Author: Brandon Peoples

Authorities in Geary County are seeking the public’s help following a late Tuesday night pursuit in Junction City. According to Capt. David Gilbert with the Sheriff’s Office, a Junction City Police officer was attempting a traffic stop on a white Ford F-150, just after 10 p.m. in the 1800 block of North Jackson Street, after it ran a stop sign. The driver continued and led the officer on a pursuit. It eventually turned north onto US-77 where Geary County deputies took over and pursued the truck to Hickok Drive near Milford Lake, where it wrecked. The driver fled on foot.…

Earlier this month the Parkinson’s Foundation announced the recipients of more than $1.5 million in community grants for Parkinson’s programs. Included in that is Manhattan’s Meadowlark Parkinson’s program which was awarded $18,000 for iCAN with Pd, an eight-week education series offering confidence about nutrition, swallowing, daily living activities and emotional wellness. “Being awarded this grant is a true testament to the amazing multi-disciplinary team that makes up the Meadowlark Parkinson’s Program,” said Michelle Haub, Special Programs Leader. “The iCAN with PD (Confidence about Nutrition, Swallowing, Activities of Daily Living and Emotional Wellness with Parkinson’s) education series will help people with Parkinson’s and their care…

New federal legislation signed this weekend by President Donald Trump will allow certain disabled veterans to modify their homes to meet their physical needs. It bears the name of a late Manhattan veteran. The legislation, entitled the Ryan Kules and Paul Benne Specially Adaptive Housing Improvement Act of 2019, will expand Specially Adapted Housing eligibility for blind and seriously injured veterans. It will double the maximum number of awarded grants from 3 to 6 per veteran and increase the number of authorized applications per fiscal year from 30 to 120. It was introduced by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Kyrsten…

Riley County commissioners Monday approved amending the latest local health order (Local Health Order No. 17) to remove screening requirements for bar and restaurant employees. Commissioners, sitting as the board of health, made the decision after seeing what the new language includes. There were concerns from business owners and local attorney Jeremy Platt that the logs were being sent to the Riley County Police Department for contact tracing and were not voluntary, a claim disputed by Local Health Officer Julie Gibbs. Riley County Counselor Clancy Holeman says the county is willing to still look at concerns and says long as…

Recently a team of virologists in the College of Veterinary Medicine published a study showing a possible therapeutic treatment for COVID-19. The study, “3C-like protease inhibitors block coronavirus replication in vitro and improve survival in MERS-CoV-infected mice,” appears in the Aug. 3 issue of Science Translational Medicine, a prestigious medical journal. The team includes Yunjeong Kim and Kyeong-Ok “KC” Chang along with collaborators at Wichita State, the University of Iowa and the University of Kansas. According to an article in K-State Today Tuesday, the study reveals how small molecule protease inhibitors show potency against human coronaviruses. These coronavirus 3C-like proteases,…

Two women are running for seats on the Riley County Commission. Fanny Fang and Kathryn Focke were both unopposed in Tuesday’s primary election. The two democratic candidates are hoping to flip the District 2 and 3 seats respectively in their favor. Fang became a vocal critic of the commission earlier this year since incumbent District 2 commissioner Marvin Rodriguez made some controversial comments regarding Chinese people and the coronavirus. “Riley County residents have been forced to choose between education or risking the lives of their children to go to school or between the business, their livelihoods or their own life,”…

A 92-year-old Ogden man was injured Tuesday after crashing into the Manhattan Fire Department’s Firehouse No. 2, located in the City Hall building on Poyntz Ave. Riley County Police say an SUV driven by Sam Zafran struck a Chevy Silverado driven by 42-year-old Craig Dechany of Manhattan around 3 p.m. Tuesday. Zafran’s vehicle then crashed into the west bay of the firehouse, causing significant structural damage. Zafran sustained major injuries and was transported to Ascension Via Christi, then transferred to Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka. RCPD did not list any other injuries in a release Wednesday. It’s not clear what…

Much of north Manhattan lost power for about two hours Tuesday after a small fire at the substation near Walters Morgan Construction in the Northview area. An Evergy official on site told KMAN it was caused by a squirrel getting into the equipment around 8:30 a.m. It caused more than 7,200 residents mostly north of Kimball Ave. to lose power. It did not impact any of the polling sites in Riley County, which have battery back up to the voting machines. If that somehow went down, voters could still vote using a paper ballot. Evergy crews were able to reroute…

The Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office is seeking help identifying suspects responsible for stealing thousands of dollars worth of motorcycles from a Manhattan business. According to Sheriff Shane Jager, the burglary occurred sometime between July 30 and July 31 at Brooks Yamaha, located 8070 East US Hwy 24. An investigation revealed that one or more persons entered a locked outside storage area of the business and removed several motorcycles, including dirt bikes and street bikes. The total loss was estimated at about $18,000. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Rob Gordon at 785-457-3353. Tips can also be left via…

Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday for the primary election. Nearly 10,000 people in both Riley and Pottawatomie counties combined requested mail ballots, with about 62 percent (6,163) of those ballots having been received in the two counties as of noon Monday. The return rate for mail in ballots has been much greater in Pottawatomie County than it has been in Riley County. As of noon Monday, Pott. County had received 2,140 of the 2,855 mail ballots, leaving just over 700 still needing to come in. County Clerk Nancy McCarter says they also saw 289 people vote…