Author: Brandon Peoples

Three people were injured Thursday in a head on crash near the intersection of Tuttle Creek Blvd. and Seth Child Road. The Riley County Police Department says the crash happened just after 4 p.m. east of the intersection. According to PIO Aaron Wintermote, the crash occurred when an eastbound Ford Focus driven by 16-year-old Helen Curry, of Riley, crossed into the westbound lane and struck a Chevy Equinox driven by 58-year-old Rebecca Slack, of Manhattan. Slack was life-flighted to Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka for treatment of lower extremity injuries. Curry and a passenger of the Equinox, 57-year-old Mark Danford,…

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly was in rural Riley County Thursday to proclaim Beef Month, which continues through the end of May. The governor visited the Lyons Ranch, about 13 miles south of Manhattan off of McDowell Creek Road where she spoke about Kansas being recognized for healthy cattle and high quality, nutritious beef. “The Kansas Beef Industry is also well respected worldwide for the people in the Kansas beef community; people who lead the way in research, health, marketing and advocacy. People like the Lyons family. Jan and Frank Lyons and their daughter Amy and son-in-law Carl epitomize that leadership,”…

A Manhattan man has been arrested in connection to a 2020 alleged kidnapping. The Riley County Police Department says 45-year-old Antonio Cooper is jailed on a warrant for charges of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated battery, criminal possession of a weapon by a felon and two counts each of criminal threat and aggravated assault. Police say the allegations are from a September 19, 2020 incident in the 500 block of North Manhattan Ave. The victim, a 44-year-old woman reported that Cooper forced her into a car, hit her, and threatened her with a gun. Cooper was arrested Wednesday after being extradited from…

Severe weather is a possibility for the region through Saturday. The National Weather Service says a cold front will push through Thursday evening and thunderstorms are expected to develop along a boundary that could move into north central Kansas, which will weaken as they move eastward. The weaker storms will likely continue into Friday morning. It’s anticipated that the hazards would be damaging winds of 60 mph and large hail up to an inch in diameter. Forecasters aren’t as certain about how quickly storms will weaken. A slight (level 2) risk for severe storms is in place for the Manhattan…

Residents operating short-term rental properties in unincorporated areas of Riley County now must apply for a license, with yearly renewals, following updated regulations passed by the County Commission May 5th. This applies to Airbnb and Vrbo rentals. Licenses will be granted only once properties are in compliance with a list of requirements in the updated Riley County Land Development Regulations. That incldues having working smoke detectors in each bedroom, weekly trash collection and appropriately sized egress windows for the property. Planning and Development Director Amanda Webb says the goal of the new short-term rental license program is to protect the…

The Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce announced Tuesday that a Canadian company will open a new commercial scale manufacturing plant in Manhattan. HydroGraph Clean Power, Inc. will produce graphene, nanomaterial used across many industries, and hydrogen for alternative-energy fuels. The company’s CEO Stuart Jara, cited the company chose to be near its research partners at Kansas State University. HydroGraph partnered with university researchers in 2017 to develop an exclusively licensed patented detonation process discovered by K-State’s Dr. Chris Sorensen, a Cortelyou-Rust distinguished professor. According to Jara, Sorensen’s method produces the most consistent, high-quality and cost-effective graphene on the market, with…

Conditional use permits for proposed rock quarries in Pottawatomie County are getting some attention, primarily from local residents uninterested in living too close in proximity. One of them, requested by Mid-State Materials, would be located on Reves Road, south of Wheaton. But the planning commission recently recommended denying approval. The Pottawatomie County Board of Commissioners can override that decision with a two-thirds majority on the three seat commission. Resident Travis Ross is a fourth generation farmer in the area and spoke against the Mid-State Materials request at Monday’s meeting. “As a resident we are concerned about the gas line by…

Both of Manhattan’s representatives in the Kansas House have filed for re-election. 66th District Representative Sydney Carlin announced this week her intent to seek another term. The 77-year-old Democrat has held the seat since 2003. She currently serves on the House Appropriations Committee and is the ranking member on the Agriculture Committee and Natural Resources Budget Committee. She also serves on the Joint Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice Oversight. Carlin ran unopposed in the 2020 election. 67th District Representative Mike Dodson will seek a second term serving in the legislature. The 76-year-old Republican and former city commissioner announced earlier…

The superintendent at USD 323 Rock Creek Schools is departing the district at the end of the school year. Kevin Logan was offered a contract last month to become superintendent at Hesston, in south-central Kansas. He’ll begin his duties July 1. “This area, this school district Rock Creek, in particular, is amazing. The community has felt like family, welcoming us in since day one in 2016,” he said. Hesston is familiar territory for Logan, who worked as a teacher there earlier in his career. He says the district is similar in size to Rock Creek. “It’s a little bit smaller.…

COVID-19 tests will be available through Friday at the Riley County Health Department’s testing location at 3019 Anderson Ave. Health Department Director Julie Gibbs says free at-home test kits are available at the health department, the public library and the Leonardville City Offices. Several pharmacies, urgent care centers and most doctor’s offices will continue to offer testing. In its latest weekly report Wednesday, Riley County had identified four new cases and 15 additional recoveries, noting just two active cases in the county and one hospitalized COVID-19 patient. The Office of Vital Statistics confirmed one additional COVID-19-related death involving an unvaccinated…