Author: Brandon Peoples

A Manhattan man is out about $26,000 in valuables after a reported burglary Monday evening. The Riley County Police Department says a 34-year-old man living in the 500 block of Stone Drive reported that unknown suspects went into his home and stole various items including jewelry, video game equipment and shoes. No arrests have been made. Another burglary was reported Monday morning in the 2000 block of Seaton after a 29-year-old woman told police that her storage locker was broken into, with multiple items stolen, valued at less than $1,000. Police are asking anyone with tips on either case to…

Police in Marysville are sounding the alarm after uncovering a large amount of Fentanyl this past weekend. Police say they seized 22 “Dirty 30” pills, Sunday during a welfare check. According to the DEA, seven out of every 10 could’ve been laced with lethal doses of Fentanyl. Marysville Police also found powder Fentanyl, methamphetamine, Xanax and Ecstasy. The seizure reiterates the dangers of Fentanyl, which can be lethal even with one pill. While Fentanyl usage isn’t prevalent in the community, police say it is becoming more commonplace in communities across the region.

Two people were seriously injured Saturday morning when their small aircraft crashed near Tuttle Creek State Park. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, 70-year-old Edward Gifford, of Manhattan, and 88-year-old Richard Miller, of Wichita, were co-piloting a Pegasus Powrachute aircraft north over Manhattan at around 8:30 a.m. when they experienced an engine failure, causing the aircraft to crash near the River Pond area, just east of US 24/Tuttle Creek Blvd. Both men sustained serious injuries, according to the crash report, and were transported to Ascension Via Christi for treatment.

Authorities say three people were injured early Saturday morning following a shooting in the 400 block of Bluemont Ave. According to the Riley County Police Department, several 911 calls came in just before 3 a.m. reporting gunfire. Arriving officers found two male victims with gunshot wounds. A third male victim arrived at the hospital with a gunshot wound from the incident. All injuries are believed to be non-life threatening. Two of the victims are 19 years old. The other is 16. Upon further investigation, officers determined the shooting occurred during a house large house party in the same location. As…

A fire at a Manhattan hotel was quickly contained Thursday afternoon. The Manhattan Fire Departmen says firefighters were dispatched shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday to the Quality Inn & Suites on East Poyntz Avenue. Crews located a mulch fire that had spread into an exterior wall of the building. The hotel was evacuated. Firefighters opened the wall up and extinguished the fire within 10 minutes. No injuries were reported. The hotel was able to remain occupied after the fire. It is currently under a building permit for repairs to the upper floors. Damage was estimated at $7,000. The fire was…

The City of Manhattan says Hayes Drive will remain closed to through traffic longer than initially expected, as crews work to finish construction of a major storm water drainage structure and special sanitary sewer structures. That’s Deputy City Manager Jason Hilgers on KMAN earlier this week. Hayes Drive was originally to reopen in November, but that became apparent in recent weeks to be an unrealistic timeline. Hilgers says there are many layers to the overall project. The closure has been in place since March and work has involved raising the levee, storm water box construction, temporary protective embankments and major sanitary…

Riley County and the City of Manhattan are at odds over whether a parking lot within CiCo Park should be paved. Staff from both government entities along with engineers and architects met earlier this week as the city moves forward on upgrades to the ball fields on its parcel within CiCo park. Part of those upgrades include paving the north lot, which sits just west of the ball fields. However, most of the parking lot is on Riley County property. Extension Director Gary Fike shared his perspective on KMAN’s In Focus Wednesday. The issue was brought up at Thursday’s Riley…

The former Royal Towers apartments were purchased earlier this month by Back 9 Development. Back 9 acquired the property from Nevada-based TD Invest LLC for $2 million, according to a sale contract provided to KMAN, which is shared below. (*An earlier version of this article inaccurately stated the property was acquired for $1. All general warranty deeds in Kansas include standard language of “In consideration of the sum of One Dollar ($1) and other valuable consideration.”) The property will be entirely gutted, renovated and turned into two-bedroom, two bath condominiums, starting at $249,000 each. Back 9 owner TJ Vilkanskas says…

Authorities are investigating a Tuesday night injury crash in northern Riley County that was apparently caused by a drunk driver. According to the Riley County Police Department, 34-year-old Faye Evans, of Blue Rapids, was arrested on charges of driving under the influence and two counts of aggravated battery. Officers say Evans crashed her vehicle shortly before 9:30 p.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Green-Randolph Road and Tuttle Creek Blvd. A 22-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy were listed as victims in the crash. Further crash details weren’t immediately available from police. Faye was jailed on a $17,000 bond.

The Manhattan-Ogden School Board will meet this evening at the Robinson Education Center. The board will  look into the purchase of a new activity bus totaling over $248,000 and a new Ford Expedition totaling $65,000, along with the disposal of two buses. The district has $500,000 budgeted for this in its capital outlay fund. Additional purchases to be considered are a new IT van and an XUV for Bishop Stadium. The XUV is used to pull implements to groom and broom the synthetic turf and other various maintenance tasks at the stadium. The board will also consider a settlement agreement…