Author: Brandon Peoples

A new effort aimed at reducing food waste in Manhattan and Riley County is connecting the local food industry directly with shelters, churches and food pantries that can easily re-purpose it. Riley County and Manhattan Food and Farm Council (FFC) Coordinator Vickie James says the idea for the new Flint Hills Food Recovery, grew from the vision of the now defunct Manhattan Soup Kitchen, which had aimed at something similar prior to the pandemic. Co-founders Shelly and Sande Williams donated the funds to secure the first to years of access to a mobile app called ChowMatch. With it, James says…

A Manhattan area construction company will pay more than $71,000 in civil penalties after alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7 said in a news release Friday that asphalt manufacturer Shilling Construction failed to adequately control stormwater runoff from its Manhattan facility. EPA says that led to illegal discharges of pollution into the Kansas River. Settlement documents show EPA alleges the company did not comply with certain terms of its CWA permit, including failing to develop an adequate plan to reduce pollutants in stormwater runoff, failing to construct and/or maintain adequate…

Classified employees in the Manhattan-Ogden School District will see a slight boost in pay, thanks to action Wednesday night from the school board. The board approved a $1.50 per hour increase for classified staff, retroactive to July 3. The move also brings up the base starting salary for new employees. While the wages are going up, Board President Curt Herrman had concerns that classified employees are paid a lower rate from their salary to perform student supervision duties as needed, either before or after school, or during lunch periods. “If I go out in the parking lot of my bank…

Days after a runaway teenager from Salina was reported, Wamego and Riley County Police Department officials say they believe a runaway teenager from Manhattan may be with her. In a joint news release Wednesday, the two agencies shared photos of 15-year-old Trinity and 16-year-old Alejandra. Trinity, whose last name was not provided by police, reportedly ran away from a Salina residence on Aug. 12. Trinity is a white female, about 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighing 130 pounds and had red and black hair when she went missing. Police believe Trinity may be in the Manhattan, Fort Riley or Junction…

Kansas State University is launching a new presidential initiative this fall, focused on community level engagement to help drive the university’s new strategic plan. A series of nine community visits throughout the state will take place over the course of the school year, and will include a day of conversations, events to highlight community partnerships and extension relationships, service projects and recruitment activities. The first visit will be Sept. 1 in Manhattan, targeting the Flint Hills region of Riley, Pottawatomie and Geary counties. The day will start with a community open forum at 8:30 a.m. inside the Manhattan Conference Center.…

Fourteen applications have been submitted to the Riley County Law Board for the vacant Riley County Police Department Director position, since a nationwide search was launched on May 23. RCPD says the applications, which include three from Kansas and 11 from out-of-state, are currently being reviewed by a screening committee. That committee will make recommendations to the Law Board on which applicants should advance forward, with the Law Board making the ultimate decision on finalists. In a Tuesday release, Riley County Law Board Chair Linda Morse stated the board is “systematically working its way through the process” and says once…

A 7-year-old Wamego boy has died, days after a fatal crash near Wamego that also claimed his father’s life. The Kansas Highway Patrol has confirmed that Korbin Tinkel died Saturday from injuries sustained in the Aug. 10 crash. Korbin was a passenger in a pickup that his father, 37-year-old Randy Tinkel, was driving before being struck from behind by a semi as they were attempting to make a left turn off of Highway 24, near Airport Road. The semi also struck an SUV that had slowed behind the pickup, sending it onto its side and the truck onto its roof.…

Pottawatomie County residents will consider levying a quarter percent sales tax when they head to the polls this November for a host paving and improvement projects on roads and bridges. Commissioners approved a resolution Monday, two weeks before the state deadline to pose such questions on the general election ballot. Before Monday’s vote, former Public Works Administrator Peter Clark addressed the commission as a representative of the Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation’s Board of Directors. “There’s a number of areas in our county that need to be addressed for the growth that has already occurred, to keep up with that…

Local fundraisers have been established for a Wamego family of four involved in a fatal crash Wednesday on Highway 24. The Tinkel family were in a pickup that overturned after a semi rear ended their vehicle and an SUV just east of Wamego. The crash killed 37-year-old Randy Tinkel and seriously injured his wife, 36-year-old Jillian Tinkel, a Wamego Central Elementary School teacher. The couple’s 7 and 2-year-old boys were transported to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City with serious injuries. A hospital official confirmed Friday afternoon to KMAN that both boys remain in critical condition. KMAN has not been able…

Authorities in Pottawatomie County have arrested an Emmett man on suspicion of growing marijuana. Sheriff Shane Jager says 56-year-old Brien Montgomery was taken into custody Wednesday on charges of cultivation of a controlled substance, marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia. The Kansas Highway Patrol assisted in the execution of a search warrant at Montgomery’s Emmett home. The investigation is ongoing. Those with information are asked to contact the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office or Crime Stoppers.