Author: Brandon Peoples

Motorists should get some reprieve soon after a long-awaited sinkhole project moves to the final stages of repair. Manhattan City Manager Ron Fehr tells KMAN the project, which has blocked thru traffic along Hayes Drive at the intersection of Bluemont Ave., is nearly completed after six months of bypass pumping and de-watering issues. “They do have the northbound lane on Hayes Drive open, and hopefully they’ll have the southbound lane open soon,” Fehr said. There was less disruption on the north side for back fill and repair work and Fehr says crews have been aided by better weather. No timeline…

Riley County Police have arrested a Manhattan woman who had absconded from community corrections over several drug-related offenses. Amanda Sue Wilroy, 42, is charged with two counts of opiate possession and three counts of intent to distribute, in addition two previous failure to appear charges. According to the Kansas Department of Corrections, Wilroy absconded Dec. 16, despite having two active Riley County drug offenses from 2019, including violation of the Kansas Offender Registration Act. Wilroy’s total bond was $42,000, causing her to remain in Riley County Jail Wednesday.

Wamego Police say no foul play is suspected in the death of a man found in a Wamego business parking lot in the 1200 block of U.S. Hwy 24 Friday. The department says in a news release that the man was reported to have fallen in the parking lot sometime before noon Friday. Emergency response crews found 53-year-old Kenneth Nordberg unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy will be performed to determine the official cause of death. The Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office and Pottawatomie County EMS also responded to the call.

JUNCTION CITY — An investigation is underway after a Junction City Police Department employee was involved in an incident Tuesday morning in the department’s parking lot. The Junction City Police Department requested assistance from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation around 9:30 a.m. to investigate the circumstances of the man’s death which were initially reported by the Junction City Union as a suicide. According to the KBI at around 9:10 a.m. a Junction City police officer exited the police department and discovered a 58-year-old civilian employee who had suffered a fatal gunshot wound. KBI says there is no evidence that a…

A Riley County Judge has pushed back a status hearing for a 41-year-old Texas man accused in a pair of rape cases. At a hearing Tuesday, Sean Morgan’s attorney Barry Clark noted some issues from both sides obtaining discovery evidence to proceed in the case. A new status hearing has been reset for March 3 at 1 p.m. in front of Judge William Malcolm. Morgan, who was not present at the hearing, was excused from Tuesday’s status hearings as well as the March 3 hearing. He continues to work and live in Texas. Morgan stands charged with the 2015 rape…

Phase one of renovations for the Fort Riley Museums are nearing completion and phase two will begin later this year. On KMAN’s In Focus last week, museum complex director Dr. Robert Smith said the physical remodel of the exterior is almost finished and coming together for the U.S. Cavalry and 1st Infantry Division museums. Smith says some features include a reinterpretation of the U.S. Cavalry evolution as well as the post itself. A major key moving forward on this project is how the museum preserves its historic artifacts, some which date back to the American Revolution. While the building will…

The Riley County Police Department says a Manhattan man with several warrants, who had eluded capture for quite some time, was apprehended over the weekend in Johnson County. Jesse Sexton was brought into custody Saturday on a charge of obstructing the legal process. No bond was issued. Sexton has a court appearance scheduled at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in Johnson County District Court. Earlier this month, Sexton wound up on the Riley County Police Department’s Most Wanted List for multiple warrants including failure to appear on numerous occasions, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, criminal threat, 11 counts of theft…

CLEVELAND — An Ohio teenager who intended to set off an explosive device at a high school in his home town was also responsible for calling in a hoax hostage situation at Manhattan’s Lee Elementary School last November. Allen Martin Kenna, 18, has been charged with attempted use of an explosive device and interstate communication of threats. The charges were filed this week by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Cleveland. FBI investigators learned from a diary found on his laptop that it was Kenna who called the Riley County Police Department in Manhattan last November saying someone was being held…

Seven Manhattan High students are finalists for the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program. Each were named semifinalists in September for the national award and moved on to finalist round, joining roughly 15,000 students across the nation. Of that group, about half will receive merit scholarships based on their abilities, skills and accomplishments without regard to gender, race, ethnicity or religious preference. The seven finalists include Elizabeth Hone, Elizabeth Kim, Ethan Myer, Alejandro Ortiz, Allen and Robert Zhang and Stepan Zarkov. NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit…

A 28-year-old man suspected in a September aggravated assault which resulted in shots fired near Aggieville was arrested by Riley County Police Wednesday. Travell Hairston is charged with aggravated assault, criminal discharge of a firearm and criminal damage to property in the September 15 incident in the 1300 block of Fremont Street. There were no reported injuries. The incident occurred in a parking lot where a house party was going on. The arrest report also lists a probation violation charge in addition to two failure to comply with traffic citation charges. Hairston was jailed on a total $12,500 bond but…