Author: Brandon Peoples

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…

Riley County Police are investigating burglaries where a number of firearms were stolen over the weekend. According to its activity report, officers filed a burglary report Friday in the 1300 block of North 8th Street after five men reported an unknown suspect entered their home and stole a 12-gauge shotgun, a Glock 17 nine mm magazine and ammunition, in addition to electronics and other items. Officers estimate the value of the stolen items to be approximately $1,700. Additionally a burglary report was filed Saturday night in the 1100 block of Pierre Street after three people reported an unknown suspect entered…

Animal cruelty is suspected after the partial remains of a missing SIamese cat were found Wednesday in Manhattan. The remains were brought to the T. Russel Reitz Animal Shelter and examined by Kansas State University veterinarians. A necropsy was performed to investigate the cause of death which was not conclusive but animal cruelty is suspected. The cat’s owner, Bailey Jean Griffin reported the cat missing earlier in the day and in a Facebook post Thursday stated a woman found the cat’s partial body in an alleyway between Yuma Street and Colorado Street. Only the top half of the 8-year-old cat,…