Author: Brandon Peoples

A report out by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment shows over 2.2 million acres of grassland were burned in Kansas and Oklahoma between March 15 and April 14. Controlled burns are up substantially in the Manhattan area as 43,908 acres were burned in Riley County (up 36 percent) and 69,870 acres were burned in Pottawatomie County (up 78 percent). KDHE Air Monitoring and Planning Chief Doug Watson says that was expected as conditions this spring were more favorable to burning. Just a half dozen air quality exceedances have been noted this month, occurring on April 8 and 9.…

A Manhattan man was treated for injuries he sustained in a rollover accident in north Riley County early Tuesday morning. According to the Riley County Police Department, 19-year-old Justice Sensley was traveling in the 16,000 block of Barton Road west of Leonardville just before 6 a.m. when his vehicle left the roadway and overturned. It wasn’t immediately clear why the truck left the roadway. Sensley was transported to Ascension Via Christi Hospital for treatment of his injuries.

MANHATTAN — Riley County Police made a pair of notable arrests overnight in Manhattan. According to the RCPD arrest report, 43-year-old Savalas Tolliver was arrested just after 12:30 a.m. in the 900 block of Kearney Street. He’s charged with one count of abuse of a child; torture of cruelly beating a child under 18 years old as well as four counts of battery. Tolliver remains confined in Riley County Jail on a $15,000 bond. Separately on Monday night, a 57-year-old Cowley County man was arrested for exposing himself in public in the Aggieville area. The RCPD arrest report says Curtis…

MANHATTAN — Officials with the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation are celebrating after another whirlwind 24 hours of giving during Grow Green Match Day. This year’s unofficial total raised was $517,424.76 from more than 2,600 donations. GMCF Vice President, Marketing and Programs Elaine Dhuyvetter says Match Day has come a long way since its humble beginnings, just seven years ago. Each of the 57 nonprofit agencies’ endowed funds are receiving a 50 percent match to be put toward their most crucial needs. Manhattan Area Technical College Foundation Resource Development Coordinator Tracy Geisler explains how foundation plans to utilize its monies. Elsewhere,…

MANHATTAN — Fourth graders from all over Riley County will experience life in the 1800s this week at the Wolf House. Riley County Historical Museum Curator Allana Parker says the kids will be able to see the food of that time, the differences in the way people use different rooms, and even hygiene. “One of the most coveted stations is to be able to talk about hygiene during the 1880s including the outhouse and chamber pot. Kids always seem so surprised that is how people handled their bathroom duties back then,” said Parker. Students this week also are learning how…

MANHATTAN — Riley County Police plan to be more vigilant looking for impaired drivers this weekend. Saturday is April 20, commonly known as a popular day for some to indulge in the use of marijuana. As a result, officers will be looking for signs of impaired driving and other traffic violations. Motorists who show signs of alcohol and/or drug consumption will be evaluated. Confirmed impaired drivers will be arrested. According to a 2016 AAA poll in Kansas, only 63 percent of people consider driving after using marijuana ‘a very serious threat’ to their personal safety. In 2017, there were 287…

CLAY COUNTY — The Clay County Sheriff’s Office says one person is dead and another was wounded in a rural Clay County shooting incident Thursday. Authorities say just before 1 p.m. a deputy from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office was flagged down by a motorist who told him she was taking her husband to the hospital because of a gunshot wound. Officers received information from the woman that the shooter was located at 926 Valleyview Road, just northeast of Milford Lake. When officers arrived at the home, they found the 27-year-old shooter dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The…

MANHATTAN — Rising waters at Tuttle Creek Reservoir have been a concern for many in the region since a wet March inundated the lake with its third highest readings since 1973. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Operation Project Manager Brian McNulty informed a joint meeting of Manhattan, Riley and Pottawatomie county officials that the lake is currently in a Phase II zone of operations for flood control. Part of the reason water hasn’t been released from the lake so far is due to high water levels along the Missouri River, especially near Waverly, Missouri, about 73 river miles east of…

MANHATTAN — An “eggstradordinary” event is happening at Manhattan City Park on Saturday. The Manhattan Parks and Recreation Department is hosting its third annual Easter Family Fun Day, a free event for the community that includes the Manhattan Lions Club Easter egg hunts for different age groups (2 to 3), (4 to 5) and (6 to 8). Community Relations Officer Melissa Kirkwood says there’s also some green involved for the older kids, in the form of a cash drop. The cash drop will be held after the Easter Egg hunts at the Wilson ball field. The Easter egg hunts start…

Thursday’s In Focus guest was new Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce President Jason Smith, making his debut appearance on the show.