Author: Brandon Peoples

The Riley County Historical Museum will be closed Tuesday from noon to 5 p.m. Riley County commissioners granted the closure so staff could attend the funeral of long time executive director Cheryl Collins, who died last week following a brief illness. Curator of Design Allana Parker joined KMAN’s In Focus Monday and remembered Collins as a caring person who enjoyed sharing her knowledge of history and also listening to others. Parker was hired by Collins nearly a decade ago and says she’ll always be fond of the opportunity to work alongside her mentor. Collins began working at the museum in…

Flint Hills Christian School has announced that senior Michaela Crow is among the semifinalists for the 67th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. The school says it was not surprised that Michaela was chosen. In a release Monday, Director of Advancement Jordan Candido said Michaela is “a driven and talented leader among the students and will graduate in May as a well prepared, academically talented Warrior for Christ.” About 16,000 students nationally were selected as merit scholar semifinalists, including Michaela and five others from Manhattan High School last week.

A Junction City man was arrested in Manhattan over the weekend in connection to a rape and sexual battery reported in February. The Riley County Police Department says 20-year-old Sabian Fyre Adams was jailed Friday on four total charges, including rape, attempted rape, aggravated sexual battery and sexual battery. Police will not be releasing any additional information, due to the nature of the crime. An online criminal complaint, filed in Riley County District Court, alleges the incidents occurred in December and February of last year against someone who was 16 or older at the time. Adams is being held at…

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…