Author: Brandon Peoples

One person was taken to the hospital Tuesday night following a crash in the 2600 block of Kimball Ave. According to RCPD, officers were dispatched around 11:30 p.m. for a westbound vehicle that had left the roadway, struck a tree and overturned in the front yard of a house. Police say 19-year-old Alexander Arwine, of Manhattan, was transported to Ascension Via Christi for treatment of a significant leg laceration and pain in his ankle and hand. RCPD released no additional details about the crash.

No serious injuries were reported following a two vehicle crash Tuesday morning near Tuttle Creek Blvd and Walters Drive. According to RCPD, officers were called out to the scene just after 7:30 a.m. and found a Dodge Journey SUV had flipped onto its side and had at least one person entrapped. The vehicle had been involved in a crash with a Dodge Avenger. Citizens driving by the crash scene stopped to help assist them prior to emergency personnel arriving on scene and were able to get all occupants out of the vehicle. At least one person was transported to Ascension…

An investigation is underway after a small fire was reported Monday inside a bathroom at Manhattan High School’s west campus. In a letter sent to parents Monday evening, Principal Michael Dorst noted that students reported to a teacher around 10:30 a.m. that the soap dispenser in a boys’ bathroom in the F hall had been lit on fire. The fire was quickly extinguished. Dorst says Manhattan Fire, the Riley County Police Department and MHS administration are conducting an investigation. A post of the soap dispenser on fire was reportedly shared on Snapchat. Anyone with information to share can contact MFD,…

The search for a new district magistrate judge in the 21st Judicial District will officially begin Friday as a nominating commission plans to convene by telephone conference, to set the schedule for filling a vacancy on the court. Last week it was announced that Judge James Kepple was leaving the court to become the next City of Manhattan municipal judge. Kepple’s last day on the district court, composed of Clay and Riley counties, was Monday. To be considered for district magistrate judge, a nominee must be a Riley County resident at the time of taking office and while holding office.…

A coin flip was held at Monday’s Riley County Commission meeting to break a tie in the election of the Grant Township Clerk. Travis Shanahan, the current clerk finished with 19 votes in the Nov. 8 election. So did Riley County resident Larry Noble. Riley County Clerk Rich Vargo explains that a coin toss, while rare in local elections, has happened before. Vargo pulled out a large coin, tossed it into the air, as Shanahan called it. And with that Noble was officially elected as the new Grant Township clerk. He’ll assume the office in January.  Riley County Commissioners previously…

Riley County health officials say cases of the flu are presenting earlier this year than any of the past 13 years. The health department noted in a Facebook post Monday that data so far indicates the 2022 flu season will be severe, based on indicators from across the globe, including Australia, where a lot of H3N2 flu cases have already been seen. This strain is particularly concerning to elderly individuals and young children. As flu comes into focus, the health department also warns that COVID-19 cases remain a high concern as the county is back in the substantial incidence rating,…

Authorities in Junction City say one person died in a mobile home fire early Monday. According to a release from the Junction City Fire Department, firefighters were dispatched to 948 Grant Ave. shortly before 1 a.m. to a mobile home fully engulfed with fire at lot 381. Firefighters found one person dead inside the home. The Kansas State Fire Marshal was called in to investigate and remains the lead agency on the investigation. The cause has not been determined. The identity of the deceased individual has not been released pending a completed investigation. No first responders were injured. Multiple agencies…

It took two overtimes for the Manhattan High football team to  battle back to gain their first lead in the Class 6A state championship and it took a defensive stand on the next series to preserve their first state title since 1988, as they defeated the Trailblazers of Gardner-Edgerton 21-20. Much like it has all season, MHS relied on its defense to preserve the win, on a goal-line stand on a 2-point conversion that failed on an afternoon where both sides of the ball were tested in the trenches. “Our defense stepped up, got some stops, got some turnovers. Our…

Update Monday 8:45 a.m. Riley County Police provided an update Monday on an injury crash that occurred late Thursday into early Friday morning near Seth Child and Anderson Ave. Police say a passenger car, driven by 25-year-old Jesse Orona, of Manhattan, was northbound on Seth Child in the insde lane and crossed into the outside lane, hitting the rear of an SUV driven by 21-year-old Sabrina Reyes, also of Manhattan. The crash caused Reyes to veer right, strike the guard rail and roll several times. Her vehicle came to rest upside down on an embankment near the shoulder. Orona lost…

Pottawatomie County officials held a work session Monday, to discuss how the county will divide population into five districts, now that voters have approved expansion of the board from three to five seats. Two new commissioners will come aboard next year. County Counselor John Watt says the county’s preference is to have that occur in the November 2023 general election. “Because a special election will cost the county and arm and a leg. The state doesn’t help with all of that, it’s a county cost,” he said. According to the 2021 census, Pottawatomie County’s population was just slightly over 25,000…