Author: Brandon Peoples

The Riley County Health Department is planning its annual Okt-Flu-ber Festival Thursday. The drive-thru partitioned event is happening at the health department parking lot, located at 2030 Tecumseh Road. Appointments can be made by calling 785-776-4779 ext. 7675. The event runs 8:30 a.m. to noon Thursday and 1 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Kids will also receive a free Halloween themed gift bag with their flu shots. If you can’t make it out, the health department is also offering daily drive thru flu shots Monday through Thursday from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Appointments are required.

Hundreds of people had to be evacuated Tuesday from the Manhattan Public Library and several nearby homes after a gas main was struck by storm water construction crews in the area of 6th and Houston Street near downtown. The incident kept a portion of Poyntz Ave. closed for several hours and forced the library and others to close for the remainder of the day. According to city officials, the line was struck sometime around 2:30 p.m. however it wasn’t until after 6 p.m. that Kansas Gas was able to shut off the gas main. No injuries were reported as a result.…

A joint agreement has been reached between the Pottawatomie and Wabaunsee County Commissions to move forward with a $200,000 engineering study for repair of the Belvue Bridge. The two boards met for close to an hour Monday before agreeing to have their attorneys draw up an agreement for research into the eventual $7.5 million project that will extend the life of the bridge for 40 years. The votes were 2-1 by both commissions. Pottawatomie County Commission Chair Dee McKee dissented saying that bridge isn’t as big of a priority for the county, given its other current infrastructure needs. The statutory…

Pottawatomie County health officials are now on quarantine after one of its employees were recently exposed to someone with COVID-19. Health Officer Leslie Campbell informed commissioners Monday about some adjustments that is causing. “So some of us will be working here as essential workers and some will be working from home. We’re going to be rescheduling all of our events from this week, such as flu vaccine clinics, to later this month or early November because of that,” she said. The Pottawatomie County Justice Center reopened the second floor and courtrooms Monday. She says many of the first floor operations…

Riley County health officials are monitoring 72 active COVID-19 cases, as the percent positive has fallen to under 6 percent locally. The health department says it added 10 new positive cases between Friday and Monday and 45 additional recoveries. Ascension Via Christi has no COVID positive patients currently in its care. It’s been seven months since the first case was reported locally, and in that time 2,045 Riley County residents have tested positive and 11 residents have died from the virus. While much of the state is seeing a surge in new coronavirus cases, Riley County has gone the opposite…

The AirScout NPBI may provide the solution to eliminating coronavirus from the air and surfaces in public places and provide more confidence for individuals returning to work, classrooms, restaurants and public gatherings. Dave Ogle is the founder of Tech-UV Ultraviolet & Plasma and the developer of the AirScout NPBI, which came about recently during the pandemic, after a long career in HVAC design and engineering from a business which has installed UV-C lights in systems for years.  He says his company teamed up with North Carolina-based Global Plasma Solutions as the pandemic presented this year to conduct research into how…

The COVID-19 cluster reported at the Pottawatomie County Justice Center includes the department’s top official. Pottawatomie County Sheriff Shane Jager confirmed to KMAN Friday he too tested positive for COVID-19 recently. Jager says he’s doing well, despite losing his sense of smell. He will come out of isolation Saturday. The Justice Center cluster was identified Tuesday after the health department confirmed at least five people affiliated with the Justice Center had contracted COVID-19. Upon that announcement, the Justice Center was closed to the public. It remains closed. Health officials also announced contact tracing interviews linked several staff members who tested…

A Manhattan man was killed Thursday in a rollover crash on Interstate 70 southeast of Manhattan. The Kansas Highway Patrol says 44-year-old Shane Lingenfelter was westbound on I-70 near mile marker 319 around 6:30 p.m. when, for an unknown reason, his GMC Sierra pickup left the roadway, struck a tree, rolled and then struck a second tree. The truck then rolled into a creek, coming to rest on the driver’s side. Lingenfelter, the lone occupant in the truck, was pronounced dead on scene. The crash report says he was not wearing a seat belt.

Manhattan City Commissioners were presented on Tuesday with a less than promising look at revenues impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The city’s anticipating a drop in all 2020 revenues, with sales tax trending down 3 percent year-to-date compared to the previous two years. Assistant City Finance Director Rina Neal highlighted some of the key areas where the city has saved on expenditures in the general fund since the spring, including cuts to travel, parks and recreation, public works and a hiring freeze. “The total savings and revenue offsets are about $3.5 million, which is about 90 percent of what…

K-State’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Bryan Samuel and K-State President Richard Myers thanked participants of Tuesday’s KSUnite virtual sessions which focused on diversity and inclusion. Perspectives were offered from a diverse group of scholars who shared experiences in the fourth annual event. President Myers told the Kansas Board of Regents Wednesday it was unfortunate that despite all the good, the event was not without some disruption. “Unfortunately we got Zoom-bombed by the ‘usual suspects.’ We were able in the chat to shut those down very quickly, but not before a couple comments were made that were just disgusting,” he…