Author: Brandon Peoples

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…

For the second time this year, a Riley County jury was unable to reach a verdict in a rape trial against 28-year-old Dexter Robinson. According to the Manhattan Mercury, jurors deliberated for about four hours after receiving the case late last week. Robinson is charged with rape, two counts of aggravated criminal sodomy, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery and two counts of aggravated burglary. The incidents are from a July 2018 alleged incident where a woman accused Robinson of raping her after she sought money from him. At a previous trial in October, she testified she did not resist because she…

The USD 383 Manhattan/Ogden School Board will receive a recommendation at Wednesday’s meeting to name the new elementary school in Blue Township. The recommended name for the new school is Oliver Brown Elementary School. Oliver Brown is the namesake and plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Topeka Board of Education. Brown challenged the plight of his daughter Linda being subject to a substandard education and conditions to attend a segregated school when another school was in her neighborhood which she was unable to attend due to her race. According to a release, the name promotes the district’s…

The Riley County Fire Department says a home is a total loss following a fire late Friday evening, on the eastern edge of Manhattan. Fire officials from the Manhattan Fire Department were initially called out just after 6:30 p.m. to a house fire at 720 Knox Lane. Upon arrival, the house was fully engulfed and firefighters were able to quickly bring the fire under control. The Riley County Fire Department took over and stayed on scene up until about 11 p.m. according to Fire Chief Pat Collins, who estimated damage to be approximately $85,000 to the structure and roughly $10,000…

A recent Associated Press article indicated more than 1,600 dams nationwide are rated high-hazard due to aging infrastructure and the potential for loss of life if they failed. Among them is the Samuel Rogers Detention Dam, located about a half-mile north of Manhattan, nestled in a wooded area behind the Kansas State University Animal Sciences equine unit. The dam is 33 feet high and 560 feet long and was built in 1961. It was included in a group of 26 Kansas dams rated in 2018 as poor or unsatisfactory. The university purchased the dam in 2015 and became aware of…