Author: Brandon Peoples

MANHATTAN — Riley County Police responded to 172 calls for service during the 2019 Fake Patty’s Day activities in Manhattan. The official statistics were released Friday morning. The 172 calls decreased significantly from 2018’s activities which saw 287 calls for service. Complaints ranged from, but are not limited to parking problems, welfare checks, disturbing the peace and non-injury accidents. Police took just one report of violent crime and filed 52 reports total, not including alcohol related crime. Police took 122 reports last year. A total of 39 physical arrests were made, including 19 for DUI, six for disorderly conduct, three…

LAWRENCE — The Kansas Highway Patrol says a Manhattan man was hospitalized Thursday after an injury crash on the Kansas Turnpike in Leavenworth County. The crash report says 55-year-old Carl Burton was westbound on Interstate 70 just after 8 p.m., when his SUV struck a tow truck that was attempting to turn through the median. The tow truck had its emergency lights activated and was pulled to the inside shoulder when it was struck in the rear. Burton was transported to Lawrence Memorial Hospital with a suspected minor injury. He was wearing a seat belt. The tow truck driver, 21-year-old…

Update Thursday 3 p.m. Riley County Police say a second person has died from an apparent drug overdose involving heroin containing fentanyl. New details released Thursday afternoon show that one of two people who were hospitalized earlier this week died at a medical center. That person, a 50-year-old Manhattan man was discovered after a medical emergency call Tuesday evening. The other person, a 35-year-old Manhattan man was found dead at a residence Tuesday night. Their names have not been released. Police also responded to a medical emergency in Ogden March 2 where a 27-year-old Emporia man was transported to a…

Update Thursday 2 p.m. MANHATTAN — The Manhattan Fire Department is offering tips after a clothes dryer sparked a fire at a Manhattan home Tuesday afternoon. Fire officials on Thursday corrected the loss estimate from the fire to $10,000 to the structure and $5,000 for the contents (A previous loss estimate released Wednesday noted a $60,000 property loss and $30,000 content loss estimate). The fire occurred at a two-story dwelling at 1114 Vattier Street. An investigation determined the fire was accidental due to a malfunction of the dryer. No injuries were reported. The Fire Department reminds citizens to always clean…

Tuesday’s guests included Manhattan Mayor Mike Dodson and City Manager Ron Fehr with a preview of the Manhattan City Commission legislative meeting.

MANHATTAN — The man who photographed both President Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama was at McCain Auditorium Tuesday evening discussing his traveling exhibit “Two Presidents, One Photographer.” Pete Souza was the official White House photographer during Reagan’s second term from 1985 to 1989 and both terms under President Obama. Prior to the speaking engagement, Souza met with reporters about his agenda with the exhibit to highlight two very different politicians. He says both men respected the office of the presidency and treated others with respect. Souza says despite the political differences between Obama and Reagan, the two men were very similar…

MANHATTAN — Mardi Gras was celebrated Tuesday night at Early Edition East in Manhattan as pancakes were served up for Pawnee Mental Health. Pawnee Development Manager Diane Hinrichs says this event will just be the start of many planned fundraisers in the future. The event raised funds for Pawnee’s new crisis stabilization center. Hinrichs says it’s a core part of their mission to serve people in crisis regardless of their ability to pay, a key need in Manhattan and across Kansas. Early Edition owner Marcy Uphoff and her husband Dave say they were more than happy to help support the…

BOISE, Idaho — Kansas State Dean of the College of Engineering Darren Dawson is one of five finalists to become the seventh president at Boise State University. Dawson heads the largest engineering program in the state of Kansas and rose to the level of Dean in 2014. Prior to his time at K-State, he also was professor and chair of the electrical and computer engineering department at Clemson University. As a researcher, Dawson has targeted the design and experimental validation of advanced model-based controllers for mechatronic systems. He has a doctorate in electrical engineering as well as a Bachelor of…

MANHATTAN — Riley County Police have released new details regarding an early Saturday morning shooting at the Blue Hills Shopping Center at 2300 Tuttle Creek Blvd. Police say an aggravated battery report was filed listing two 24-year-old Kansas City area men as victims from a shots fired call just before 2:30 a.m. Saturday. Both victims were life-flighted to Stormont-Vail in Topeka and are in stable condition. The victims and suspects were not known to each other. RCPD says because of this, no further identifying information about the victims is being released due to safety concerns. RCPD personnel have been in…

MANHATTAN — Pawnee Mental Health will be joining in on Mardi Gras celebrations taking place next week. Executive Director Robbin Cole says they’re celebrating Mardi Gras for Mental Health through a special pancake feed fundraiser to help support the organization.  It’s the first year for the event. The pancake feed will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Early Edition. Tickets are available at pawnee.org. Part of Pawnee’s mission is to improve access to mental health in the Manhattan area. Recently a new office opened in Wamego, even though Cole says for years they’ve been serving Pottawatomie County…