Author: Brandon Peoples

Manhattan Public Works crews continue to patch potholes across the city, following January’s frigid and wet conditions. City Engineer Brian Johnson says work is continuing on a stretch of Fort Riley Blvd. near Westwood Road, where traffic backed up for Tuesday morning’s commute. City Manager Ron Fehr joined KMAN’s In Focus Tuesday and says the city is essentially in triage mode trying to fix issues as they arise. City crews patched 529 potholes on Monday alone. Fehr says it’s been especially challenging, given the extreme cold spell that the area experienced in January, followed by an almost immediate warmup. Residents…

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly will deliver this year’s Landon Lecture at Kansas State University. The lecture will take place at 11:30 a.m. Feb. 16 in Forum Hall at the K-State Student Union. Kelly’s lecture will center around the health of the state of Kansas, its residents and its politics. The lecture is free and open to students, faculty, staff and the public. Her speech will help celebrate the 161st anniversary of the founding of the university. Doors will open at 11 a.m. “As the first university in Kansas to embrace the health promoting university charter, K-State is deeply committed to the…

The Senate has come out with a $118 billion compromise that pairs tens of billions of dollars in wartime aid for Ukraine with new border laws aimed at shrinking the historic number of people coming to the U.S. border with Mexico seeking asylum. The legislation faced almost immediate criticism from Republicans in both chambers, including Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, who says it doesn’t go far enough on securing the border. Under the proposal, migrants would not be able to apply for asylum at all if illegal border crossings reach certain thresholds. It requires a similar expulsion authority if the number…

Two people were injured in a weekend crash on the north side of Manhattan. RCPD says the injury crash occurred Friday evening near the intersection of Marlatt and North Seth Child Road, involving a minivan driven by 20-year-old Gabriel Ramos-Calleja, of Manhattan and a passenger car driven by 47-year-old Whitney Francis, also of Manhattan. Francis was transported to Ascension Via Christi for treatment of undisclosed injuries. A 19-year-old passenger in the other vehicle was also transported. Police cited Francis for failure to stop or yield at a stop sign.

Crews will be replacing utility poles this week along US 24, in the vicinity of the McCall Road intersection. The City of Manhattan says work will result in lane restrictions on the well-traveled corridor starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday and continuing through Thursday. The outside lanes will be closed in both directions approaching the intersection. This will also impact the leftmost left-turn lane onto U.S. 24 from McCall Road. City officials says the temporary closures will not affect access to any nearby streets, including Levee Drive.

A Manhattan man was arrested Saturday on a number of charges, including assault and battery. The Riley County Police Department says 27-year-old Michael Lee Williamsen is charged with single counts of aggravated assault, criminal threat, domestic battery and attempted possession of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He’s also charged with two counts of aggravated child endangerment. The victims in the case were a 26-year-old woman and two children, according to a Monday police report. Williamsen was arrested just before 1:30 p.m. Saturday in the 200 block of Hackberry Ave. He remains jailed on a $25,000…

Potential parking fees for the downtown garage will be considered at the next Manhattan City Commission meeting. The first reading of an ordinance is scheduled to take place Tuesday, with city officials discussing the potential purchase of license plate reader equipment for the garage, which is attached to the Hilton Garden Inn and Manhattan Conference Center. The new equipment would have an upfront cost of over $63,000 for two pay stations and close to $24,000 for signage. Commissioners will consider a $2 per hour rate for use of the downtown garage with a $10 daily maximum fee. Additional rates would…

Pottawatomie County officials say Onaga Road will be closed Monday afternoon between Pitney and Pauling Run Roads, northeast of Wamego. That stretch of roadway will be closed from noon until 3 p.m. A concrete pumper truck will be positioned on the bridge deck over Coal Creek. County crews will be pouring concrete for structural work below the bridge in preparation of a future deck repair. A detour will be noted around Vermillion Creek via Camp Creek Road.

January revenues for the State of Kansas were about 6.5% below projections, marking the third straight month revenues have been less than estimated, according to the Department of Revenue. Gov. Laura Kelly says it emphasizes that any tax cuts must be done in a fiscally responsible way. The governor vetoed the legislature’s tax package in late January, setting up a showdown for a potential veto override. State Rep. Mike Dodson spoke on the issue during KMAN’s weekly legislative update Friday morning. Dodson says he’s not sure if the Senate has the votes for an override. He is concerned about…

Riley County Police are investigating a report for criminal damage to property Thursday after someone reportedly drove a vehicle into their residence. The incident was reported just after 11 p.m. in the 1300 block of Baehr Place. The victim is a 26-year-old woman and the suspect is a woman known to her. The estimated total loss is estimated to be between $3,000 and $5,000. No arrests had been noted as of Friday morning.