Author: Brandon Peoples

A Manhattan man is jailed on four charges including rape after he was arrested Friday afternoon. Saturday’s Riley County Police Department arrest report states 25-year-old Jordan Hildreth is charged with rape, aggravated criminal sodomy, aggravated burglary and aggravated battery. He was arrested on probable cause from a 2018 incident. Bond is set at $200,000. Further details are pending from RCPD, who continue to investigate and will have further details Monday. Hildreth currently has multiple charges pending through Riley County District Court. On July 3, he was arrested following an alleged assault and subsequent DUI related crash with a bicyclist near…

History was made Friday in the 21st Judicial District, as Kendra Lewison became the first woman sworn in as a judge in that district. She’ll serve as the Division II judge moving forward. Surrounded by colleagues, friends and family Friday afternoon, Lewison was officially sworn in by Riley County Chief Justice Grant Bannister. Lewison’s name was selected by Gov. Laura Kelly in September from four finalists to succeed long time Division II Chief Justice Meryl Wilson, who retired in June. Most recently Lewison had served as the Assistant Riley County Attorney, working in the office for the past 10 years. She…

More Kansas schools continue to join the fight against a leading e-cigarette maker as they try to curb vaping among teenagers. School districts in the Manhattan area have so far stood pat on the issue, but that could be changing soon. On Wednesday’s edition of In Focus, USD 383 Manhattan/Ogden Assistant Superintendent Eric Reid suggested they too may soon join the legal battle against Juul. “I’ve been looking into it, been visiting with some people in some different districts and some people pushing that forward and will likely have something to bring to the board at a future meeting,” Reid…

A 35-year-old Manhattan man is behind bars on a Riley County warrant that alleges criminal use of explosives. Roger Lee Smith III was taken into custody Wednesday night. A criminal complaint obtained by KMAN from the Riley County District Court Clerk’s office states that on May 4, 2018, Smith “possessed or manufactured a commercial explosive which was introduced into a building where there was another person.” The charge is a level 5 person felony. The complaint does not state what type of explosive Smith was in possession of, nor if he threatened anyone. Smith remains confined in Riley County Jail…

The victims in Wednesday’s injury crash that shut down a portion of Hwy 24 near Wamego have been identified. Pottawatomie County Undersheriff Shane Jager tells KMAN that 79-year-old Joyce Martin, who was driving the vehicle that was struck, is in stable condition at a Topeka hospital after being life-flighted from the scene. A passenger, 70-year-old Sonja Pederson of Wamego was transported by ambulance to Ascencion Via Christi and is said to be doing well. Both had to be extricated after their car was struck on the west edge of Wamego just after 1 p.m. Wednesday. Martin, who was westbound was…

Manhattan Area Technical College has cleared the first step toward expansion. The college’s board of directors at a Wednesday meeting voted 7-0 in favor of a motion to authorize President Jim Genandt to negotiate for property acquisition in Wamego to establish the college’s first off-campus center in the community. Genandt spoke on KMAN’s In Focus Wednesday prior to the meeting, about the potential impact it would have on MATC. Genandt says MATC had the largest percentage head count enrollment increase in Kansas from last fall at 16.3 percent, not surprising due to the small size of enrollment at the college.…

Manhattan city officials updated the public Tuesday on a number of road construction projects currently in the works. The city has made significant progress on the two Hayes Drive sinkholes that developed late this summer and have hindered traffic. Assistant Public Works Director Randy DeWitt tells KMAN the repair at the Hayes/Levee Drive site is completed with pavement work beginning soon. “We’re hoping we can get started on pouring that back this week and in anticipation it would maybe be open to traffic next week,” DeWitt said. Site grading and clean up are happening now and the city anticipates north…

Riley County Police have arrested a 34-year-old Manhattan man accused in the theft of a vehicle last week. Brewster Lee Jones was arrested around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Manhattan Town Center on four counts including motor vehicle theft, reported to K-State Police last week. Lt. Brad Millington tells KMAN the charge is related to an Oct. 7 incident where a Ford Explorer was stolen from the west side of Kedzie Hall. According to K-State Collegian Editor-In-Chief Kaylie McLaughlin the victim was in the student union around 5 a.m. Oct. 7 distributing copies of the newspaper around campus when the vehicle…

A Dickinson County woman was killed Tuesday after her pickup collided with a semi on US 77, south of Junction City. The Kansas Highway Patrol says just after 11:30 a.m., the eastbound pickup driven by 22-year-old Savannah Laudemann of Woodbine, was struck on the driver’s side by the southbound semi by while entering the roadway. Laudemann and 44-year-old passenger Dawnette Laudemann were both transported to Geary Community Hospital. Savannah died from her injuries while Dawnette remains hospitalized with a suspected serious injury. Neither were wearing their seat belts, according to the highway patrol’s crash report. The semi driver, 46-year-old Bryan…

Yet another Aggieville business has shut its doors. Keltic Star, the British themed pub and grill located in the center of the Aggieville Business District, had it’s final day of business Sunday. Co-owner Shirley McCall says the decision after seven years to close was not one they took lightly. The restaurant employed about 20 people and McCall says they were notified ahead of Sunday’s closure. McCall ran the Keltic Star with her husband Perry and son Darren. The family says they intend to sell the business and remains hopeful it will continue either as Keltic Star or under a different…