Author: Brandon Peoples

Bitter cold temperatures will be with us for the next several days and local officials are advising folks to be prepared. Riley County Emergency Management Assistant Director Laurie Harrison spoke at Thursday’s commission meeting. “If you need to get out and get groceries, get fuel in your vehicles, check on your elderly neighbors or those who can’t get out, see what assistance you can be to them to help them get through the weekend,” she said. Bluestem Electric Cooperative General Manager Mike Morton encourages people to have a safety plan and be aware of just how cold it will be.…

An odor issue caused a brief closure Wednesday of the Pottawatomie County Office Building in Westmoreland. The facility was evacuated and closed for about an hour and a half as Kansas Gas Service performed a check of lines in the building. They were able to rule out any gas leak. Employees and customers were allowed back into the building at 2 p.m. The office building has been deemed safe for employees and customers. County officials say more work will be done to narrow down the mysterious odor. The building houses offices for the Pottawatomie County Treasurer, Clerk, Appraiser, Register of…

As the region braces for extreme cold temperatures over the next several days, Riley County officials say several temperature-controlled facilities are available in the community for those who need relief from the elements. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch, effective Thursday afternoon through Friday morning. Forecasters say 1 to 4 inches of additional snow accumulation is possible. A Wind Chill Watch is also in effect Friday evening through Tuesday morning for wind gusts up to 40 mph that could create dangerously cold wind chills as low as 30 below zero. Daytime shelters in Manhattan include Be…

Two people escaped a house fire early Tuesday morning in Wamego, including a person rescued thanks to the quick actions of a local firefighter. According to a news release from the Wamego Police Department, a resident called 911 around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, reporting her neighbor’s home at 105 Chestnut Street was on fire. Louisville Fire Chief Travis Ten Eyck, who lives nearby, responded from his home, and was able to rescue a 66-year-old man from the home, who had been unable to leave his bedroom. The man was at first resistant to rescue efforts but soon lost consciousness and Ten…

Road conditions are improving, but state and local officials continue to warn drivers to use caution if they must travel. Riley County Public Works Crews have made good progress but county officials say blow overs are causing problems on asphalt and gravel roads. Winds will continue to be a factor for the next several days. Riley County Commissioner John Ford took time to thank the county’s snow plow operators and emergency responders publicly during KMAN’s In Focus Tuesday. Ford says the county is in good position with plenty of road treating materials for Public Works crews, for what looks to…

Interviews are scheduled to take place next week to fill a district magistrate judge vacancy in the 21st Judicial District, composed of Riley and Clay counties. According to the Kansas Judicial Branch, the District Nominating Commission will convene at 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 18 to visit with three nominees. They include Dan Brenner, of Holton; John McNish, of Marysville; and Audrey Waid, of Clay Center. Brenner is a Jackson County commissioner and is the owner of Diamonds by Design, Inc. McNish is an attorney with Bolton & McNish LLC and also the city attorney in Marysville. Waid is an attorney…

Snowfall amounts are coming in from the Monday-Tuesday winter storm. Most reports around Manhattan and Keats ranged from about 4 to 5 inches. At the KMAN studios, 5 inches of snowfall was recorded Tuesday morning. The National Weather Service confirmed reports of 7.5 inches of snow at Onaga, with lower amounts in southern Pottawatomie County, where 3 to 3.5 inches fell in St. George and Belvue respectively. Further north, reports of 8 inches were noted in Washington County and 8.5 inches in Marshall County. There was one confirmed report of close to 11 inches near Overbrook, in Osage County, according…

Several residents woke up without power across Kansas Tuesday. Evergy says a large number of outages are attributed to the winter storm from high winds in excess of 50 mph. It’s impacting customers in both Kansas and Missouri. Crews have restored power to more than 36,000 customers since the storm began Monday and continue to work through more than 1,000 active outages. No timetable for restoration has been provided. Locally, Bluestem Electric Cooperative restored power to nearly 500 customers in the Manhattan area, following brief outages. Evergy has posted some tips to effectively manage a power outage during a winter…

Riley County Police have charged another individual in connection to past financial crimes. According to Tuesday’s police report, 23-year-old Zelayha Vincent, of Fort Riley, was arrested while in jail Monday on warrants alleging a host of charges including three counts of criminal use of a financial card and an attempted count, two counts each of property theft, identity theft and mistreatment of an adult or elder person. Vincent was also arrested on a Junction City warrant for failure to appear. The original charge was for driving while suspended. The crimes are alleged from September 2021. Vincent was released from jail…

Snow will be ending across the region Tuesday morning, but conditions will continue to be messy. Highways across Riley and Pottawatomie County remain completely snow covered and the Riley County Police Department has implemented the Emergency Accident Reporting Phase (EARP) until further notice. RCPD says K-18 and US 177 are particularly treacherous. When EARP is in effect, crashes do not need to be reported immediately as long as there are no injuries, it is not a hit-and-run, and does not involve drugs or alcohol. Crashes must be reported to RCPD within 48 hours. We have started Emergency Accident Reporting. We…