Author: Brandon Peoples

A 35-year-old Manhattan man is jailed in connection to past sex crimes. Riley County Police arrested Skyler James Berry Thursday on charges of aggravated criminal sodomy, two counts of rape and aggravated indecent liberties with a child. A police report was filed May 28. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in Manhattan in December 2020 and February 2021. Barry is confined in the Riley County Jail on a $250,000 total bond. Due to the nature of the crime, police aren’t releasing any additional information.

Nearly $6 million in federal funding has been approved to fund an upcoming runway improvement project at the Manhattan Regional Airport. U.S. Senators Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran announced Thursday that $5.9 million dollars from the Department of Defense has been awarded to the city for the needed expansion which will occur in 2023. Airport Director Jesse Romo says the aid is significant since the Federal Aviation Administration has only agreed to fund 100 feet of the runway reconstruction. The total cost of the project is estimated at around $54.5 million, with the FAA expected to pick up over $43…

Pottawatomie County officials are looking into a cyberattack on certain county computer networks and systems that occurred on Sept. 17. According to a statement from Public Information Officer Becky Ryan, the breach encrypted multiple servers, preventing county employees from accessing many of their everyday systems. She says immediate steps were taken to isolate the affected systems and it does not appear that 9-1-1, Fire, EMS and the Sheriff’s department were impacted. It’s unclear yet the full extent of the cyberattack but Ryan says the county is working diligently to identify the scope of the affected data and how it was…

Update – 6 a.m. Thursday Fire investigators have determined that a house fire in northwest Manhattan Tuesday evening was accidental. The Manhattan Fire Department says the fire, at 3341 Effingham Drive, started as a result of improperly disposed of smoking materials. Firefighters rescued six pets from the fire and two of them died from their injuries. No other injuries were reported. Total loss from the fire is estimated around $320,000. Original story – 9 p.m. Tuesday A family was displaced Tuesday evening after fire ravaged their home in a northwest Manhattan neighborhood. The Manhattan Fire Department says it received a…

Construction in Manhattan’s North Campus Corridor along Kimball Ave. will soon move into its next phase. City officials gave the green light Tuesday night to award a $4 million grant funded contract to Bayer Construction for the redevelopment of Kimball where it curves around the NBAF campus. City Manager Ron Fehr says some of the associated construction costs weren’t eligible under the grant. A timeline for construction is unknown at this point but will likely begin toward the end of October. That will require a full closure of Kimball between North Manhattan and Denison Ave. to allow crews full access…

Kansas State University is offering buyouts to faculty nearing retirement. In a letter penned in Monday’s edition of K-State Today, President Richard Myers announced the one-time voluntary separation incentive program which allows eligible, tenured faculty an option to leave a year early. The pay out is a lump-sum cash payment equal to that employee’s 2022 budgeted base salary, or a combination of a cash-payout and health care bridge. The latter would require a reduced salary payout to cover the cost. Myers says the funds made available from any faculty retirements will be shared with their colleges and strategically reinvested into…

An Ohio man pleaded guilty last month in federal court after admitting he called in a threat to Manhattan’s Lee Elementary School, in November 2019, which turned out to be a hoax. Allen Kenna, 20, also admitted at the Aug. 18 hearing that he was planning to set off an explosive device at a high school in his hometown of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. U.S. District Court Judge Patricia Gaughan has scheduled a Dec. 8 hearing for sentencing in Ohio. Kenna is charged with attempted use of an explosive device and interstate communication of threats,…

Questions remain over how Pottawatomie County will approach a potential cost share agreement for eventual paving on a stretch of Elm Slough Road, east of the Flush Road interchange. At issue is the prospect of right-of-way acquisitions where a new residential development is being proposed. The developer is required to pay for the 750 feet of existing roadway to the entrance of the new planned subdivision. The width of the 750 foot long piece of roadway, is currently 40 feet, which is less than the 80 feet the county generally requires for major roadways. The county could require the developer…

An 18-year-old New Jersey woman was killed Monday on Interstate 70 in Riley County in a rollover crash. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, the truck traveled into the center median several times, then rolled and came to rest on its passenger side in the median. The incident occurred early Monday morning about four miles east of the K-177 junction. Isabella Carroll was pronounced dead at the scene. Two passengers, including 23-year-old Joshua Mejias Ramos of Pennsylvania and 22-year-old Brian Cordero-Nunez of New Jersey sustained minor injuries. Both were transported to Ascension Via Christi Hospital. The crash report indicates none…

A Manhattan man is jailed in Morris County after authorities allege he stole a vehicle. According to the Council Grove Police Department, 20-year-old Andrew Franklin was arrested early Saturday morning in connection to a stolen vehicle found unattended in the downtown area. After a subsequent investigation, Franklin was booked on a charge of felony possession of stolen property. An official with the Morris County Jail said Franklin remained in jail as of Monday afternoon on a $5,000 bond. Online court records show Franklin has additional pending court cases in Riley County for battery on a law enforcement officer, drug possession…