Author: Brandon Peoples

A Clay Center meat processing plant is a total loss after a fire late Tuesday night. Fire crews responded to the Clay Center Locker Plant near Hwy 15 around 11:30 p.m. According to WIBW-TV, an explosion was reported after firefighters had been on scene for a half hour, which blew out the front windows, with debris landing on the highway. Highway 15 was closed for several hours overnight as a result. A cause of the fire has not been determined. This is a developing story.

Manhattan firefighters say a sprinkler system extinguished an apartment fire early Wednesday morning. The structure fire at The Links, located at 517 Gatlinburg Way, was reported shortly before 4 a.m. Crews found a three-story apartment building with nothing visible from the outside. An investigation determined the sprinkler system activated in the kitchen of a first-floor apartment and extinguished the fire. A dog and cat were safely removed from the apartment The occupants of the apartment were not home at the time. No injuries were reported. Loss is estimated at $5,000 to contents and $15,000 to the structure. The fire cause…

The Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the recent theft of a van, a trailer and a UTV in rural Wamego. Deputies were dispatched Monday for the theft of a white 2001 GMC G2500 van, with an attached flatbed trailer that was hauling a 2008 Polaris model black UTV. It’s believed the theft occurred sometime around 6 a.m. Monday in the 4600 block of K-99. The van was recovered later Monday in Jackson County by the Potawatomi Tribal Police. The trailer and UTV are still missing. The Sheriff’s Office asks anyone with information to contact Capt. Darrin Stewart at 785-457-3353.…

Traffic congestion in the Aggieville area should ease up soon as construction nears completion on the new Marriott hotel near 12th and Bluemont Ave. Sidewalk improvements continue in front of Coco Bolo’s and Starbucks, with work adjacent to the hotel and turning the corner onto 12th Street within the next four to six weeks. Deputy City Manager Jason Hilgers tells KMAN the City Engineer is feeling the pressure to reopen the right eastbound lane as the project gets closer to being finished, which should allow traffic to move more smoothly through town. “It’s something we look forward to doing here…

New construction continues to soar in Pottawatomie County despite the pandemic. County Appraiser Robin Knoblauch presented an overview of assessments for fiscal year 2020. Included within that was new construction which is up over 10 percent compared to last year. “$54,920,370 in new construction for the year 2020 during a pandemic is crazy to me. But the market’s pretty hot. It’s a seller’s market right now by all means,” Knoblauch said. Overall, the total valuation of all property in Pottawatomie County increased nearly 3 percent. The average sale price for county residential dwellings in 2020 was approximately $245,000. Most of…

Geary County officials say one person was hospitalized following a three-vehicle wreck early Monday morning. The crash was reported around 11:30 a.m. near the intersection of US 77 and K57 highways. According to the Geary County Sheriff’s Office, a Ford Escape, driven by Nam Nguyen of Junction City was north on US 77 when he entered the intersection and collided with a Dodge Ram pickup driven by Phillip Boler, also of Junction City. The collision caused Nguyen’s car to collide with a Jeep Wrangler, driven by Tyler Merkle of Fort Riley. Merkle was stopped in a turn lane on US…

Kansas Department of Transportation officials are starting work Tuesday on a $1.9 million bridge replacement project along eastbound Hwy 24 over Blackjack Creek, near St. George. The project, slated for completion in early 2022, will see median crossovers built over the first three to four weeks, a one lane reduction of traffic in both directions with a speed reduction to 50 mph. Existing median crossovers at Blue Run Road, Blackjack Road and between Deer Haven Lane and Franklin Drive will all be closed. On the north side of the highway, no left turns will be allowed for traffic to or…

Kansans safely disposed of nearly 57 tons of personal documents as part of National Consumer Protection Week. Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced Monday that more than 2,600 residents dropped off close to 114,000 pounds of documents at 10 locations, including Manhattan’s CiCo Park between March 1 and March 6. It eclipses the 2016 records which saw more than 2,100 consumers take part and dispose of over 50 tons of documents. The disposal helps keep secure information out of the hands of identity thieves, a rapidly growing crime affecting millions across the country. K-State Credit Union of Manhattan was one of…

Pottawatomie County commissioners revisited talks on solar farm zoning regulations Monday. Commission Chair Greg Riat motioned, and Vice Chair Pat Weixelman seconded temporarily suspending commercial solar farms until zoning regulations are adopted or six months has passed. Solar companies have been exploring land parcels as potential sites in Pottawatomie County. Riat says initially, one company was offering farmers around $600 per acre, but says the price has since risen substantially. But because no rules are currently in place governing solar farms, it’s unclear how and if the county can take advantage of a hot market. “If there is any pressure,…

Riley County health officials say two additional COVID positive patients have died. The patients were both females, aged 69 and 80. The 69-year-old tested positive Jan. 7. The 80-year-old tested positive Jan. 19. Both women passed away March 10. Their deaths bring the total COVID-related deaths in Riley County to 35. The health department says nine additional positive cases and 14 more recoveries have been identified since its previous report last week. Ascension Via Christi is caring for two positive patients, but currently has no COVID-positive patients in the Intensive Care Unit. There are 53 active cases. The county has…