The Flint Hills Breadbasket has a new executive director. The nonprofit agency has announced the hiring of Karla Hagemeister, who takes over after 22 years with the Riley County Attorney’s Office and two years as a social worker. Hagemeister also currently serves on the Manhattan-Ogden School Board and is a past president of the board. Breadbasket Chair Doug Haverkamp said in a statement Monday that Hagemeister brings tremendous work experience and leadership skills to the position. Hagemeister succeeds Maribeth Kieffer who retired from the position earlier this month.
Author: Brandon Peoples
Brandon Peoples
KMAN News Director and host of In Focus. Contact Brandon at Brandon@1350KMAN.com
Two people were killed over the weekend in separate fires in Pottawatomie County. Jill Bronbaugh, a spokesperson for the State Fire Marshal’s office tells KMAN the first fire occurred Saturday at 303 Bidwell Street in Emmett. The second occurred Sunday at 7301 Flint Rock Road, in rural St. George. Both instances involved single fatalities, though investigators have not released their identities, pending notification of next of kin. The cause of both fires remains undetermined, but Bronbaugh says both investigations are ongoing. KMAN has reached out to the Pottawatomie County Fire Department for more information. In addition, two more fatal fires…
A Riley County woman riding a motorcycle was seriously injured Sunday afternoon north of Manhattan, in a three-vehicle crash. The Kansas Highway Patrol says 31-year-old Elizabeth Cook-Antoniato and 30-year-old Michael Cook-Antoniato, both of Riley, were westbound on Tuttle Creek Blvd near K-13 around 4:30 p.m. Sunday. As they approached the intersection, a Toyota Sienna stopped at the stop sign, failed to yield the right-of-way. Both bikers struck the van and crashed. The patrol says Elizabeth was seriously injured and Michael had a minor injury. Both were transported to Ascension Via Christi Hospital in Manhattan. Authorities said neither were wearing helmets.…
An investigation is underway into an alleged threat at Manhattan High School earlier this week. A report for aggravated criminal threat was filed just after noon Wednesday, according to Friday’s Riley County Police Department Activity Report. Officer listed a 16-year-old suspect, identified as Daniel Marshall, of Manhattan, who reportedly used an educational technology site known as Padlet, to post a threat toward the school. Marshall was arrested Thursday morning and subsequently charged with aggravated criminal threat. He was transported to the North Central Kansas Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Junction City. In a separate incident, RCPD also arrested a 15-year-old…
WESTMORELAND — It was a busy day for sentencing in Pottawatomie County District Court Thursday. Wrangler Hooker A 19-year-old Pottawatomie County man convicted in the rape of a 4-year-old girl will spend close to 25 years behind bars. Wrangler Hooker was sentenced by Chief Judge Jeff Elder Thursday to 287 months in prison, including 165 months on a single count of rape, and 61 months each on single counts of aggravated indecent liberties and sexual exploitation of a child. Each count carries an additional 60 months of post-release supervision. County Attorney Sherri Schuck stated in Thursday’s hearing that Hooker intentionally…
Informational public meetings are scheduled in March surrounding the future of solar farms in Pottawatomie County. The county plans to host two come-and-go meetings where people can ask questions from county planning and zoning officials regarding proposed regulations regarding solar facilities. The meetings are a precursor to an anticipated formal public hearing this spring with the Planning Commission. Planning Commission and Planning and Development staff have been drafting regulations since last March for large-scale solar farms. The proposed regulations cover small-scale solar projects known as solar gardens. Meetings will take place March 3 at Iron Clad in Wamego and March…
The Riley County Health Department continues to see active COVID cases drop as testing demand also continues to decline. The latest weekly update Wednesday showed 249 active cases in the county. It includes 230 new cases along with 374 additional recoveries since Feb. 9. The two-week rolling percent positivity rate fell to 16.6 percent, from 22.3 percent for the previous period. To put that in perspective, last week the active cases were at 394. Two weeks ago, active cases were at 638 and peaked at well over a 1,000 active cases just one month ago. Ascension Via Christi had eight…
An Oklahoma-based employee-owned horse and livestock trailer manufacturer has announced expansion into Kansas and the subsequent acquisition of Manhattan’s TravAlum, a local aluminum trailer manufacturer in the Green Valley Business Park. Cimarron Trailers announced Wednesday it has acquired the assets of TravAlum and will convert the existing space into its first expansion outside of its home base in Chickasha, Oklahoma. The asset acquisition will close TravAlum on March 30 and it will re-open under the re-branded Cimarron title March 31. The roughly 30 Manhattan based employees are being encouraged to consider new positions at Cimarron. Economic development officials are praising…
The Flint Hills Regional Leadership Program has announced it will expand to include members living in Wabaunsee County. The board chose Wabaunsee County due to its geographic and economic ties to its other member counties which include Riley, Pottawatomie and Geary. Wabaunsee County Commission Chairman Joel Fager said in a Monday release that expansion represents “an investment into young business, community and government leaders that will define the future of the county.” Executive Director Jack Lindquist adds that Wabaunsee County will host the class for a day this fall to explore common local themes – to include prairie utilization and…
Kansas State University’s new president wasted no time getting to work Tuesday, providing testimony to the Kansas House Committee on Higher Education Budget. Dr. Richard Linton spoke to committee members about the university’s support for Gov. Laura Kelly’s proposal to hold tuition flat by increasing nearly $50 million worth of public-private scholarship funds to universities across the state. He also highlighted some of the ongoing needs for the university, which includes a backlog of $442 million in deferred maintenance for Mission Critical Facilities. “It’s like getting on a treadmill, when you’re running at 3 and the treadmill is going…