Author: Brandon Peoples

The Riley County Health Department has confirmed 71 new COVID-19 cases since Friday and is now monitoring 290 active cases. Health officials also confirmed 198 additional recoveries Monday. It also says 12 positive patients are now being monitored at Ascension Via Christi. Two of those patients are on ventilators. Testing has increased significantly since late last week. The health department says more than 1,000 came out between Thursday through Saturday either for the free nasal swab or saliva tests offered at CiCo Park. That testing continues through the end of the year. The health department has also received the first…

Authorities in Pottawatomie County say a poaching incident took place on Dec. 14. A whitetail doe was shot with a rifle from the roadway on Marten Road, just east of Hwy 99, about 8 miles north of Wamego. Game wardens with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism are asking for the public’s assistance as they investigate. Tips can be submitted to the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page or via the Crimestoppers link at ptsheriff.com.

Riley County confirmed 98 new positive COVID cases Friday along with 24 more recoveries. The county health department says there are now 417 active cases, a 74 case jump since Wednesday. Ascension Via Christi is caring for nine positive patients and one patient under investigation. Four of the patients are in the Intensive Care Unit. Free drive-up, saliva-based testing is now offered daily except Sundays and holidays at CiCo Park from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For more information, visit gogettested.com/kansas. The health department says free test kits for people without symptoms will soon be available to local organizations and…

Pottawatomie County health officials confirmed 57 new COVID-19 cases Friday and 63 more recoveries. The county health department, which previously said it would no longer be tracking active cases, says it worked with KDHE to create a report with those figures. As of Friday it was tracking 94 active cases, including six hospitalizations. The number of pending cases will no longer be available on the county COVID updates. The county has totaled 908 COVID-19 cases since March, including three deaths.

A Manhattan man is jailed in connection to the murder of a 2-year-old child. The arrest came following a Dec. 1 homicide investigation where the Riley County Police Department responded to a critically injured 2-year-old boy at Ascension Via Christi Hospital. The child died later that day. According to the police, 21-year-old Gage Anderson was arrested Thursday on the offenses of 1st degree murder and child abuse. Anderson and the boy shared a home in Manhattan. Anderson remains jailed on a $500,000 bond. Police are not releasing any further information due to the ongoing investigation.

K-State President Richard Myers says the university plans to continue efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 when students return next month for the Spring semester. Speaking Wednesday to the Kansas Board of Regents, Myers noted the university didn’t get the desired student turnout for asymptomatic testing, which had been offered through Lafene Health Center. “Even with incentives, there weren’t as many takers as we’d like so we’re going to take it to the student union, to residence halls to where the students are, and hopefully get more people to participate in that program so we can stop an outbreak…

Authorities in Shawnee County arrested a pair of Manhattan residents this week on suspicion of fraudulent activity at a Topeka financial institution. In a news release Wednesday, Sheriff Brian Hill said deputies were dispatched Tuesday afternoon on a report of fraudulent activity when a man and woman tried to use an altered check in the bank drive thru. They were then taken into custody. The Sheriff’s Office charged 29-year-old Dakota Wood, of Manhattan, with two counts of forgery, nine counts of identity theft, four counts of theft and a drug paraphernalia charge. Also arrested was 22-year-old Hunter Williams, of Manhattan,…

Pottawatomie County confirmed 45 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday and says seven patients are currently being treated in local hospitals. Due to a change in reporting, the county health department says the State of Kansas is assisting them in working active cases. Once cases are transferred to the state, they no longer know how many are active, which are recovered, or which are pending. As a result, the health department says those numbers will no longer be included in their regular updates. Pottawatomie County has totaled 866 COVID-19 cases since March, including three deaths. The county on Monday had 70 active…

The Riley County Health Department reported the lowest number of new COVID-19 infections in nearly a month Wednesday as the percent positive rate also continued to go down. The health department confirmed 55 new infections, the lowest since Nov. 18 when 56 new cases were identified. In addition, 52 more recoveries were tallied. The total number of active cases is 343. Health officials also confirmed the 19th COVID related death in the county, an 89-year-old man who died at the hospital this week, after testing positive Nov. 30. Ascension Via Christi is caring for seven positive patients and two persons…

No changes to the learning mode are expected prior to the holiday break in USD 383 Manhattan/Ogden Schools. Many parents have wondered if the district might opt for full remote learning days next week since school is only in session Monday and Tuesday. Assistant Superintendent Eric Reid tells KMAN the board made a similar decision last month right before Thanksgiving, primarily out of necessity, due to a high number of quarantines. “We had an outbreak at our transportation department that took a lot of them down and we were getting to a point where we couldn’t even function on a…