Author: Brandon Peoples

E-scooters officially launch this weekend in Manhattan. Kansas State University and the city have partnered with e-scooter company LINK to pilot the micro-mobility program this fall. Initially the plan had been to launch the e-scooters in April, but plans were shifted by the coronavirus pandemic. “Many students, faculty and staff  have been asking for an e-scooter share program as an easy and energy-efficient way to move about campus and the community. After extensive research of similar programs in other university communities and in collaboration with the City of Manhattan, we’re excited to partner with LINK because we believe that they…

Sunset Zoo is celebrating the recent births of a white-handed gibbon and a Caribbean flamingo. The zoo announced the births in a release Thursday. The gibbon, named Neta, was born at the end of April and is doing well. The sex of baby Neta won’t be determined until a full physical occurs, which typically happens at the end of the first year of life. The baby was named by the primate zookeeper team, to honor a 2019-2020 intern with the same name. Neta also means potted plant in Hebrew. This family of gibbons was recommended to breed by the Association…

Health officials in Geary County have linked nearly two dozen COVID-19 cases to the Faith Tabernacle Church in Junction City. The health department says anyone who attended church between Saturday, Aug. 1 and Saturday, Aug. 8 is at risk for potential exposure and should self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days from the date of attendance. Transmission is said to have occurred at regularly scheduled services. At least 22 cases have been linked to the church which has been designated as a COVID-19 outbreak. As of Thursday, Geary County was monitoring 28 active cases, including one currently in the hospital. Eight…

Kansas State University will receive over $17.8 million in Federal SPARK grants from the CARES Act.

Six new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Riley County Wednesday and one new case was added in Pottawatomie County. Additionally, 17 people were added to the recovered list in Riley County. Pottawatomie County recoveries were unchanged. That brings the active case count to 115 in Riley County and just four in Pottawatomie County. Currently, Ascension Via Christi is monitoring two positive patients, one of whom is on a ventilator. Both are said to be Riley County patients. All told, the two counties have combined for just north of 600 cases since March. A majority of those tested during the…

The Manhattan/Ogden School board plans to hold a special meeting Friday to consider ratification of the NEA teacher contract agreement for the 2020-2021 school year. Included in the agreement is a 3.52 percent compensation package increase. The base salary proposal shows no increase with starting teacher salaries remaining at $41,000. The proposal also calls for vertical and horizontal steps for experience and education and continued coverage of individual health insurance premiums. A number of letters of understanding are also outlined in the proposal, including one that will add three additional sick days if needed due to COVID-19 and language to…

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…