Author: Brandon Peoples

Manhattan city officials are pumping the brakes on a $13.3 million cemetery improvement project, signaling a desire to scale back spending. During a work session Tuesday, commissioners expressed concerns about the overall cost, particularly for a new Sunrise Cemetery shop and office, estimated at $4.5 million. “We just don’t have the dollars,” said Mayor Karen McCulloh, who suggested the city “tread water” until the city has a better idea of its 2026 budget. To view the full article visit theMercury.com. Click here for more local news.

Andrew Von Lintel filed with the Riley County Clerk’s office on Monday. The 42-year-old said he has concerns with the city’s rising debt and a growing annual budget. “It seems like in recent years we’ve been increasing both a lot,” he said. “I noticed that the state of Kansas has a debt limit on Manhattan, and we’ve used 80% of that credit limit. I don’t really see a reason why we should be doing that.” Von Lintel grew up in Elkhart and graduated from Kansas State University in 2005 with a political science degree. He said he only recently became…

Housing projects, street maintenance and cemetery improvements will be discussed at Tuesday’s city commission work session. In April, the city opened the first round of workforce housing sales tax funding applications and have since received two applications for potential housing projects, both along Moro Street. The first is from local developers Zach and Michelle Burton, who are seeking a $215,000 grant and a sales tax exemption for a proposed 15-unit townhome project at 1000 and 1004 Moro Street. To view the full article visit theMercury.com. Click here for more local news.

City officials this week rejected the nomination of a former mayor and city commissioner to serve on the Manhattan Urban Area Planning Board. Commissioner Peter Oppelt moved Tuesday to pull Linda Morse’s appointment, citing the need to encourage others in the community to serve. “How can we do that if we continue to appoint the same people to these boards,” he asked. To view the full article visit theMercury.com. Click here for more local news.

Three people, including a Manhattan teenager were injured Wednesday in a crash on US 77 in Geary County. The Kansas Highway Patrol says 16-year-old Salman Shinwari was northbound on the highway, just after 2 p.m. near the intersection of West Lyons Creek Road, when his vehicle crossed the center line and struck a southbound passenger car, driven by 62-year-old Donna Mitchell, of Herington. Both drivers and a passenger in Mitchell’s vehicle, 66-year-old Linda Kay Schreiner, also of Herington, were transported to a Junction City hospital with serious injuries. Authorities say all three were properly restrained at the time of the…

City commissioners have advanced an ordinance to rezone K-State’s Unger Complex from a business commercial district to high-density residential, following a contentious meeting Tuesday evening with neighboring residents. The decision paves the way for the building to be converted into apartments for middle- to moderate-income people. K-State intends to sell the property at 2323 Anderson Ave. and is in negotiations with Fred Merrill Jr. and Jake Mooney, co-applicants with Unger Housing, LLC. The applicants are planning to repurpose the building into workforce housing, with 106 planned units. To view the full article visit theMercury.com. Click here for more local news.

A critical project to preserve water supply and remove sediment at Tuttle Creek Lake will begin this summer. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials are preparing for a first-of-its-kind water injection dredging project. Operations Project Manager Brian McNulty said the technology has been around for while but has never been used at an inland lake. “It uses gravity to transport the sediment out of the lake through the outlet works,” he said. “Tuttle Creek is a prime candidate for that, since our gates are the lowest point of the lake.” To view the full article visit theMercury.com. Click here for…

Tariffs could spell trouble for farmers, according to the executive director of the Kansas Farmers Union. “Tariffs are not good,” said Nick Levendofsky, who was a guest Wednesday on Within Reason with Mike Matson on KMAN. “They don’t work. Nobody wins in a trade war.” Levendofsky said current trade policies being implemented by President Donald Trump have already begun impacting U.S. exports. “Certainly what’s happening with China is very concerning, where last week they pulled back on importing beef from the US,” he said. “Now they’re backing off on soybeans.” To view the full article visit theMercury.com. Click here for…

WESTMORELAND — One year after a tornado ripped through Westmoreland, the community is still reeling, but looking toward the future. “Everything’s kind of still in progress right now,” Mayor Waide Purvis said in an interview last week. “I believe, from the last report I got, there was one house that was destroyed that is completely rebuilt and back livable. We have multitudes of houses that are still in progress.” According to the National Weather Service, the April 30, 2024, tornado was rated an EF-3 category storm, with peak wind gusts up to 140 miles per hour. The tornado had a…

Three teenagers have been arrested in connection to a stolen vehicle from an east Manhattan convenience store. According to the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office, dispatchers received a report shortly before 5 o’clock Monday that an SUV had been stolen from the Casey’s parking lot on East Highway 24. A short time later, dispatchers received a 911 call reporting a reckless driver on Highway 24 near Blue Run Road, with an occupant also reportedly pointing a gun at another vehicle. Officers determined it was the stolen vehicle and pursued it eastbound before it came to a stop just east of Belvue.…