Author: Brandon Peoples

Updated 2:15 p.m. Monday Wabaunsee County Sheriff Rob Hoskins has provided additional information on the man who self-immolated himself Thursday evening outside of a Paxico winery. Sheriff Hoskins posted on the department’s Facebook page that the man’s name has not been confirmed via autopsy, but he is not believed to have been local resident and had no ties to the area. The Manhattan Mercury is reporting that Wyldewood Cellars Winery Manager Beth Brewer identified the man as Christopher Jolly. Updated 8:45 a.m. Friday One person is dead following a Thursday evening fire at a Wabaunsee County winery. The Topeka Capital-Journal…

A local homeless shelter is back open after months of repairs following a water leak earlier this year. The Manhattan Emergency Shelter closed in March after a contractor accidentally struck a sprinkler line on the building’s third floor, flooding the building and knocking out power. Executive Director Emily Wagner tells KMAN there were delays in repairs and getting tenants moved in due to the development of mold. The shelter can house up to 47 people per night. But over the last seven months, many of those displaced had to be temporarily housed elsewhere. Residents were able to start moving back in to…

A Manhattan man has been arrested on suspicion he intentionally set a fire last weekend to his home. The Riley County Police Department says 37-year-old Michael Ray Watt was arrested Wednesday and charged with one count of arson to a dwelling with intent to injure or defraud. He’s confined in the Riley County Jail on a $75,000 bond. Manhattan Fire Department crews were called out to the fire at 820 Church Ave. last Friday evening after a report of multiple explosions. The total loss was estimated at around $100,000. No one was injured in the fire. See related story: No…

Old man winter returns to the Manhattan area Thursday and it could be the first healthy dose of snowfall for the region. Riley and Pottawatomie counties and the surrounding region are in a Winter Weather Advisory Thursday morning through Thursday evening. National Weather Service Meteorologist Shawn Byrne says for Manhattan specifically, snow will likely begin in the mid-morning hours and by the end of the day. Byrne says two to four inches of snow are possible in the Manhattan area with locally heavier amounts in the region. Riley County Public Works Director Leon Hobson says with the warmer ground temperatures,…

Wednesday’s In Focus guests included USD 383 Superintendent Dr. Marvin Wade and board member Karla Hagemeister speaking about the successful passage of the $129.5 million school bond referendum.  They also previewed Wednesday evening’s school board meeting. We also spoke with Manhattan Housing Authority Executive Director JoAnn Sutton and board member Phil Anderson about an open house at the Towers Apartments on Nov. 16.

The District 66 House seat will have a familiar name once again as Democrat Sydney Carlin, on Tuesday won re-election. Carlin says she’s happy to take care of her constituents and says it’s one of her key strengths. Perhaps the biggest challenge facing the House once again in January will be the prospect of fully funding education. Carlin says lawmakers will have the support of the new governor-elect. As for continuing on the job, Carlin thanked constituents for their support. Carlin won re-election by a 77 to 23 percent margin, defeating Libertarian Edgar Chambers.

Update 3 p.m. 11/8/18: Kansas State Police say the racist note found on a student’s door at Jardine Apartments was written by the student who reported it to authorities. According to a release Thursday, the student — Brodrick Burse — admitted to writing and posting the note to his own door and university police have concluded their investigation. The situation will be dealt with “in accordance with applicable disciplinary procedures.” ————————————————————————————————————————– Kansas State University Police are investigating after a racist note was left on a student’s on-campus apartment door. K-State newspaper The Collegian reports that sophomore Brodrick Burse returned to…

It was a big win Tuesday night for the USD 383 Manhattan-Ogden school district after the passage of a $129.5 million bond referendum. The bond passed by a 63 percent margin with 11,179 votes in favor. Board member Leah Fliter says she was cautiously optimistic heading into election night and says she believes the business community ultimately recognized the value in supporting the measure. As a result, the district will be able to make some much anticipated improvements to safety and security concerns at each building and construct a new elementary school in Blue Township which is anticipated for opening…

Riley County saw a 52 percent voter turnout while Pottawatomie County saw a 62 percent voter turnout for the 2018 general election. Final unofficial tallies are as follows. Local races are listed first, followed by state races. Final election totals from Riley and Pottawatomie counties * – Denotes incumbent LOCAL RACES USD 383 Manhattan Ogden School Bond Yes: 11,179 (63%) No: 6,506 (37%) __________________________________________________________________________________ Riley County Commission – District 1 *John Ford (R) :  3,637 (86%) Write In: 274 (16.21%) __________________________________________________________________________________ Pottawatomie County Commission – District 1 *Dee McKee (R): 1,646 (47%) Sage TeBeest (D): 1,356 (39%) Nathaniel Gotsch (I):…

As voters head to the polls Tuesday, local election officials are hoping a good advanced voting turnout this election season also translates to a high volume of voters at the polls for Election Day. Riley County Clerk Rich Vargo says the number of advanced voters this election cycle has been nearing historic levels. While official numbers won’t be known until all mail-in ballots are received this Friday, Vargo says they easily have surpassed more than 8,000 advance votes this year. To put that in perspective, in 2016 a total of 9,111 advance votes were tallied, including mail ballots. Overall turnout…