Author: Brandon Peoples

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…

The Riley County Law Board has tabled a vote on a memorandum of understanding with the Kansas State University Police Department. The revamped agreement would give KSU Police the ability to do enforcement they’re allowed to do by state law. A previous agreement approved several years ago restricted KSU Police response only to university owned property. The new agreement would allow more flexibility, especially on streets adjacent or cutting through university property, according to RCPD Captain Richard Fink. “It allows them to police the areas in and around the university and police their properties in and around Manhattan and Riley…

WAMEGO, Kan.  — A group of four Geary County fugitives were arrested in Wamego Monday following an anonymous tip. The Wamego Police Department posted on its Facebook page that the four were wanted on charges of aggravated burglary and aggravated battery and were staying at the Simmer Motel. The department says it received assistance from the Kansas Highway Patrol, which is why some residents may have noticed a helicopter flying over the area. The four suspects were taken into custody without incident. The suspects are Dustin Monroe, 39, of Junction City, Marcus Rogel, 18, of Westmoreland, Matthew Rogel, 25, of Junction…

Just weeks after it was dedicated, a new platform overlooking Manhattan at Bluemont Hill was vandalized over the weekend. Grafitti on the Manhattan letters and the new glass windows on the overlook was first discovered by someone who posted about it to social media. The glass depicts an obscene image and the words F*** Kansas are spray painted on one of the letters. It comes just two weeks to the date after members of the Manhattan Kiwanis Club dedicated the new overlook at a community ribbon cutting. The club raised over $70,000 in private donations to construct the handicap accessible…