Author: Brandon Peoples

The City of Manhattan has announced some drastic service changes and budget cuts to address the financial impact of COVID-19. All spring and summer recreation programs will be cancelled, including the city swimming pool season, youth and adult sports leagues as well as parks and recreation sponsored camps, activities and events, including Arts in the Parks. City Manager Ron Fehr says with sales tax revenues estimated to be anywhere between $3 to $8 million less, these were difficult but necessary decisions. “It takes a lot of money to open the pools and to run those programs. That’s a significant cost…

As local health officials gear up for the possible peak period of COVID-19 cases, conservation of supplies will be crucial. While much attention has been given to personal protection equipment and other medical supplies, hospitals are now trying to conserve medication that may be needed to treat COVID-19 positive patients. “That’s one of the real reasons that we’ve been trying to explain and trying to encourage health facilities to stop elective procedures because a lot of them are actually done with propofol and so if you can not do those procedures, that frees up that medication for a potentially seriously…

Summer classes at Kansas State University will move online at in-state tuition rates and with significantly reduced fees. The move was announced this (MON) morning in continued response to the COVID-19 pandemic. K-State Provost Charles Taber says students will pay a single standard reduced online fee of $70 per student credit hour for the summer courses. The university is eliminating the campus privilege fee, academic infrastructure fee and the summer school fee. Taber says the decision was made now to give faculty and students enough time to prepare and prevent a disruption similar to what was experienced in March. He…

TOPEKA — The Kansas Supreme Court on Saturday invalidated the Legislative Coordinating Council’s revocation of Governor Laura Kelly’s COVID-19 Executive Order 20-18. The high court heard arguments electronically, meeting via Zoom, ruling swiftly and narrowly, saying it relied on the plain language of House Concurrent Resolution No. 5025. The Court said the revocation could not stand, because the resolution failed to give the LCC the necessary power to override Gov. Kelly’s order. The decision means the public gathering ban on 10 or more people in public places, specifically churches is back in place. The governor’s legal team had pushed for…

ONE Gas Inc, the parent company of Kansas Gas Service plans to present $70,000 in ONE Gas Foundation grants to Kansas nonprofit agencies including a number of Manhattan-area agencies. The grants will go to the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation, in addition to foundations in Wichita, Topeka and the United Way of Greater Kansas City. GMCF President and CEO Vern Henricks says locally, the grant will go to the 2020 COVID-19 Recovery Fund, which organizations can submit applications to for critical assistance. Funds are made available through nonprofits and public entities that are focused on short and long-term recovery efforts by…

Nearly $12.7 million is being distributed to Kansas State University from the federal government, half of which is directly aimed at student financial assistance. The funding, announced Thursday, is one branch of the $2.1 trillion federal Coronavirus Air, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in late March, in response to the ongoing health crisis. The CARES Act includes $14 billion to support post-secondary education students and institutions. Colleges and universities are required to use the $6.28 billion made available to provide cash grants to students for expenses and technology as well…

Residents of Washington County are being mandated 14-day quarantine and isolation if they recently traveled to Riley County. The Washington County Health Department announced this week the new measure which applies to any Washington County resident who traveled into Riley County on or after April 7. The measure is in place to limit the spread of COVID-19 into the rural northern Kansas county with a population of about 5,500 people. The list also includes the Kansas counties of Johnson, Wyandotte, Douglas, Leavenworth, Sedgwick, Coffey and Shawnee. States included in that order include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey,…

Kansas House Representative Ron Highland says the state has done a good job so far responding to guidelines from health officials related to coronavirus. The 51st District Republican Representative from Wamego was critical of Gov. Laura Kelly’s executive order which mandated churches to comply with the 10-person gathering minimum ahead of Easter – traditionally the most well-attended church day of the year. “We have a constitution both the U.S. and state where those rights are protected and always have been,” he said. Highland says the executive order was not necessary to mandate since most congregations are taking the steps to…

A Manhattan man is jailed after an early Friday morning domestic incident. Riley County Police have charged 21-year-old Kono Desoto Smith with two counts of battery, two counts of domestic battery and one count of aggravated burglary. Police were called out just before 4 a.m. Friday to the Gramercy Apartment complex at College and Kimball Ave. Due to the nature of the crime no further details have been released. Smith remains jailed on a $10,000 bond. — Riley County Police arrested a 23-year-old Manhattan resident for a weapons charge. Shelby Moffith was arrested just before 2 a.m. Friday at Top…

Kansas 51st District Representative Ron Highland of Wamego joined KMAN Friday during the 8 a.m. hour to discuss COVID-19 related matters, the Legislative Coordinating Council’s decision to rescind Gov. Kelly’s executive order on church gatherings and how different state departments are responding.