Author: Brandon Peoples

City of Manhattan officials continue work along Hayes Drive where two sinkholes developed less than a mile from each other in August. On KMAN’s In Focus Tuesday, Manhattan City Manager Ron Fehr spoke about the magnitude of the sinkhole that exists on Hayes north of Levee Drive. He says bypass pumping and de-watering continues at that location. “One of our challenges is that our water tables are still very high. This is a big 36-inch sanitary sewer trunk line that is fairly deep and so you can imagine we have to pump the water table down to get to the…

The US Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Service has announced the hiring of Dr. Alfonso Clavijo as the Director of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF). NBAF Coordinator for USDA APHIS Dr. Ken Burton tells KMAN they’re excited to have a permanent NBAF Director now in place. “He brings such a wide wealth of experience, not only from academia, but he’s also the Executive Director for the Centres for Animal Disease in Winnipeg, Canada,” Burton said. Clavijo begins work his new role with NBAF on October 13. That role is under the umbrella of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency,…

Riley County Police arrested a 16-year-old student from Manhattan High School West Campus Monday. According to Tuesday’s arrest report, Charles Lee Jones was charged with disorderly conduct and battery. Police were called out to the school around 12:10 p.m. for an altercation. The arrest was made just before 1 p.m. A short time earlier, the school was placed in secure campus with school officials lifting it a brief time later. Jones was released to his parents after being processed for the offenses. No other students were arrested. KMAN has confirmed that RCPD and the USD 383 school district are investigating…

Four years after an initial Riley Community Needs Assessment was conducted, the Flint Hills Wellness Coalition is asking residents to complete its second such comprehensive community needs that will be more inclusive of the diverse population The issues covered by the survey include quality of life, physical health, mental health, social issues, children and youth, education, aging, housing, transportation, economics and personal finance. The survey was the subject of Monday’s In Focus on News Radio KMAN. “The results of this survey will be used to help local agencies, for example the health department as they go through their accreditation…

One person was critically injured and three others were arrested following a shooting incident Sunday afternoon in Junction City. According to the Junction City Police Department, officers were called out shortly before 4:30 p.m. to the 200 block of East 1st Street for the report of a possible shooting. Upon arrival, they found 18-year-old Coye Crane of Chapman injured. He was later transported to KU Med via LifeStar in critical condition. Upon further investigation, police arrested 18-year-old Javontez Brime of Junction City, 18-year-old Izek Jackson of Enterprise and 19-year-old Malik Watkins of Andover. All three suspects are charged with aggravated…

The Mercy Community Health Foundation has now raised over half of its $500,000 campaign goal to purchase a new ceiling mount for Acension Via Christi’s cardiac catheterizaton and interventional radiology lab. The foundation began the campaign in March and have raised funds through donations from various sponsors, a Memorial Hospital Association fund-matching campaign and events such as the 29th Annual Mercy Foundation Golf Classic, held earlier in September. Mercy Community Health Senior Development Director Tina Rockhold spoke about the campaign during Friday’s In Focus on KMAN. She says the Artiz Zee ceiling mount will provide staff with better imaging and…

Wet weather north of Kansas has led to a temporary reduction in outflows at Tuttle Creek Lake. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Operations Project Manager Brian McNulty says record rainfall in South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska earlier this month where upwards of 10 inches of rain fell, is now moving down the Missouri River. Tuttle Creek Lake which had been releasing up to 10,000 cubic feet per second at the beginning of September is now releasing the minimum 200 CFS, but McNulty tells KMAN they expect that to change shortly. “Right now the three-day forecast has 3,000 cubic feet per…

A fiery wreck in Geary County Thursday afternoon has claimed the life of a Manhattan woman. The Kansas Highway Patrol says 72-year-old Nancy Barnaby died after her northbound SUV crossed the center median of K-177, struck a culvert, went airborne and rolled. It happened just before 3 p.m. about three miles south of I-70. Authorities say after the vehicle rolled it caught fire and Barnaby died at the scene. The Kansas Highway Patrol is asking anyone who saw the crash or might have cell phone video to contact them at 785-827-4437.

Construction of a new hotel project in Aggieville will shut down a portion of Bluemont Street for an entire year. Beginning Monday, one lane of Bluemont Avenue will be closed to maintain safety, according to Manhattan City Manager Ron Fehr. “The garage itself I believe is a preformed structure so those beams and different preformed panels will be offloaded with a crane and there really isn’t any other place for them to park,” he said. The outer eastbound lane of Bluemont will close between North Manhattan Ave. and 12th Street. The west side of 12th Street will be closed between…

For the second day in a row, a major gas leak caused some headaches for motorists and businesses in west Manhattan. After a brief closure of Frontage Road between the Home Depot and the Riley County Police Department headquarters Tuesday, emergency crews were called out Wednesday morning to the same area where construction crews struck a gas line. It caused the odor of gas to be smelled as far away as the Stagg Hill neighborhood.  As a result, several nearby businesses were evacuated and it caused a temporary closure of Seth Child from the 900 to 1100 blocks. Gas was…