Author: Brandon Peoples

The Kansas State Board of Education has rejected Gov. Laura Kelly’s executive order to delay the start of the school year until after Labor Day. (The full meeting video is below) The board voted 5-5, leaving the decisions to when schools can reopen to individual districts. District 6 board member Deena Horst, whose district encompasses Riley and most of Pottawatomie County, voted no on accepting the governor’s order. “It isn’t right for the state to impose a solution on non-COVID experienced communities that reflects on the COVID-experience which is occurring in more urban communities,” she said. District 7 board member Ben Jones, whose…

Update noon Wednesday Riley County Police have confirmed a body has been located on the Konza Prairie Nature Trail. Crews from RCPD, Fort Riley and K-State Police began searching the area early Wednesday after it was reported 38-year-old Nicole Grothe, a Fort Riley warrant officer from Manhattan, had gone missing. She was last heard from on Saturday and was believed to have been hiking on the nature trail. The investigation is ongoing and more information will be shared as it becomes available. 10 a.m. Wednesday Fort Riley, the Riley County Police Department and Kansas State University Police are seeking information…

The Riley County Health Department reminds people who have had close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 patient, that they are still required to quarantine for 14 days. If you test negative for COVID-19 during that period, you are still required to complete the 14-day quarantine, due to the up to two week incubation period for the virus. This means if you test negative, for example, on day 3, you may still test positive later. Riley County reported seven new positive cases of COVID-19 in its Tuesday update, as well as eight more recoveries.  That brings the total number of active…

Riley County Police say a 20-year-old St. George man is jailed after an apparent attempted aggravated robbery at a Manhattan McDonald’s. Tayvon Agnew-Nash was arrested Tuesday morning in connection to the charge of attempted aggravated robbery, three counts of aggravated assault, felon in possession of a firearm and theft. Police say a 911 call came in shortly after 4 a.m. to the McDonald’s at 800 North 4th Street. Officers listed the restaurant and three male victims, aged 25, 26 and 30 as victims when Agnew-Nash allegedly brandished a firearm and asked for money. Police have not reported any injuries. Agnew-Nash…

Gov. Laura Kelly has issued an executive order requiring face masks and daily temperature checks in K-12 schools. The rules are stricter than guidelines adopted recently by the Republican-controlled State Board of Education. At a news conference Monday, Kelly called upon the board to support her order as well as the order delaying the start of schools until after Labor Day. “I’m asking each State Board of Education member to put politics aside and think about our children, their parents, their teachers and the survival of our Main Street businesses,” she said. By law, the state board has to approve…

The Riley County Police Department has not yet submitted its request for COVID-19 assistance through the federal CARES Act. At Monday’s brief meeting of the Riley County Law Board, RCPD Director Dennis Butler said his agency stands to receive about $63,000 for expenses brought on by the pandemic. He says they are working at determining how to best appropriate that before departments must submit proposals by July 27. Another source of funding may come from the police department’s annual Justice Assistance (or JAG) Grant, which totals approximately $19,000. Butler says some of that could potentially go to equipment upgrades for…

Four months after the first novel coronavirus case was reported in Riley County, local health officials still find themselves trying to curb the spread while also monitoring a new outbreak at a Manhattan care facility. As of Monday, Riley County Health Department Director Julie Gibbs said the county had totaled just under 400 cases since the first report positive test came into the department March 20. Active cases totaled 114 by Monday afternoon with 281 listed as recovered. Still, though many are getting tested and having to wait for the results, some as many as 10 days from the time…

Progress is being made on a potential vaccine for the novel coronavirus. Those were the words of Kansas Senator Jerry Moran Friday, who joined KMAN’s In Focus. Moran sits on the appropriations committee that funds the National Institute of Health (NIH). In a Zoom call with Kansas medical professionals July 9th, Moran says NIH Director Francis Collins testified that research is going well. “There are five paths that look promising toward the development of a vaccine. Two of them look especially promising and those two are beginning clinical trials now. The expectation is that there will be a result by…

All Riley County businesses and employers will be required to comply with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Interim Guidance responding to COVID-19. The Riley County Health Department’s Order No. 15 goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. Monday and will remain in effect until 11:59 p.m. on July 30. A summary of the guidance can be found on the CDC’s guidance web page. It includes strategies and recommendations such as conducting daily health checks, conducting a hazard assessment of the workplace, encouraging employees to wear cloth face masks in the workplace, if appropriate, implementing policies and practices for…

The Federal Communications Commission has approved 9-8-8 as the new nationwide National Suicide Prevention Hotline. U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, Chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee applauded the move Thursday. The new hotline will be operational by July 16, 2022. “This three-digit number, 9-8-8, will serve as the new national suicide and mental health crisis hotline number, connecting callers in need of help with experts who can offer resources and hope to make it through a mental health crisis,” Moran said. “As suicide is on the rise among groups such as farmers and veterans, this easy-to-access number is vital for the health of thousands…