Author: Brandon Peoples

WAMEGO — With some restrictions on industrial hemp being lifted thanks to this year’s Farm Bill, Kansas legislators will begin to determine what impact that may have on the future of the agricultural economy. 51st District Representative Ron Highland (R-Wamego), a guest on KMAN’s In Focus recently, says after lawmakers passed a bill last year authorizing hemp research within federal regulations, the legislature may have to come back to the bill and potentially repeal it altogether. Highland says it could open up new income avenues for ag producers, but stopped short of saying that legal marijuana is a possibility in Kansas. Highland…

MANHATTAN — You can’t have Christmas without a Christmas tree. One local organization has been busy selling them this season in an effort to raise money for youth activities in the Manhattan area. The Manhattan Breakfast Optimists Club shut down tree sales this week and club president Keith Behnke says they nearly sold out all their inventory, even despite the blizzard the area experienced the weekend they opened after Thanksgiving. Behnke said the sale, which usually garners between $8,000 to $9,000, wrapped up with less than 30 trees left. The remaining trees will be left outside the gate on Plymate…

MANHATTAN — Time is running out for holiday shopping and the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce hopes residents will continue to do their shopping here locally. One of the ways the chamber is encouraging that is through Little Apple Dollars, or gift certificates that can be used at most any Manhattan business. Chamber President and CEO Lyle Butler explains the benefits to buying Little Apple Dollars. Little Apple Dollars promote shopping locally. Typically several hundreds of thousands of dollars of the gift certificates are sold. They can be purchased in any denomination year-round but can only be purchased at the…

TOPEKA — Kansas Labor Department figures show the state’s November unemployment rate of 3.2 percent was just barely lower than the previous month’s rate and down from 3.5 percent in November 2017. Labor Secretary Lana Gordon shared optimism about what that means for job-growth. Seasonally adjusted job estimates indicate total nonfarm Kansas jobs increase by 1,500 from October. Private sector jobs also increased by 1,500 from the previous month. Senior Labor Economist Tyler Tenbrink says that’s good news for the workforce. In the Manhattan area, unemployment remained at 2.5 percent, unchanged from the previous month, and down from 2.6 percent in…

On Friday’s show we spoke to K-State Research & Extension Ag Agent Greg McClure about some upcoming events and a year-in-review from the agricultural perspective. We also spoke with Margaret Abbott, coordinator of the Riley County Senior Service Center’s Friendship Meals program about their need for volunteer drivers. 51st District House Representative Ron Highland (R-Wamego) joined the show’s third and fourth segments to preview the upcoming legislative session and discussion over the 2018 Farm Bill, in particular what it means for hemp as an agricultural commodity.

State agencies, firefighters and emergency managers are preparing communities for a potential earlier start to the wildfire season in Kansas. Projections by the Kansas Mesonet and National Weather Service have elevated the threat of wildfire in southwest and central Kansas in 2019. According to Kansas Forest Service that news came during the 2019 Wildfire Outlook Seminar held in Wichita Dec. 12. Chip Redmond, mesonet manager and assistant scientist in the Weather Data Library at Kansas State University attributes the elevated threat to increased fuel loads in the region due to late summer rains. Redmond says despite above-normal moisture across most…

WESTMORELAND — A slew of capital improvement projects are on the horizon in Pottawatomie County, to the tune of approximately $290,000. Many of those projects were approved at Monday’s meeting and are underway. Some of the projects also will begin after the start of the new year. During this week’s meeting of the Pottawatomie County Commission, Administrator Robert Reece spoke about some of the details surrounding a handful of those projects. Commissioners have also approved improvements to move forward on the justice center, as well as transferring court service offices to the new justice center. Some projects will be revisited…

Thursday’s guest was Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Lyle Butler discussing the importance of shopping local, especially with Little Apple Dollars.

MANHATTAN — The new head of the Riley County Police Department will be officially sworn in later this month. Incoming Director Dennis Butler will take the oath during a special ceremony at 10 a.m. Dec. 31. Riley County District Court Judge Meryl Wilson will preside. Butler will succeed Brad Schoen who is retiring. Butler has been chief of police in Ottawa since 2004 and prior to that, worked with the Alexandria, Virginia Police Department for 25 years, retiring in 2004 at the rank of Captain. Butler was hired as the fifth director of the RCPD during last month’s Riley County…

MANHATTAN — Christmas will be a little brighter for four individuals who located the second G. Thomas Jewelers Manhattan Running Company Jingle Bell Rock. Mitch and Tim Innes, Philip Braddock and Matt Prather located the second rock hidden and claimed their winnings Wednesday morning at the KMAN studios. The four have been lucky enough to find the rock now twice, having also won eight years ago. Braddock explains how they were able to find the rock based on the clues. It’s become an annual tradition for them to get together. Mitch Innes says he’s become somewhat of a professional detective.…