Author: Brandon Peoples

Applications are now being accepted for the Manhattan Fire Department’s student firefighter program. The program is open to college students 18 and older attending K-State, MATC or Manhattan Christian College. Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Almes likens the program to a paid internship. “The statistics on the number of people we have that go through the program and then join our fire department and get promoted, is pretty unreal,” he said. Almes says several current firefighters, including himself have taken part in the program. While some have gone on to be firefighters, others have gone on to other successful careers. Almes…

One person was injured Tuesday in a three-vehicle crash near Fort Riley Blvd. and South Manhattan Ave. According to the Riley County Police Department, an SUV driven by 62-year-old Tracy Trout collided with van and pickup truck shortly before 2:30 p.m. Trout was transported by EMS to Ascension Via Christi for treatment of chest pain and a leg injury, but no additional details were released. The van driver, 41-year-old Jerrod Warren, of Manhattan, and the pickup driver, 64-year-old Kevin Hankins, of Olsburg, had no listed injuries.

A 42-year-old Wabaunsee County man jailed in Riley County had some new charges brought against him this week. Scott Habluetzel, of Paxico, was charged by RCPD Tuesday with single counts of aggravated battery and domestic battery. The charges stem from a warrant. An online criminal complaint alleges he battered a woman December 10 at a Riley County residence. In addition, Habluetzel faces a charge of criminal threat against the same woman as well as a charge of assault on a law enforcement officer, from a separate alleged incident in mid-January. He also had a separate arrest Dec. 20 for criminal…

The Kansas Agriculture Secretary was the featured speaker Monday at the annual Riley County Livestock Association annual meeting, held at Pottorf Hall. Mike Beam spoke about the value of agricultural exports, which surpassed $4 billion in 2020, the highest total in Kansas since 2014. “The first half of that (year) was pretty stressful. Prices were pretty depressed. As we got into the later summer and fall, exports started picking up and we saw a pretty good rally in a lot of our commodity prices, largely driven by exports in 2020,” he said. Beam says 2021 values already appear to have…

A new superintendent has been named at USD 320 Wamego. At a special meeting Monday, via Zoom, the Wamego School Board announced the hiring of Rob McKim, who currently serves as Principal at Lansing High School. He was selected from a pool of four finalists that interviewed last week with the board. McKim is a rural Sabetha native with 28 years in education, including the last four years at Lansing. In 2013, he was named Principal of the Year while working at Baldwin High School. In a statement Monday, the board said it was impressed with McKim’s innovative ideas, ability…

After nearly setting a record high Monday, Manhattan is now bracing for a taste of winter weather as midweek approaches. The National Weather Service office in Topeka has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for Riley, Pottawatomie and Geary counties from 9 p.m. this evening through noon Thursday. The forecast is calling for approximately 3 to 5 inches of snow for the Manhattan area, with greater amounts likely further to the south and east. A Winter Storm Warning is posted for the same time frame from southwest Kansas to the Kansas City metro, including Topeka and Lawrence. Snow is expected to…

Pottawatomie County commissioners gave consensus Monday to extend its ongoing moratorium on solar farms until January 1, 2023. Doing so doesn’t mean the board and the county planning commission can’t still meet to draft zoning regulations. Commissioner Greg Riat says without it, a resident could in theory start building a solar farm operation on their property. “Just say we’re not going to do any solar farms in our county until January 1 of 2023 and for some reason we get our planning and zoning done in August we take it off.” The current moratorium is set to expire in March.…

A mid-week snow storm appears likely this week across much of Kansas. Up to a foot of snow could dump on some locations between Tuesday night and Wednesday, as an upper level storm system brings a band of heavy snowfall across portions of east central Kansas. Most areas will see between 5 to 12 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service in Topeka, with the Manhattan area on track to receive about 3 to 4 inches. The greatest amounts of snow are forecast along and southeast of Interstate 35. There is some uncertainty to that and forecasters say…

A virtual meeting Saturday will be the second in a series of ongoing community conversations aimed at generating ideas for potential use of kitchen and cafeteria space within the Manhattan High East Campus. The facilitated conversations are being led by the Kansas State University Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy (ICDD). An in-person discussion was held Tuesday, the first in the series of four discussions, with close to 30 residents participating. Institute Director Dr. Tim Shaffer says Saturday’s conversation will be similar, but in a virtual format, ahead of more in-depth conversations planned for February. “Saturday will be basically a…

A double homicide investigation is underway in Junction City. The Junction City Police Department says two men were found dead Wednesday afternoon at a residence in the 600 block of West Vine Street. Both had sustained gunshot wounds. Police say the victims include 26-year-old Blake McCoy, of Junction City, and 42-year-old Jeremy John Brown, of Pottawatomie County. Police say a preliminary investigation suggests the two knew each other and that there is no ongoing threat to the community. Anyone with information is urged to contact JCPD at 785-762-5912 or Geary County Crime Stoppers at 785-762-8477.