Author: Brandon Peoples

Tuesday marks Giving Tuesday, a day following the hustle and bustle of the busiest shopping weekend of the year. For the Manhattan Arts Center that means a day of doubling with a matching donation. Education and Marketing Director Michelle Ward previewed Giving Tuesday on the GMCF Community Hour Monday on KMAN. That also includes youth theater programs, main-stage theater, summer camp, group violin classes, high school programs and art galleries. Donations can also be made from noon to 5:30 p.m. in person at 1520 Poyntz Ave. or over the phone at 785-537-4420. Ward says if you plan to stop by,…

K-State students will have one less option for dining during the second half of the 2020 spring semester, due to a closure of Derby Dining Center. Derby was originally to remain open partially during construction but university officials last week announced the facility will serve its last meal March 6 and will be closed after that. The university is spending $16 million to renovate the facility which was first constructed in 1966. It’s the university’s largest dining facility. The closure will help accommodate the timeline of the contractor to complete the renovations. After Spring Break, students will be able to…

Riley County Police are warning the public of a new scam circulating the Manhattan area. The department said on its Facebook page Sunday it received a high number of calls in the last few days from people reporting being contacted by an Apple representative. Citizens have reported being contacted an excessive amount within a short few hour period. At least one person commented on the post that they had been contacted seven times Sunday from three different numbers. Another reported she had been called 17 times in a short time period. Scammers are able to mask their number and choose…

With a shorter than normal time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the Manhattan Breakfast Optimist Club expects a rush on its popular Christmas tree sales which kick off officially on Thanksgiving Day. “We have a lot of very nice taller trees, but those are going to be gone probably by the second weekend. So come out early. We recognize people may not want to put them up that early but you can take it home and store it in the shade somewhere at home or you can store it at the park and come back and get it,” Co-chair of the…

Rural access to mental health care is expanding in Kansas thanks to a $42.5 million US Department of Agriculture grant announced last week. Those dollars are being invested in 133 distance learning and telemedicine projects including Manhattan-based Pawnee Mental Health Services. Executive Director Robbin Cole says Pawnee was awarded nearly $500,000 to expand video conferencing services to Jewell, Mitchell and Washington counties in north-central Kansas. “With this grant, we’ll be able to place equipment in those offices as well as the county health departments in those counties to enable residents to receive the mental health services that they need five…

Riley County Police Department Director Dennis Butler says his department plans to bring to justice the suspect in a hoax hostage situation at Lee Elementary School earlier this month. “We have not forgotten about it. We’re going to continue investigating it until we can’t follow up any more leads. I want the public to know we’re upset on their behalf about what happened here,” he said Friday during his monthly appearance on KMAN’s In Focus. The incident resulted in more than 100 children being kept home from school by concerned parents. RCPD responded to the initial call in the early…

Listen to the full interview with Congressman Roger Marshall below. Kansas Congressman Roger Marshall contends the ongoing impeachment inquiry against President Trump is a sham. The First District Representative says he’s convinced after hearing Ambassador Gordon Sondland’s testimony this week, which he says proves Trump’s innocence. “There’s only hearsay and conjecture, there’s assumption and presumption but it’s very clear that these two roads never passed,” Marshall said. “Yes the president asked him to investigate corruption, yes we were withholding military aide but the two roads never crossed each other. So I think the testimony, if you listen closely shows the…

One person was injured Wednesday following a crash north of Manhattan. It happened shortly before 6 p.m. at the intersection of Tuttle Creek Blvd. and Hwy 13. Riley County Police Department Capt. Josh Kyle tells KMAN that a northbound SUV, driven by 23-year-old Jody Dardeene of Randolph crossed the intersection and collided with a westbound passenger car, driven by 63-year-old Ronald Long of Randolph. Long sustained injuries to his head, leg and arm and was transported to Ascension Via Christi by Riley County EMS. Dardeene had minor injuries but declined medical transport. The intersection is known for being a dangerous…

Hundreds of people flocked to the South Manhattan Ave. crossing Wednesday morning for a chance to witness history up close. Union Pacific’s steam locomotive 4014 is trekking across the country to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad. Ed Dickens is the senior manager of Union Pacific’s Heritage Operations and helped lead restoration on the 7,000 horse power, 135 foot long, 605 ton locomotive. “Nothing gives a testimony better than someone’s firsthand experience watching this thing go by. We try to tell people to please stay back but people want to be up close. They don’t usually get a…

A pair of status hearings were held Tuesday in Riley County District Court. The first involved 29-year-old Richard Goens, accused of first-degree murder in the shooting death of 24-year-old Tanner Zamecnick. No plea was entered during Tuesday’s hearing as the defense continues to prepare its case. The court has chosen to seal the affidavits and sworn testimony in the case. A new status hearing will take place at 1 p.m. on Dec. 17. Goens, who also faces a charge of aggravated assault and aggravated robbery, remains jailed on a $1 million bond. In a separate case, a preliminary hearing is…