Author: Brandon Peoples

The Riley County Health Department on Monday added 43 new active cases to its overall count from three days prior, but also logged two more deaths from a COVID outbreak location. The total number of active cases is 663, with 719 recovered. The county recorded two more coronavirus-related deaths over the weekend, bringing the total number of deaths to eight. The two patients who died were residents of Homestead Assisted Living Care in Manhattan. Three people from that outbreak of cases have now died in the past month. In total, Riley County has recorded 1,390 cases since March. Additional details…

The Kansas Supreme Court has reversed two aggravated criminal sodomy convictions for a Riley County man. Ziad Khalil-Alsalaami was previously convicted of the two counts involving a 13-year-old girl at a house party in 2010. The Supreme Court said in its decision Friday the convictions must be reversed because his trial counsel was ineffective and therefore violated his rights under the Sixth Amendment, which ensures a right to a speedy trial. Khalil-Alsaalami argued his trial attorneys were ineffective because they stipulated that a confession he made during police interrogation was voluntary. At a hearing later on his ineffective assistance claims,…

RADCLIFF, Ky. — Junction City Police have announced the arrest of a suspect in a May double homicide. According to Captain Trish Giordano (Jord-don-oh), 21-year-old Nathaniel Roderick Holmes, also known by the alias “Nook” was taken into custody Wednesday in Radcliff, Kentucky on a Geary County warrant for two counts of first-degree murder. Radcliff is located southwest of Louisville. Holmes is currently being held in a Kentucky jail awaiting extradition back to Kansas. Bond has been set at $2 million. Holmes was the second alleged suspect in the double murder of Dylan Spencer and Aaron Villareal (Vill-uh-ray-all) on May 7.…

Manhattan High School student Kayla Lei has been named a semifinalist in the National Merit Scholarship program. In a release from USD 383, Manhattan High Principal Michael Dorst said “Kayla’s dedication to school, hard work, activities and the support from her family, teachers and friends, is what makes this recognition possible.” Lei joins about 16,000 semifinalists across the country to meet the program standards which includes scoring highly on the Preliminary SAT or National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. About 15,000 students will advance to the finalist level, and will be notified in February of the designation, based on skills, accomplishments…

There will be no Spring Break for Kansas State University students in 2021. Earlier this week, the Faculty Senate presented an adjusted spring 2021 calendar that sees the semester starting one week later on Jan. 25. Due to the late start and to keep finals and commencement on schedule for mid-May, the decision was made to eliminate Spring Break. Commencement will take place May 14 and 15. Finals are scheduled May 10-14. In a letter to students Friday, K-State Provost Charles Taber said the adjustments are being made to reduce risks related to the global pandemic by minimizing mass travel to and…

Early enrollment numbers from Kansas State University show about 3 to 4 percent decline in head count and student credit hours. Speaking to the Kansas Board of Regents Thursday, K-State President Richard Myers suggested those numbers will likely improve in the coming months. “A lot of that are international students who did not come back to campus or didn’t come to campus as freshmen. We are expecting because of work done on the visa front that the number of international students will pick up in the spring semester,” he said. The Polytechnic campus in Salina saw a 3.3 percent increase in head count…

Update: 6:45 p.m. Wednesday The Kansas Bureau of Investigation has released more information about an early Wednesday officer-involved shooting in Junction City. Preliminary information indicates that officers from the Junction City Police Department and Geary County Sheriff’s Office responded to a domestic disturbance call at 425 West 2nd Street shortly before 3 a.m. A female resident of the home was able to escape safely. Officers then attempted to contact the armed male suspect, later identified as 70-year-old James Marsh. According to KBI, when he exited the home at around 3:20 a.m., Marsh was holding a shotgun and fired shots at…

Riley County reported just 15 new positive coronavirus cases and 143 recoveries between Tuesday and Wednesday. The health department says limited testing was performed over the holiday weekend and that test results are now taking an average of 24 to 48 hours. Three patients remain hospitalized at Ascension Via Christi. The total amount of active cases is now 600, and the total recovered is 704. The health department is awaiting results of 191 tests and over 7,500 have tested negative. The cumulative total in Riley County is now 1,310 cases. Six people have died from COVID-19 related complications since March.…

The superintendent of USD 383 Manhattan/Ogden Schools says four key areas have been identified among parents as sources of frustration and anxiety following the first full week of classes. Those areas include learning logs, lack of direct instruction during remote days, the process for requesting a change in instructional delivery method and the decision-making criteria for transitioning between on-site contingencies. Dr. Marvin Wade says a lot rides on guidance from state and local health officials. “We knew that there would be some glitches along the way and there are. We are continuing to refine things like the gating criteria, continue…

Riley County added 121 new coronavirus cases over Labor Day weekend and saw 72 more recoveries. A total of 95 of those cases (79%) are between the ages of 18 and 24. Four positive patients are receiving care at Ascension Via Christi, one of which is currently on a ventilator. Local numbers climbed to 728 active cases as of Tuesday, with 561 now listed as recovered and six deaths. There are also 183 pending tests and well over 7,500 negative tests confirmed. In addition, 15 active outbreaks are now confirmed in Riley County, involving four K-State fraternities, eight sororities, Homestead…