Author: Brandon Peoples

USD 383 Manhattan/Ogden Schools have announced that beginning Monday, the Eugene Field Early Learning Center will move to all distance learning for the remainder of the semester. The move was made due to a high number of staff and students who are in quarantine or isolation because of COVID-19. The district says the building will remain closed through Jan. 4 as a result. No changes have been announced at any other school buildings. According to the Riley County Health Department this week, the percent positive rate of new COVID infections was at 25.5, with 389 positives out of 1,527 total…

A virtual commencement ceremony for 2020 graduates at Kansas State University is set for next week. The university says a virtual recognition is planned for 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18 at k-state.edu/classof2020. Starting Monday, the website will have special features to complement the celebration, including virtual stickers and badges as well as a social media stream with an event-specific hashtag. They’re asking grads to use #KStateGrad and tag the university to show how they are celebrating. In addition, K-State’s 2020 graduates are invited to take part in spring 2021 commencement ceremonies, assuming they will happen. Planning will begin in January…

Kansas Lieutenant Governor Lynn Rogers has been tapped by Gov. Laura Kelly to be the next state treasurer. Rogers will succeed Republican Jake LaTurner, who was elected to Congress last month in the state’s 2nd District. Rogers spoke at the Capitol Thursday morning. “As state treasurer I look forward to the unique opportunities in developing partnerships with the Office of Rural Prosperity and other elected officials to really address and determine how the programs and services that are currently in the treasurer’s office can help to address the current needs of Kansans,” he said. Rogers begins in his new role…

A Junction City man has pleaded guilty on a host of assault charges related to a January shooting in southwest Manhattan. According to Riley County District Court records, 19-year-old Jalen Gill pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of criminal discharge of a firearm, aggravated assault and three counts of child endangerment. One person was injured Jan. 29 after Gill fired a single shot in an occupied building, injuring a 29-year-old victim, who was treated and released for a non-life threatening injury. In addition, Gill pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated assault from a July 25 incident where Gill pulled…

Groundbreaking for the new Aggieville Parking Garage is set to take place Friday. City officials closed the parking lot along Laramie Street, south of Rally House where the new structure will be constructed. A virtual ceremony for the new garage is scheduled at 4 p.m. Friday with Mayor Usha Reddi, city staff, architects and the general contractor on hand. The new garage is expected to be completed by the end of 2021. It will be five stories tall, with 450 parking spots and will have 8,000 square feet of space for possible office and commercial space. The project is estimated…

The Riley County Health Department says it will adopt the new 10-day quarantine guidelines proposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Kansas Department of Health and Environment for close contacts of a COVID-19 positive individual. The new guidelines take effect Thursday, meaning those in quarantine now and going forward can get out of quarantine after the 10th day if they have not developed COVID-19 symptoms. Riley County will not adopt the alternate 7-day quarantine option. According to CDC, with the 10-day strategy, residual post-quarantine transmission risk is estimated to be about 1% with an upper limit of about 10%.…

Riley County’s Community Development Block Grant business retention program has received $132,000 from the Kansas Department of Commerce. The extra funding will help assist with job retention for low to moderate income persons who may have lost their job due to the economic fallout from COVID-19. Up to $13,200 is available per business per job that’s retained. Those businesses must be located outside Manhattan city limits, but within Riley County. Money remains available to help additional businesses with COVID-19 related losses experienced between March 1 and the December 31, subject to approval. Grants will be awarded to applicants who submit…

Wamego High School will continue its hybrid learning mode through the remainder of the semester, which wraps up Dec. 18. The district announced via Facebook Tuesday its guidance committee made the decision, based on guidance from Pottawatomie County health officials. Wamego High switched to hybrid about a month ago, following four positive COVID cases which led to nearly 100 quarantines within the building. USD 320 Superintendent Tim Winter says the district is committed to getting students back on site as soon as possible following the holiday break. Winter will join KMAN’s In Focus Wednesday morning at 9:06 a.m. He’ll be…

Gov. Laura Kelly says the state is mapping out its plan for eventual distribution of the coronavirus vaccines. The governor was the featured speaker at Tuesday’s Power Lunch, hosted virtually over Zoom by the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce. “We’re expecting actually our first shipment of the vaccine this week. We will get another shipment in another week and then there will be weekly shipments of both vaccines,” she said. The Food and Drug Administration is anticipated to approve an emergency use application for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines over the next two weeks, after recent studies found them to…

The Riley County Health Department is confirming 118 new positive cases of COVID-19 since Friday and now says over 4,000 residents have tested positive since the pandemic began. The total number of cases since March is 4,023, of which 384 are currently active. That means, since the first case was presented March 20 (262 days ago), Riley County is averaging 15 new positive COVID cases each day. Ascension Via Christi is caring for 11 positive patients and two patients under investigation, showing symptoms. Three of those patients are in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. There remain 13 active COVID outbreaks…