Author: Brandon Peoples

Riley County Emergency Medical Services officials broke ground Monday on its new headquarters facility. The new 15,000 square foot space will likely be operational by mid-summer of next year. “We’re hoping July 2025 is when it should be completed,” said David Adams, Riley County EMS Director. Adams says it’s exciting to finally be at this point in the process. “This has been 29 years in the making and as we were going through the process it kept going next step, next step, next step. Now we’re at the big step. To have that groundbreaking, to see them starting to the work it…

A boil water advisory for St. Marys residents living north of Elm Street has been rescinded. The advisory had been in place since last Thursday, when severe storms knocked over power lines, causing an outage that resulted in a loss of pressure. In a Tuesday release, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said lab testing samples, collected from the City of St. Marys indicate no evidence of bacteriological contamination and all other conditions had been resolved.

Authorities are investigating an overnight shooting in Manhattan that left one person injured. The Riley County Police Department says officers were dispatched to a shooting at The District Apartments (1400 Watson Place), near College Ave. and Claflin Road at around 12:20 a.m. A 20-year-old woman was found with a single gunshot wound to the abdomen. A witness nearby tells KMAN they heard two shots back to back and then heard a car speed off going northbound toward Kimball Ave. The woman, who was not publicly identified, was transported via air ambulance to Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka. Her condition is…

A new police chief has been appointed in Junction City. According to a Tuesday release from the City Manager’s office, Kirt Nichols will assume that role effective immediately. The 33 year veteran of JCPD has served as Captain of Operations for the past four years and was interim police chief for four months in late 2019. The city is also re-creating the position of Assistant Police Chief and has appointed Cory Odell to that position. Odell has been with the department since 2009 and most recently served as a Captain on the force since 2021. The shakeup in the police…

Through 24 hours of giving, the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation was able to raise more than $1.7 million for 90 area nonprofit organizations through the 12th annual Grow Green Match Day. GMCF President and CEO Vern Henricks says it was a good day of charitable giving and enough to surpass last year’s total of $1.4 million. “This has been a great day. These 90 nonprofits have got funds that they’ve never had before. It’s just such a generous community giving day and we’re very thankful that so much support came out for them,” he said. Donations were matched up to…

State lawmakers head back to Topeka later this week for veto session. Earlier this month, Gov. Laura Kelly announced a veto of Senate Bill 233, which would place limitations on gender-affirming care for minors, including access to surgery, hormone treatments and puberty blockers. In her veto statement, Gov. Kelly has said the bill was based on a politically distorted belief that the legislature knows better than parents how to raise their children. 51st District State Rep. Kenny Titus, of Manhattan says the governor has framed a false narrative regarding the proposed legislation. Titus pointed to California law approved last year that instructs…

An investigation is underway after a 22-year-old woman reported early Sunday morning that an unknown motorist drove up beside her and shot at her car, striking it once. That incident was reported around 2 a.m. in the 3000 block of Tuttle Creek Blvd. Police are asking anyone with information in either case to contact Crime Stoppers.

Riley County Police are seeking the public’s help identifying suspects in a pair of weekend crime investigations. Police say a masked man entered a Manhattan convenience store Saturday just before 6 p.m. and stole $1,100 worth of lottery tickets. It happened at the U-Stop at Fort Riley Blvd and Richards Drive. So far no arrests have been made.

Monday is the 12th annual Grow Green Match Day in Manhattan. The Greater Manhattan Community Foundation will match donations made to each participating organization up to 50%, thanks to generous matching funds from the Howe Family Foundation. GMCF President and CEO Vern Henricks… Among the newcomers to Grow Green Match Day this year is the Food and Farm Council of Riley County and Manhattan. Council Coordinator Vickie James… Another participating organization is Thrive Flint Hills. Executive Director Jayme Morris-Hardeman says the work Thrive does spawned out of work she did previously with CASA families and children going through the foster…

State officials have announced a $3 million investment into Riley County’s water infrastructure. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment says will come from the State Water Plan, signed into law last year by Gov. Laura Kelly, and will improve wastewater systems at University Park and the Keats community. Riley County Public Information Officer Vivienne Leyva says it’s a big deal for these projects. Keats will receive funding for a new wastewater lagoon facility and collection system. The Kansas Water Office recently awarded Keats a Technical Assistance Grant to evaluate potential sites for the new facility. Riley County Commissioner Kathryn…