Author: Brandon Peoples

Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy is being celebrated in Manhattan this weekend. A community celebration kicks off MLK festivities Saturday at Peace Memorial Auditorium. It includes finalists in the MLK Jr. Art and Writing Contest and honors the Spirit of Martin Luther King Community Service Award. Guest speaker Lem Sheppard will present on the Harlem Renaissance. MLK Memorial Celebration Committee member Debbie Nuss joined KMAN’s In Focus Monday. She says Sheppard is a musician, guitarist and historian with an interesting perspective as to how African American culture and arts were exposed to the world. Sheppard is being presented thanks to…

A Manhattan man was arrested last week in Pottawatomie County after eluding law enforcement for the second time in six months. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, 34-year-old Jesse Sexton led a short vehicle pursuit Thursday near Wamego. After crashing his vehicle, Sexton then fled on foot and was eventually taken into custody by the patrol’s K9 unit. Troop B Lt. Adam Simone tells KMAN Sexton was charged with felony charges of possession of stolen property, flee and elude, obstruction, attempted escape from custody, leaving the scene of a crash and several traffic charges. In addition, Sexton has five active…

The Kansas Highway Patrol says just minor injuries were reported after 11 vehicles were involved in a crash Friday evening, attributed to icy conditions on K-18, west of Manhattan. The patrol says a Nissan Frontier was westbound and lost control on an icy bridge around 4:30 p.m.,, impacting bridge rails on both sides of the roadway. The crash caused a chain reaction collision involving 10 other vehicles which had difficulty stopping, due to conditions. The driver of the Nissan, who is from Washington state, was not injured. The crash report indicates a passenger in one of the trailing vehicles, 32-year-old…

2020 figures to be a busy construction year for a number of Manhattan/Ogden USD 383 school buildings. Several projects are already underway from the two early childhood education centers to the Keith Noll Maintenance Center with additional projects beginning at several schools over the summer. On KMAN’s In Focus this week, Superintendent Dr. Marvin Wade said the district recently received bids on the new Oliver Brown Elementary, which will break ground later this year in Blue Township. With much of the construction happening district wide over the summer, Dr. Wade says district officials are already planning ahead for how they’ll…

Riley County Fire crews made quick work of a grass fire early Thursday near the corner of North 52nd and Anderson Ave. Fire Chief and Riley County Emergency Manager Pat Collins tells KMAN that high winds caused a power line to arc, which scorched almost a mile just after midnight between Keats and the Riley turnoff. “It traveled almost a mile in 9 minutes. It just doesn’t take long to get a little bitty fire and the wind makes it a lot bigger,” he said. Collins says the Riley County Police Department evacuated some nearby homeowners for about an hour…

Some changes are on the horizon for outreach efforts for the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office. Shane Jager was promoted in November by the Pottawatomie County Republican Party from Undersheriff to Sheriff, replacing Greg Riat who resigned to take a position on the county commission. Jager is serving the remainder of the term and has filed for re-election as Sheriff in 2020. Jager has worked with the department since 1993, spending 15 years as the Undersheriff before his promotion. One of his top priorities since taking over has been improving how the department communicates its efforts to the public. “Right now…

Burn bans are in place across much of the region including Riley and Pottawatomie counties for Wednesday and Thursday. That’s because of the threat of high winds and dry conditions which could easily fuel grass fires. Breezy southeasterly winds could gust as high as 35 mph, coupled with temperatures in the mid-to-upper 50s are likely this afternoon. Burning is discouraged until conditions improve. Red Flag warnings blanket much of south-central Kansas as well. Rain and snow chances and increased humidity enter the area Friday along with a cool down, which should reduce the fire risk. Accumulating snow and ice is…

The suspect accused in an October 7 motor vehicle theft has entered a plea deal with prosecutors. Court records show 35-year-old Brewster Lee Jones entered guilty pleas to one count of motor vehicle burglary and one count of theft at an arraignment hearing Dec. 30. The vehicle involved in the incident was carrying numerous K-State Collegian newspapers that were being distributed across campus. The newspaper reported an estimated loss of $500 for the printing and distribution costs in addition to the monies it had to refund its advertisers. Jones will be sentenced at a 2:30 p.m. hearing Feb. 24.

Work continues, albeit slow, on a sinkhole at the intersection of Bluemont Ave. and Hayes Dr.. Manhattan City Manager Ron Fehr said last month they’d hoped to have work completed by mid-January, but now says there are some factors complicating that. “We had to put in a third de-watering well at that location. We were hoping that once the releases at Tuttle Creek Reservoir went down that it would help start to drop some of the groundwater in that basin, and it really hasn’t done that,” he said. A large sanitary sewer line that was installed after an old line…

New Manhattan Mayor Usha Reddi says she’s looking forward to her new role in 2020. Reddi is simultaneously running a campaign for U.S. Senate while serving as mayor. As she travels the state, Reddi says her goal is to not only sell herself as a candidate but also the City of Manhattan and the partnerships they’ve forged with local entities. Reddi is looking to become the first Kansas Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate since the 1930s. She’ll face stiff competition from Republican foes including First District Congressman Roger Marshall and former Secretary of State Kris Kobach. With a number…