Author: Brandon Peoples

Riley County Police arrested a Manhattan man Wednesday and charged him with multiple drug counts. Tyrel Daniels is charged with nine separate counts, which include five for distribution of either marijuana, heroin or other drug paraphernalia, two counts of criminal possession of a firearm used in a non-person felony, possession of stolen property and a prior marijuana possession conviction charge. Daniels was arrested Wednesday in the 1500 block of South Scenic Drive and jailed on a $75,000 total bond. He was no longer confined as of Thursday’s RCPD arrest report.

Many elected officials, including members of Kansas’ delegation are denouncing the election protests that occurred Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol. A mob, which included supporters of President Donald Trump, breached the Capitol building as Congress was meeting in a joint session to finalize the electoral vote count. The incident placed Washington, D.C. on lock down and resulted in at least one woman shot and killed. The vote count stopped for several hours and members of the U.S. Senate and House finished their work late into the night certifying the results for President-Elect Joe Biden. Kansas’ senior U.S. Senator Jerry Moran…

The Riley County Health Department has confirmed 140 new positive COVID-19 cases and 42 additional recoveries since Monday’s report. Ascension Via Christi is caring for 15 positive patients, three of which are in the Intensive Care Unit. The county currently has 381 active cases. The percent positive rate for the week of Dec. 27 through Jan. 2 was 14.5 percent, and the previous two-week average is roughly 12.6 percent. The health department is not expecting to receive any additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccines to arrive this week and says only a couple hours notice is given to health departments…

A Manhattan man is facing charges after allegedly threatening multiple individuals with a firearm in the Aggieville area. According to the Riley County Police Department, 30-year-old Skylar Scheible was arrested shortly before noon Tuesday in the 1100 block of Fremont Street. He was charged with aggravated assault and interference with a law enforcement officer. No further details have been released. Online court records show a lengthy criminal history, including a 2010 Riley County conviction for aggravated battery as well as a 2014 burglary conviction out of Dickinson County. Scheible was jailed Tuesday on a $20,000 bond but was no longer…

The Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a series of burglary and theft reports from the past week. Among the thefts, Sheriff Shane Jager says the department is investigating the theft of about $22,000 in tools taken from an enclosed trailer at the construction site of the new Oliver Brown Elementary School in Blue Township. The incident was reported Dec. 30 and its believed the theft occurred early that morning. Two theft reports were also filed Dec. 28 after multiple vehicles had their catalytic converters removed. The Sheriff’s Office says the first theft involved a single vehicle that had its…

Kansas State University is considering starting the spring semester in a fully remote setting. In a statement Tuesday, President Richard Myers said the university hopes to see progress in the fight against the pandemic. The university remains in Phase 3 of its reopening plan and Myers says administrators are working on contingency plans for the spring, which includes the possibility of starting completely remote. In Phase 3, university employees are encouraged to work remotely if possible and mass gatherings are limited to 50 or fewer individuals. Myers says now is the time not to succumb to “pandemic fatigue,” but rather…

Riley County Health Department Director Julie Gibbs says her department believes more groups will be able to get the COVID vaccine within a few weeks. “It’s hard to give a definite timeline right now. It’s simply because we don’t have an idea of how much vaccine we’ll be getting and when we’ll be getting our next shipment,” she said. The health department is currently working to vaccinate recipients in Phase 1 of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment plan, which includes staff members at the health department, hospitals and long-term care facilities, emergency medical services and urgent care facilities.…

For the first time since its creation in 1974, the board that governs the Riley County Police Department will have four women on it in 2021. Manhattan City Commissioner Linda Morse and incoming Riley County Commissioner Kathryn Focke are the two elected representatives to the Law Board. BeAtta Stoney and Patricia Hudgins are the two citizen representatives. Morse and Stoney were both reappointed to their positions. It’s the first time women will make up the majority of the voting body. Stoney and Hudgins were both nominated by the Manhattan City Commission. Outgoing law board member Wynn Butler explains the process…

A new executive director has been announced for the Wonder Workshop Children’s Museum. Suzanne Reese will assume the position, vacated by the death of the late Richard Pitts, who helped create the Wonder Workshop in 1995. Pitts’ widow Cindy has served as interim director since her husband’s death in March. Reese has served on the museum’s board for the past six years and has spent most of her career in the human services field. Her experience includes work with youth and families in the foster care system. In a news release Tuesday, Reese called Richard the “heart and soul of…

Manhattan city officials are looking to state lawmakers for help to persuade federal officials to maintain the current width of the Manhattan Regional Airport runway. The city, which has started design of a replacement runway, says it disagrees with the Federal Aviation Administration’s position that the airport doesn’t need a 150-foot wide runway based on its operations. The city argues the runway width is crucial to its service of Fort Riley. City Manager Ron Fehr estimates if the FAA doesn’t agree to fund 90 percent of the costs, it would mean an estimated $3.5 million to maintain. “The main runway…