Author: Brandon Peoples

An honorary K-State doctorate degree has been bestowed upon one of the last remaining full bloods of the Osage Nation. The Kansas Board of Regents last week approved the awarding of an honorary doctorate degree to Herman Mongrain Lookout, the master language teacher for the Osage Nation. K-State President Richard Myers spoke about Lookout’s contributions, which included creation of an alphabet for the Osage language. Lookout, 79, has dedicated over 40 years to learning Osage, which used to be spoken across the Great Plains of Kansas before French, Spanish or British settlers arrived in America. Regents were unanimous in granting…

The Kansas Board of Regents gave approval to K-State, Emporia State and Wichita State Universities to charge a reduced out-of-state tuition rate to first-time freshmen or transfer students from Illinois. K-State is already offering the rate to students from Arkansas, California, Colorado, Michigan, Oklahoma and Texas. President Richard Myers addressed one regent’s concern that the program is resulting in students not remaining in Kansas after they complete a degree. The rate is 150 percent of the resident tuition rate and will go into effect in the Fall 2022 semester. Myers says the university will not incur any losses as a…

The longtime executive director of the Riley County Historical Museum has died. Cheryl Collins passed away Wednesday morning at age 68 following a brief illness, according to the Manhattan Mercury. She served as director of the museum for more than three decades and was a frequent guest on KMAN’s In Focus, where she made her final appearance back in July. She started at the museum in 1981 and became director of the museum in 1988. “We are completely heartbroken. She was one of the best and is so missed already,” said Allana Parker, curator of design at the museum in…

Demand for bus drivers remains high for the USD 383 Manhattan-Ogden Transportation Department. Close to a dozen maintenance employees and district mechanics are filling in on those routes in the interim. Assistant Superintendent Eric Reid says with activities well underway, it’s putting a strain on an already thin pool of available drivers. Reid says the district already double routes secondary schools but says they may have to go to a double route and then add a third route for elementary students if the shortage persists. Reid says having maintenance staff covering bus routes is fine in the interim, but not…

Vandalism has been occurring recently in restrooms at Manhattan High School, as well as both middle schools, following a national trend on social media. School officials sounded the alarm on the issue at Wednesday’s school board meeting, with Superintendent Marvin Wade condemning it and promising action against those responsible. The trend, popular on TikTok, is called “Devious Licks” and encourages students to steal classroom items including hand sanitizer, face masks or other items to increase views on their videos. The media company has said it is removing such content from its platform. Manhattan High Principal Michael Dorst told school board…

Masks will remain a requirement inside all Manhattan-Ogden school facilities for at least the next five weeks. School board members approved Wednesday the latest pandemic response plan update in a 5-2 vote, extending universal masking on campuses through Oct. 22. Board member Brandy Santos has opposed masks from the start and did so again Wednesday. Board member Darell Edie previously supported universal masking but voted against it this time saying he believes it may not be as effective as most health experts say it is at mitigating the spread. Part of the updated plan includes the newly updated data dashboard,…

Riley County has identified 118 new coronavirus cases in the past week and 98 additional recoveries. The latest report Wednesday, Sept. 15 also showed six unvaccinated patients being treated at Ascension Via Christi. One patient is in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. Health officials say there are 196 active positive cases and since December there have been 160 cases from variants of concern. The weekly percent positive rate for Sept. 5 through Sept. 11 was 7.1 percent, up from 5.5 percent the week before. The two week average is 6.28 percent. The Riley County Health Department has fully vaccinated 22,510…

Manhattan Parks & Rec officials are eager to open the third of three new recreational facilities later this month. Recreation Director Randi Clifford, says over the past few weeks the department has been ironing out its staffing needs for the Eisenhower Rec Center. He told Parks Advisory Board members this week the initial plans for a ribbon cutting and open house. An official time hasn’t been confirmed for the ribbon cutting but Clifford says they hope to have that confirmed by the end of this week. Parks & Rec Director Eddie Eastes says overall, the process of opening up three…

Former Assistant Manhattan City Manager Dennis Marstall has accepted a new position out of state. Marstall, who resigned from the city in late August, has accepted a job as County Administrator in Lancaster County, South Carolina. He’ll begin his new duties Oct. 18. Marstall, a K-State graduate has ties to the southeast region, having come to Manhattan in January 2019 after a 12 year stint with the City of Charlotte, North Carolina. In an email to KMAN late last month, Mayor Wynn Butler confirmed Marstall’s departure from the city but gave no indication as to why he left after just…

The Rock Creek USD 323 school board on Monday heard from patrons both in favor and against masks in schools. The issue was revisited following a recent outbreak of COVID-19 at St. George Elementary which has since improved. After hearing all public comments the board took no action. Masks remain optional for teachers, staff and students. Superintendent Kevin Logan tells KMAN, that as of Monday, there were four positive cases at St. George Elementary, a sharp decrease from the 19 reported last Wednesday. Elsewhere across the district on Monday, two positive cases were identified at Rock Creek Middle School and…