Author: Brandon Peoples

State parks in Kansas are offering free admission this Friday to those wanting to get away from the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping. Those who visit any of Kansas’ 28 state parks on Friday, including Tuttle Creek State Park, will have a chance to win a free night’s stay in a Kansas state park cabin of their choice. The Department of Wildlife and Parks says to enter, visitors must take a “selfie” within any state park and share it on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram with the hashtags #OptOutside and #MyKsStatePark. To learn more about Kansas State Parks visit ksoutdoors.com.

A Wamego man arraigned last month on sexual exploitation charges is set for a preliminary hearing next week. A criminal complaint, obtained Wednesday by KMAN, charges 37-year-old Scott Hertzig with 13 felony counts of sexual exploitation of a child after investigators found him to be in possession of child pornography on April 9 and Jan. 12 of this year. Hertzig is a former a youth Tae-kwon-do instructor in the area. He was arraigned Oct. 26. A preliminary hearing is scheduled at 9 a.m. Dec. 3 in Pottawatomie County District Court in front of Magistrate Judge Erich Campbell.

More than 571,000 Kansans are expected to travel over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. While still falling about 7 percent shy of the record number of pre-pandemic travelers in 2019, AAA Kansas spokesperson Shawn Steward tells KMAN it’s a sign that most travelers are hopping in their cars and putting COVID in their rear view mirror. The national average gas price for a gallon of regular, as of Tuesday, was $3.41, while the Kansas average was at $3.06. Gas prices historically haven’t hindered travel around the holiday, but Steward says a recent poll of Kansas drivers tell a different story this…

Pottawatomie County commissioners have signed off on a contract for preliminary design and acquisition of property for the proposed detention pond north of Junietta Road and west of Moody Road in Blue Township. County Engineer Nathan Bergman discussed with commissioners on Monday a potential timeline over the next several months that could see the design portion of the project get developed. A drainage study has deemed the pond or a dam will be necessary before future residential development in that area can proceed. It would be a dry pond, primarily used for flood mitigation in the area. Ideally, Bergman says…

A Manhattan man was seriously injured in an early Sunday morning motorcycle wreck in the 4200 block of Anderson Ave. near Scenic Drive. According to the Riley County Police Department, officers found a Harley Davidson driven by 38-year-old Isaac Espurvoa had hit the median of Anderson Ave. while traveling westbound shortly before 3:30 a.m. Sunday. The bike then crossed both westbound lanes and hit the outside curb. RCPD says Espurvoa was transported by Riley County EMS to Ascension Via Christi and later life-flighted to Stormont Vail Hospital for treatment of major head injuries. An update on his condition wasn’t immediately…

The deadline for Kansas State University employees to file an exemption to the federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate has passed. Roughly 5% of the more than 9,000 university employees requested exemptions by Friday, according to K-State spokesperson Michelle Geering. She tells KMAN that 455 employees filed requests, either due to religious or medical reasons. The university said it doesn’t plan to release information on how many exemptions were for either purpose. Geering added that 82% of faculty and staff were vaccinated, according to estimates from early last week. The deadline for employees to get fully vaccinated has been extended to Jan.…

Firefighters were kept busy Saturday after a pair of house fires were reported in Manhattan. Just after 5:30 p.m. the Manhattan Fire Department was dispatched to 2025 Tecumseh Road for a single-story house showing fire from the rear. Crews made an aggressive attack on the fire, completed a search and had control of the fire within 20 minutes. One occupant, outside of the home at the time firefighters arrived, was transported by Riley County EMS to Ascension Via Christi for smoke inhalation. One firefighter was also injured on scene and transported to the hospital, and was treated and released. Loss…

RANDOLPH, Kan. — Masks are required in USD 384 Blue Valley Schools, at least for the foreseeable future. Superintendent John Cox tells KMAN the district had been operating as mask optional before an uptick in new cases after Halloween. He says the board called an emergency meeting last Saturday. “We decided it was time to go back to masks. It’s been so far a really good deal. We had several kids come back from their first round of quarantines right back into the schools so they can stay in school,” he said. The district has also implemented its test to…

Riley County Police are asking the public’s help tracking down a Manhattan man with an active warrant. John Galloway is wanted for failure to appear for a trial surrounding aggravated burglaries in December 2019 and January 2020 as well as an attempted aggravated burglary and separate theft, both from January 2020. The trial was slated to begin Tuesday in Riley County District Court, with Judge John Bosch presiding. Anyone with information as to Galloway’s whereabouts are asked to contact RCPD or Crime Stoppers.

New coronavirus cases in Riley County continue to climb, with the health department Thursday confirming 116 new positives and two additional deaths since last week’s report. The health department says the two deaths involved a 63-year-old unvaccinated female from Oct. 15 and a 46-year-old unvaccinated male on July 29. Lab tests confirmed COVID-19 as a contributing factor of death. The pandemic total of COVID-related deaths in Riley County is now 64. Active cases are now at 161, with the percent positive rate of new COVID infections jumping to 8 percent in the past week with 113 positives out of over…