Author: Brandon Peoples

Fort Riley has updated its mask policy, making the use of face coverings optional in all indoor spaces for fully vaccinated personnel. The update was announced Monday by Brigadier General Frank Stanco, acting senior commanding general of Fort Riley. Unvaccinated personnel are still required to wear masks indoors and in non-socially distanced outdoor settings, regardless of the COVID-19 community level, which was listed as MEDIUM Monday. Medical facilities and child care facilities on post still require masks regardless of vaccination status. The update comes on the heels of the CDC’s recent updates to COVID-19 guidance for communities. The full announcement…

Following a weekend announcement that Avian Influenza has been detected in Kansas, Manhattan’s Sunset Zoo says it’s taking prevention protocol measures to protect its animals. As a result, some areas of the zoo may be closed to the public, including the Australian Walkabout, home to the zoo’s aviary and Emus. Additionally, the area housing the Caribbean Flamingos is also being closed, according to Head Keeper Savannah Brethauer in a Monday news release. Both will still be visible from outside their habitats and will remain closed while the animal care team monitors the situation closely. HPAI or bird flu, is a…

Riley County Police say a Manhattan bank was defrauded to the tune of almost $200,000 recently. According to Monday’s RCPD Activity Report, officers filed a report for theft by deception in the 1000 block of Westloop Place Friday, listing Kansas State Bank as the victim. Police say the bank reported loaning money to a vendor which was not returned after discovering the request was possibly fraudulent. The estimated total loss associated is approximately $190,000. Anyone with information is urged to contact RCPD or Riley County Crime Stoppers.

Two people, including a 9-year-old boy were killed Monday in a crash in southern Riley County. The Kansas Highway Patrol says a passenger car was eastbound on South 32nd Street shortly before 3 p.m., about a mile south of Ogden when the driver lost control, for an unknown reason. The vehicle rolled onto its side in a ditch after striking a tree. The driver, 42-year-old Cornella Jasper, died at the scene, along with 9-year-old Gavin Jasper, both of Kansas City, Missouri. The crash report says both were restrained at the time of the crash.

The sentence of a man convicted of killing a Junction City woman and her unborn child on Christmas Day in 2018 has been affirmed. The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday upheld the sentence of Dion Jamal Green, who pleaded guilty to two counts of felony first-degree murder in the death of 31-year-old Jenna Schafer, of Junction City, who was pregnant at the time of her death. Green was sentenced to consecutive life sentences with no chance of parole for 25 years. Green had challenged the procedures the Geary County District Court used to sentence him. However the court unanimously affirmed…

Several Afghan families have now resettled in Manhattan, seeking a new start, after instability developed in Afghanistan last summer amid American forces withdrawing from the region. Among those now calling Manhattan home is Idrees Khalil, who with his family of six, are among nine families to have been resettled into a Manhattan neighborhood over the past two weeks, thanks to support from the Manhattan Afghan Resettlement Team (MART). They’ve been in the Manhattan area now for a few months. Khalil says initially, he planted his roots in his home country, but noted things took a sharp turn last August. “I…

A Clay Center man convicted of sex crimes will spend more than nine years behind bars after sentencing this week in Clay County District Court. According to a release from Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, 29-year-old Jonathan Moore was sentenced Thursday by Judge John Bosch on one count of criminal sodomy, one count of indecent liberties with a child and one count of sexual exploitation. Bosch imposed a 109 month sentence for the crimes which reportedly took place over a 7 month period between April and November 2018. Moore pleaded no contest to the charges in January. The case was…

Dave Lewis signed off from News Radio KMAN on Friday, March 11. You can listen to his final hour and tributes from friends, family and colleagues below.

Thursday’s snowfall has been a significant help to the lack of moisture seen in the region for the past several months. An estimated 6 to 7 inches of snow fell in the Manhattan area. It’s the second significant snowfall in a week, following the 4.5 inches of snow that fell Sunday. It comes as the latest U.S. Drought Monitors shows more than half of Riley County and virtually all of Geary and Pottawatomie counties in abnormally dry condition. Parts of northern Riley County, including Riley, Leonardville and Randolph are listed in moderate drought, with extreme northern rural parts of the…

A status hearing for a Manhattan man accused in the death of a 2-year-old boy has been continued to next month. Gage Anderson appeared via Zoom Tuesday in front of Judge Kendra Lewison. Anderson is charged with first degree murder and child abuse stemming from the December 2020 incident. According to Deputy Riley County Attorney Bethany Fields, the lab is still in the process of gathering evidence for the defense expert to review. As a result, a pretrial conference has been reset for 4:30 p.m. on April 5. Prior to Tuesday’s hearing, online court records showed a jury trial was…