Author: Brandon Peoples

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach has confirmed a Florida man was arrested last week for forging signatures on petitions to make “No Labels” an officially recognized political party in Kansas. The attorney general’s office said 30-year-old George Andrews, of Dade City, Florida, is charged with dozens of counts of election misconduct. Pending extradition, Andrews will appear in Johnson County District Court . In a statement, Kobach said “the arrested individual was part of a scheme to defraud Kansas voters by placing their forged signatures on petitions. In Kansas, we take election fraud seriously, and we will prosecute every case where…

Statues showcasing the rich history of the Douglass Community Center and the Douglass Center Annex in Manhattan were officially unveiled to the public Tuesday morning. “Today we celebrate black history on Yuma Street. That is monumental today in the city of Manhattan,” said Dave Baker, former Douglass Center Director. Four years ago, Baker approached city officials wanting to do something within the historic district to highlight the important role the two buildings played in shaping Manhattan’s black culture and community in the 20th century. “These statues will always tell that story. If you didn’t grow up here or live here,…

Lighting may become a challenge over the next few days in Downtown Manhattan as a road construction project gets underway there next week. City officials say Evergy on Monday began removing light poles in a section of Houston Street between 3rd and 4th Street. This is being done in conjunction with Houston Street infrastructure improvements to coincide with the new Museum of Art and Light, which is currently under construction. City Engineer Brian Johnson explains. Once completed, the 4th and Houston intersection will closely resemble the intersection of 4th and Poyntz. The project will begin Feb. 26 and will continue…

Another special school board meeting is scheduled Tuesday night for Riley County USD 378 schools. (See agenda below) Meetings have become a weekly norm lately in Riley County Schools, as the board, which has been tight lipped regarding the future of suspended Superintendent Cliff Williams, plans to enter an executive session to discuss contracts and personnel matters. The meeting comes just two weeks after a majority of the board moved to start negotiations between its hired counsel, the Hoover Law Firm of Junction City and Mr. Williams. Four of the board members have consistently voted to keep Williams suspended since…

The Manhattan City Commission will vote on a pair of amendments to contracts related to construction in Aggieville when they meet Tuesday. (See below agenda attachment) Two years ago the city entered into a design contract with Olsson and a Construction Manager at Risk contract with BHS for 12th Street infrastructure improvements between Moro and Laramie Street, and Laramie from 12th Street to North Manhattan Avenue. The project was paused when the Midtown construction project was stopped last spring. The city had paid close to $128,000 of its $567,000 owed to Olsson as of June, but with new agreements on…

One person is dead following a crash Monday morning on K-99, south of Wamego. A Kansas Highway Patrol dispatcher confirmed to KMAN that the single vehicle crash occurred shortly before 6 a.m., just south of the I-70 junction near Alma. According to the crash report, 51-year-old Jerry Anstey, of Alma, was northbound on K-99 when his Ford Focus left the roadway, re-entered the roadway and spun, striking an embankment on the passenger side, before overturning. Anstey, who was not restrained, was ejected from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Construction on a key section of Kimball Ave. begins this week on a project that will continue well into the summer. The Manhattan Public Works Department is expected to close Kimball Ave. Monday to vehicular and pedestrian traffic west of Denison Ave., to near the Grain Science Center and K-State rowing facility. The closure will allow crews to begin the second part of the final phase of a replacement and reconstruction of the Denison/Kimball Ave. intersection. City Engineer Brian Johnson… North-south traffic will remain in place through the intersection until mid-May, when the entire intersection will close for the summer,…

A Junction City woman was injured Friday morning after rolling her vehicle in rural southern Geary County. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, 29-year-old Andrea Raye Linn, was northbound on U.S. 77 about seven miles south of Junction City when she lost control of her pickup due to icy conditions. The truck entered the west ditch and overturned. Linn was transported to Stormont Vail Hospital with only minor injuries.

Pottawatomie County will be expanding its board of county commissioners from three to five seats in the next general election, but getting to this point has been anything but simple. Voters approved expansion in November 2022, and many presumed expansion would occur during the next election cycle in 2023. However, complexities within state statute prompted delays, pushing back expansion until November 2024, when county commissioners are typically up for election. This created a potential violation of state law, which currently requires counties to have no more than a simple majority of its commissioners on the ballot during an election cycle.…

Riley County officials agreed Thursday to hold a future work retreat to further discuss facility upgrades and funding. Commissioners were presented with several ways to pay for the upgrades, either by bonding or possibly utilizing sales tax, but decided to have a more in-depth discussion first on what upgrades were needed. Commission Chair John Ford. Commissioners came to consensus that the issue of courtroom space was the likely top priority. No date was scheduled for the work session. The first discussion item will be to determine if the former First Christian Church building, which the county owns, can be used to help…