Author: Brandon Peoples

The Manhattan Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Committee plans to move forward with its community celebration this Saturday, in a virtual setting. The Committee will host “The Dockum Drugstore Sit-in,” a presentation of Humanities Kansas. It’s hosted by keynote speaker Prisca Barnes, founder of Wichita nonprofit Storytime Village. The presentation brings to light the July 1958 staged peaceful protest at the Wichita Dockum Drugstore against the unequal practice of segregation. While not publicized in newspapers, participating students worked to gain access to public spaces, like movie theaters and restaurants. It will take place at 4 p.m. Saturday, via the Manhattan…

Local health departments have opened signup lists for those members of the public wanting the COVID-19 vaccine. The Riley County Health Department says it’s working to compile a list of names and contact information for those who would like to receive the vaccine once it becomes available. The distribution plan will be based upon a pre-determined phasing system created through guidance from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Anyone interested can sign up on the RCHD website, but signups can also be taken over the phone Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to noon or 1 p.m. to 5…

Following a pandemic shortened legislative session last year, state lawmakers returned to Topeka this week amid continued challenges, not the least of which is protocols While the process of getting vaccines distributed has been slow, 66th District Representative Sydney Carlin (D-Manhattan) remains hopeful more can get the vaccine soon. She says having the vaccine would make her more comfortable, especially since there are a more than a dozen representatives in the House refusing to wear masks. “I think that’s going to create a super-spreader event if we don’t get that stopped. The more of us that can get vaccinated and…

After Manhattan’s Ascension Via Christi Hospital reported its highest number of COVID-19 positive inpatients, that number has declined slightly. Health officials (today) Wednesday confirmed Ascension Via Christi is caring for 23 positive patients, down from a high of 25, including five being treated in the Intensive Care Unit. In addition, 83 new positive cases and 80 more recoveries have been confirmed. The health department says there are 480 active cases currently in Riley County. The percent of Riley County residents testing positive for COVID-19 during the first week of January was 12.6 percent, a jump of nearly 3 percent from…

One person is dead and two others are injured following a crash Tuesday evening near Rossville. Authorities were dispatched shortly after 7:30 p.m. after a passenger car struck a deer on Hwy 24, about a mile east of Rossville. The driver was attempting to avoid hitting the deer, and in doing so, left the roadway, drove into a ditch then turned back into the roadway where it struck an oncoming vehicle. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, 63-year-old Lucinda Mitchell of Rossville, a passenger in the first car, died at the scene. The driver, 61-year-old Christopher Mitchell, also of Rossville,…

Riley County Police arrested a 21-year-old man Monday on a warrant for his involvement in an alleged incident from last spring. Timothy Bell is charged with two counts of aggravated burglary, one count of aggravated robbery and one count of kidnapping. An online criminal complaint alleges that on May 22, Bell broke into an apartment in the 1800 block of Claflin Road and robbed a victim at gunpoint, taking an unspecified amount of cash, then kidnapped the victim. He was jailed on a $35,000 bond but was no longer confined as of Tuesday’s arrest report.

A trial date is now set for a former Manhattan restaurant owner accused of multiple counts of sexual abuse. At a status hearing Monday, held via Zoom in the case of Robert Iacobellis, Judge Kendra Lewison scheduled a motions hearing for 9 a.m. April 21, with a seven day jury trial slated to begin June 10 through June 18. It’s anticipated the first two days, which are a Thursday and Friday, will be designated for jury selection, with the trial continuing the following week. Iacobellis, who was arrested in August 2019, remains jailed on 26 charges, including allegations of rape…

Kansas State University’s Lafene Health Center has been selected as a vaccine distribution site and will receive and administer vaccines for students, faculty and staff, based on the state and local priority groups and vaccine availability. When that happens is uncertain, says K-State Vice President for Communications and Marketing Jeffery Morris. “We have the protocols, we have the freezers to store the vaccines, we have the processes figured out, we have the databases necessary to track and follow up with people to get their second round of shots,” he said. “What we don’t have right now is any vaccine.” Morris…

Ascension Via Christi is now caring for 18 COVID positive patients, the highest number of active hospitalizations in Riley County to date. The Riley County Health Department also reported Monday it has two patients under investigation at the hospital, four of the positive patients are in the Intensive Care Unit. In an email to News Radio KMAN Monday, Via Christi President and CEO Bob Copple stated the census at the Manhattan hospital has been trending upward for a few weeks, with a mix of non-COVID and COVID patients. “This is the situation we are all trying to avoid where you…

One person was injured late Saturday night in a two vehicle crash in Clay County. The Kansas Highway Patrol reported the driver of a minivan was southbound on Hwy 15 attempting a left turn but failed to yield to an oncoming northbound Chevy Silverado. As a result, the pickup overturned and came to rest on the east shoulder. The driver of the minivan, 83-year-old Loretta Jackson of Junction City, sustained a possible injury according to the crash report. She was wearing a seat belt. The pickup driver, 63-year-old Vernon McGee of Clay Center, was taken to Clay County Medical Center…