton will be the speaker. Vice President for student life and dean of students Thomas Lane will be the speaker at the K-State Salina ceremony, scheduled for 7 p.m. at…

The lease for the Pottawatomie Wabaunsee Regional Library in St. Marys is safe for another year, following a unanimous 4-0 vote by city commissioners Tuesday to extend it without any restrictions. That’s St. Marys Mayor Matthew Childs. Tuesday’s vote came after uproar by citizens at a Nov. 15 meeting, wanting to keep the library open, as well as pressure from the American Civil Liberties Union. Video of the Nov. 15 meeting is shared below. The issue in question –  a renewal clause proposed by Childs that, according to the Kansas Reflector, stipulated the library “not support, distribute, loan, encourage or…

More names could soon be added to the veterans memorial in front of the old Pottawatomie County Courthouse in Westmoreland after a local resident recently approached county leadership about adding a name to it. Noxious Weed Director Mark Jack says pricing for the bronze cast plates for the memorial are about $2,600. He anticipates interest in having names added will be high once the county advertises it. Commissioners were asked for direction on whether the county should fundraise or contribute to the project using county funds. Dee McKee, Greg Riat and Pat Weixelman each agreed the county could contribute to…

Officials with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks are investigating several occurrences of ill and dying wild geese in Pottawatomie County. Local Health Officer Leslie Campbell informed county commissioners Monday the state officials are investigating the cause and have taken samples of why those geese are dying. It’s not clear if these cases are tied to the current outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, but Campbell says that is the fear from state officials. Test results should be completed before the end of the week. Cases of avian influenza have been confirmed in nine Kansas counties this year including…

Manhattan city officials are planning several closures over the next week to repair a collapsed underground storm sewer on eastbound U.S. 24, near Aldi, just east of Tuttle Creek Blvd.  City crews will begin emergency work around 8 a.m. Wednesday. The outside right turn lane from northbound Tuttle Creek Blvd. onto U.S. 24 will be closed through the Discount Tire entrance. The right turn lane into Aldi will remain open.  The outside left turn lane from southbound Tuttle Creek Blvd. onto U.S. 24 will also be closed during the repairs.  The outside eastbound lane exiting Manhattan Town Center will be…