Author: Brandon Peoples

MANHATTAN — There was reason to celebrate Saturday in Manhattan City Park at the 30th annual Juneteenth festivities. Daphne Maxwell, vice chair of the Kansas African American Commision, gave a strong opening statement to event goers Saturday morning as the celebration kicked off. Maxwell spoke to event goers Saturday about the importance of Juneteenth in the community. She says the celebration matters for a variety of reasons, but touted freedom as the primary reason for Juneteenth. Juneteenth is celebrated each year as the anniversary of the June 19, 1865, when slaves were freed in the United States following the Emancipation…

JUNCTION CITY, Kan. — A meth lab was discovered early Saturday morning in the 300 block of North Washington Street. The Junction City-Geary County Drug Operations Group conducted a search warrant in reference to a methamphetamine manufacturing investigation. As a result, a clandestine meth lab was located and processed. Avery Louis Pierson, 35, of Junction City was arrested and charged with manufacturing methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine, felony possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana, and felony interference with law enforcement. Assisting on scene were the Junction City Police Department, along with the Geary County Sheriff’s Office, Grandview Plaza Police Department…

RILEY COUNTY, Kan. — The Kansas Highway Patrol says three people were injured in a Friday evening crash on US 24 in Riley County. A passenger car driven by 35-year-old Amanda Neipert of Manhattan was westbound on Hwy 24 just after 5 p.m. attempting to make a left turn onto South Dam Road. It failed to yield the right of way and was struck by an eastbound passenger car, driven by 19-year-old Layton Ross, also of Manhattan. Neipert was transported to Ascension Via Christi with a suspected minor injury. KHP says Ross also was transported. His injuries were suspected to…

WESTMORELAND, Kan. — Sentencing is coming next month for a Wamego man connected to the stabbing death of a teenager in late 2018. According to Pottawatomie County Attorney Sherri Schuck, 24-year-old Cody Lamia-Beck entered a no contest plea Friday to a charge of intentional second-degree murder of Jacob Bouck. The court was presented evidence of the crime and Judge Jeff Elder subsequently found Lamia-Beck guilty. That evidence included two knives, a homemade hatchet, which also had Lamia-Beck’s DNA, multiple stab wounds to the victim’s head and neck and a confession from Lamia-Beck. That confession was consistent with the evidence located…

Friday’s first two segments of In Focus featured KSU Vet Med Recruitment Coordinator Dave Hoffman highlighting an upcoming summer Vet Med ROCKS camp for students in 4th through 12th grades at Kansas State University. In segment three, we previewed Friday’s Cowboy Poetry Contest at the Flint Hills Discovery Center with organizer Ron Wilson. In segment four, KMAN News Reporter Sam Hennigh interviewed Riley County Health Department Officials Andrew Adams and Leslie Campbell about West Nile virus potential in the area and the importance of vaccinating against measles.

TOPEKA — The Kansas Supreme Court says the state legislature has increased spending enough to satisfy the high court’s mandate. Earlier this year, lawmakers approved a bill to add $90 million per year over four years. The court on Friday declared the money to be sufficient, saying it’s in “substantial compliance” with last year’s ruling. However it plans to keep the underlying lawsuit open to ensure the state adheres to its funding promises. USD 383 Manhattan/Ogden Assistant Superintendent Eric Reid says he wasn’t surprised by the Supreme Court’s decision. Reid says USD 383, like many districts of its size, stands…

OSKALOOSA, Kan. (AP) — A Baldwin City woman has pleaded guilty in the death of her mother’s boyfriend at a northeast Kansas lake. Jefferson County Attorney Josh Ney announced Thursday that Ashlyn Hemmerling pleaded guilty to premeditated first-degree murder after prosecutors presented evidence in her trial in Jefferson County District Court. She was charged in the March 2018 shooting death of 22-year-old Taylor Dean Sawyer in a remote area of Perry Lake. Her boyfriend, 23-year-old Jonathan Blevins, was convicted in March of first-degree murder in Sawyer’s death. He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for…

MANHATTAN — The Kansas Board of Tax Appeals recently ruled in favor of a hypothetical lease fee value for a Johnson County retailer. After assessing the property tax valuation of the Olathe Bass Pro Shops location, the board sided with the company’s argument that the store was actually worth about 40 percent less than what it had been appraised at by Johnson County. The results of that are troubling for future appraisals, says Riley County Appraiser Greg McHenry. A hypothetical leased fee value is also known as the dark store theory, in which big box retailers appeal their assessed property…

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A two-state proposal from Kansas and Missouri will bring hundreds of federal jobs to the Kansas City area after the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced plans to relocate two research agencies to the region. Kansas City’s bid beat out 135 other proposals from 35 different states including a pitch from the Manhattan region. Kansas and Missouri submitted a joint proposal to the USDA. The agencies include the Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture. A decision on whether to locate on the Kansas or Missouri side of the Kansas City metro is expected…

MANHATTAN — New principals have been named at two Manhattan elementary schools. USD 383 Manhattan/Ogden Schools announced Thursday that Stephen Koch has been named principal of Frank V. Bergman Elementary School. Ashley Smith has been named principal of Theodore Roosevelt Elementary. Koch currently serves as principal of Lincoln Elementary in Lincoln, Kansas, a position he’s held since 2012. Smith is the current assistant principal at Riley County Grade School in Riley, a position she’s held since 2018. Koch replaces Lori Martin who is retiring as Bergman’s principal this summer. Smith replaces Andrea Tiede. Tiede begins her role as USD 383…