Author: Brandon Peoples

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…

Riley County Police arrested a 31-year-old Wamego resident on charges of soliciting a minor for sex. According to its Monday arrest report Jaime Lara was charged Sunday with one count of indecent solicitation of a child and one count of indecent liberties. The victim in the alleged incident was under the age of 16. Lara remains jailed on a $15,000 bond. ———– A Fort Riley man was arrested over the weekend after it was alleged he threatened a woman and her two children with a gun. RCPD charged 21-year-old Abed Sbeih on New Year’s Eve with four counts of aggravated…

Riley County health officials have confirmed two additional COVID-19 related deaths, bringing the pandemic total for the county to 22. The first patient, a 79-year-old man died Dec. 30 after testing positive earlier in December. The second patient, an 82-year-old man died Saturday after testing positive just three days prior. The health department also confirmed 116 new positive cases and 184 additional recoveries since its previous report last Wednesday. As of Monday, Ascension Via Christi was caring for 14 positive patients and one person under investigation. Four of those positive patients are in the Intensive Care Unit. Riley County has…

2020 is a year most of us would probably prefer to forget about. As we enter 2021, it seemed only fitting to put a wrap on the year that was and look back at some of the top stories we followed at the local level. The list was compiled based on engagements seen through our website, social media channels and impact to the community. Cramming 10 stories into a year filled with so much news wasn’t an easy task, but without further ado, here’s a look at some of the biggest news stories we saw in Manhattan. Each story is…

Two additional COVID-19 related deaths have been confirmed by Ascension Via Christi Hospital in Manhattan. Hospital president Bob Copple says one patient was a resident of Riley County and the other a resident of Pottawatomie County. The hospital continues to care for 15 positive patients as of Thursday. As the year draws to a close, Riley County has seen 4,917 positive cases to date, since March 20 when Drew Smith became the first Manhattan resident to test positive. There are 353 active cases. Pottawatomie County has totaled 1,097 cases overall according to the health department, including 22 additional cases since…