Author: Brandon Peoples

A pedestrian was injured Friday night near Aggieville after being struck by a motorist. RCPD says it happened around 10 p.m. near the intersection of North Manhattan Avenue and Bluemont Avenue. Arriving officers found a Honda Civic, driven by 18-year-old Jacob Wuthnow, of Manhattan, had struck 18-year-old Isabella Rosario, also of Manhattan. Rosario was transported to Ascension Via Christi for treatment of injuries. No additional details were released.

A 31-year-old man was arrested over the weekend after he allegedly exposed himself to three minors in a public hot tub. According to the Riley County Police Department, Fernando Velasquez was charged with a single count of lewd and lascivious behavior after he undressed in a public hot tub, in front of a 14-year-old girl and 16 and 17-year-old boys. The incident occurred at Genesis Health Club, at 2800 Allison Ave. Velasquez was issued a total bond of $7,000 and remains in custody.

Dozens of tuba and euphonium players gathered at Manhattan Town Center Saturday for TubaChristmas. The annual event has been held in some form nationwide since 1974. This year was the 35th annual event in Manhattan. Steve Maxwell, a tuba and euphonium instructor at Kansas State University, conducted the free concert featuring holiday tunes. Musicians ranged in age and experience, coming from Manhattan and surrounding communities, as well as some from as far away as Kansas City and Wichita. Maxwell explains what makes the event so unique. A total of 71 musicians gathered for this year’s TubaChristmas, the largest gathering in…

A tentative agreement has been reached between Manhattan Area Technical College and the Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 school district regarding dual (concurrent) credit course offerings at Manhattan High School, for the spring semester. The district will consider approving the temporary agreement at its Dec. 20 school board meeting. The two sides have been operating without a memorandum of understanding since August. Superintendent Eric Reid informed the school board Wednesday that a compromise has been reached for this year to avoid jeopardizing reimbursements to staff for the fall semester. Reid says that will allow more time for further negotiations on a permanent…

A Pottawatomie County jury has convicted a 21-year-old Wamego man for contributing to the overdose death of another man. McKaine Farr was found guilty of distribution of a controlled substance, causing death. The 21-year-old supplied six Fentanyl-laced oxycodone pills to 21-year-old Jayson Ebert in early September 2021. Ebert was found dead two days later from an overdose. A medical expert testified during trial that Ebert’s cause of death was a combined Fentanyl/cocaine intoxication. In an audio recording played for the jury earlier in the week, Farr admitted to a KBI investigator that Ebert paid him $200 through Venmo to acquire…

A jury trial for a man accused of providing Fentanyl-laced pills that led to a Wamego man’s overdose death two years ago continues in Pottawatomie County District Court. Jurors heard additional testimony from the state’s witnesses Wednesday in the trial of McKaine Farr, who is charged with distribution of Fentanyl, resulting in death. An audio recording was played in court that featured KBI investigator Robert Besenyi questioning Farr in June 2022, nine months after Jayson Ebert’s September 2021 overdose death. Farr admitted in the recording to being the middle man, who helped Ebert acquire six oxycodone pills from a provider…

Kansas State Senator Usha Reddi, appointed to the seat nearly one year ago to serve out the remainder of Tom Hawk’s term, will seek to hold onto that post in next year’s election. The former Manhattan city commissioner announced her candidacy for the Kansas State Senate Wednesday. Reddi is preparing for her sophomore session and expects things will slow down for her as she’s had time since May to work on bills before lawmakers return to Topeka next month. Reddi’s Senate Committees last session included Transportation, Assessment and Taxation and the Joint Building State Construction Committee. Reddi is the first…

Country Stampede has found a new home, in the Kansas City area. The 28th annual music festival will take place at Azura Amphitheater in Bonner Springs from June 27 to June 29, 2024. JC Entertainment, the ownership group for Country Stampede, issued a statement Monday saying the move to the Kansas City area will provide a great opportunity to introduce new fans to the festival who haven’t had the opportunity to travel to its previous locations. Country Stampede was held in Manhattan for over two decades, but was moved to Topeka in 2019 due to flooding concerns at Tuttle Creek…

Kansas State University will host fall commencement activities this weekend in Manhattan and Salina, recognizing summer and fall semester students eligible for degrees. Ceremonies begin at 1 p.m. Friday at Bramlage Coliseum, kicking off with the Graduate School graduations – and, for the first time ever, graduates will be clad in purple caps and gowns. Retiring K-State Provost Charles Taber will be the speaker. Among the speakers at Saturday’s ceremonies will be USD 313 Buhler Superintendent Cindy Couchman for the College of Education and Quantum Health CEO Zane Burke for the College of Business Administration. Couchman is a 2014 inductee…

We’re staying. Those words adorn a banner that drapes over the mezzanine inside The Dusty Bookshelf. Owners of the long-standing Aggieville bookstore will not close in the spring as previously thought, after their lease was recently renewed for another year. The company celebrated the announcement in a social media post Thursday. Owner Diane Meredith says she had spent a few hours that day packing books to potentially take to their Lawrence location when she received a phone call from her landlord. It’s a turn of events from July, when The Dusty Bookshelf announced the real possibility of closure after Meredith…