Author: Brandon Peoples

A new kids’ bike park skills course is coming soon to Frank Anneberg Park. The plan is a partnership between the Manhattan Parks and Recreation Department, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee BikeWalkMHK, private donors and volunteers. Work begins at 9 a.m. Saturday. In a release from the City of Manhattan Thursday, Parks and Rec Director Eddie Eastes said the goal is to help kids build skills . They’re hoping to have the park completed and open by next week. He says it’s designed for children aged 3 to 10 but older kids and adults will be able to use…

President Joe Biden on Thursday announced perhaps the most sweeping new federal vaccine requirements for as many as 100 million Americans to curb surging COVID-19 numbers. The president’s plan, requires businesses with 100 or more employees to have workers fully vaccinated or face weekly testing. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration would oversee the requirement and businesses that fail to comply could face fines up to $14,000. The rule also requires that large companies provide paid time off for vaccination. Biden’s plan faces an almost certain legal challenge. Top Republican Kansas lawmakers are already criticizing the president’s approach. Senator Roger…

The fate of three co-defendants, charged with the 2019 murder of a Manhattan man during an attempted robbery, won’t be resolved until after the first of the year. A trial for Richard Goens is scheduled for Jan. 6, with a pretrial hearing on Dec. 20. Goens, along with Jaylon Hitsman and Shamar Sutton are each charged in the shooting death of 23-year-old Tanner Zamecnik outside a west-Manhattan apartment complex on Nov. 1, 2019. Goens and Sutton are each charged with counts of first-degree murder, attempted aggravated robbery, aggravated battery, aggravated assault and criminal discharge of a firearm. Goens additionally faces…

An official ribbon cutting for the new Junction City High School will take place next month. School officials announced Thursday they’re planning to unveil the new $132 million, $437,000 square foot facility at 10 a.m. Oct. 9. Students will lead tours following the ribbon cutting. The new school, which broke ground in April 2019, opened to students and staff in late August and replaces the former high school, which was built nearly 70 years ago. The district initially had planned to host the public tours in August but was forced to reschedule due to construction delays.

10:30 a.m. Thursday update A 7 year-old boy is recovering at a Topeka hospital after being struck by a car while waiting at a bus stop Wednesday morning. The boy, identified in RCPD’s activity report as Tommy Hagadorn-Brecken, was crossing the roadway when he was hit by a 2017 Chevy Cruze driven by 78-year-old Andrew Spencer Tomb III, of Manhattan. The incident occurred just after 8 a.m. Wednesday near the intersection of Tuttle Cove Road and Terra Heights Drive. The child was airlifted to Stormont Vail Hospital for serious, but not life threatening injuries. Original Story – 10:50 a.m. Wednesday…

The City of Herington’s Police Chief and Assistant Chief have been ordered to appear in court for allegedly entering a home without a search warrant. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said Wednesday that 36-year-old Police Chief John Matula was ordered to appear in Dickinson County District Court, along with 43-year-old Assistant Police Chief Curtis Tyra. Matula faces allegations of criminal damage to property and criminal trespass. Tyra is accused of criminal trespass. The incident in question is believed to have occurred on May 18 when the two allegedly forced entry into a residence without a search warrant. KBI continues to…

Two additional COVID-related deaths have been confirmed by the Riley County Health Department, bringing the pandemic total for the county to 57. In the latest report, published Wednesday, the health department said a 51-year-old unvaccinated woman died Sept. 3 after testing positive three weeks earlier. The other individual, a 75-year-old man, was identified by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment as a probable case and verified by the Office of Victim Services. That individual was said to have died Sept. 15, 2020, nearly one year ago. At the time of his death the vaccine was not authorized or available.…

COVID numbers are said to be improving at St. George Elementary following an outbreak of cases last week. At one point, as many as 22 cases had been reported since Sept. 2, the most of any active cluster in the state according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s website Wednesday. Rock Creek Schools Superintendent Kevin Logan provided an update on the situation during KMAN’s In Focus. Elsewhere, he says there have been less than a handful of positive cases at the middle and high school and at Westmoreland Elementary. The district has implemented test to stay and test…

Geary County authorities apprehended a wanted man Tuesday morning after he briefly eluded police officers. The Geary County Sheriff’s Office says David Paul Jones, was brought into custody shortly before 11:30 a.m. He was wanted out of Dickinson County for domestic battery. Authorities say Jones ran from police after he had been spotted near the Otter Creek Bridge on Lyons Creek Road, south of Junction City. He was located about an hour later where he was arrested without incident.

An April trial date is set for a Manhattan man accused of murdering two people last fall in the Stagg Hill area. At a Tuesday hearing, Judge John Bosch set a trial date of April 5, with a two-week setting for Montrell Vassar, who is charged in the shooting deaths of 23-year-old Javon Gray and 19-year-old Skyler Havens on October 9, 2020. Vassar, who remains in custody, entered a not guilty plea earlier this year. Prosecutors have alleged in previous court hearings that Vassar acted with pre-meditation and that the two men were gunned down from behind. A pretrial hearing…