Author: Brandon Peoples

Riley County Police say a Junction City teenager was jailed this past week on a warrant charging him with attempted first-degree murder. According to Saturday’s arrest report, 17-year-old Mikal Kairson was arrested by Junction City Police Sept. 18 at the North Central Kansas Regional Juvenile Detention Facility. In addition to the attempted murder charge, Kairson also faces single counts of aggravated assault and criminal discharge of a firearm. RCPD says the charges stem from an incident from last year, but could not provide additional information Saturday. The case number listed on RCPD’s arrest report (22-003615) is connected to two separate…

Geary County Schools USD 475 cut the ribbon Friday on its new state-of-the-art Morris Hill Elementary, located on Fort Riley. The new school combines the former Jefferson and Morris Hill Elementary schools and will eventually accommodate 590 students and be 99,000 square feet. Principal Melisa Burgess, who had a hand in the school’s design, says the new building has more space for teachers to conduct  collaborative learning. The facility also includes a dedicated space for breakfast and lunch, replacing a combined space for meals and gym classes in the old building. It also includes storm shelters, designated flex labs for…

Six months after the Midtown development in Aggieville was put on pause, City of Manhattan officials are expected to receive a progress report at Tuesday’s work session that will also include some new requests from the firm in charge of the multimillion dollar project. Back 9 Development President T.J. Vilkanskas will present an updated timeline Tuesday, showing design and fundraising will continue through mid-year 2024 for both the Midtown project and a new hotel space to be constructed in Aggieville. Construction would begin by the middle of next year, continuing through mid-2026. The Midtown project was paused in March after…

Riley County officials on Thursday approved a motion for a new mural to be installed at the county fire station in Zeandale. Resident Diane Hoobler, representing the Friends of the Zeandale Fire Station 101, presented a draft example of the mural which the artist plans to start painting on Oct. 7. She says some of the art depicted in the mural, including the train station will be made larger, for a better visual perspective. She discussed some of the other identifying landmarks. The train station, the Pawnee Trail and the old Zeandale school will be depicted in the mural. Once…

Riley County Commissioners received an update Thursday from the Riley County Fairgrounds Task Force. Riley County Extension Director Gary Fike, who chairs the task force, says there is a strong push for a long-term solution to vacate the current fairgrounds and relocate to property west of the Public Works facilities on Tuttle Creek Blvd, where the county already owns land. Fike says vacating CiCo Park however requires some additional input on the task force, due to interests of both the City of Manhattan and USD 383. Task force member and former commissioner Dave Lewis spoke to commissioners Thursday, strongly advocating…

A Manhattan man was arrested Wednesday on a warrant alleging two counts of probation violation. The charges against Curtis Simms, stem from original arrests in January 2022 for interference with law enforcement and domestic battery and battery charges, as well as violation of a protection order. Simms remains jailed on a $100,000 total bond.

A Texas man was arrested Wednesday on a Riley County District Court warrant for a past motor vehicle burglary and other crimes. The Riley County Police Department says 23-year-old Augustus Sherman Jr is charged in a 2022 incident, alleging he stole a vehicle and money from an ATM in Manhattan. He faces two counts of theft and two counts of criminal damage to property, in addition to a charge of burglarizing a motor vehicle. Sherman remains jailed on a $12,000 bond.

The Kansas Department of Transportation is planning a mill and overlay project next week, that will impact portions of northern Riley County. Approximately 12 miles of U.S. 77 will be resurfaced, beginning Monday at the southern K-82 junction and ending at U.S. 24 near Riley. Officials say once that’s completed, KDOT’s contractor will start work on approximately 12 miles of U.S. 24, from the Clay County line to the U.S. 77 junction near Riley. KDOT says work will take place during daylight hours Monday through Friday and on Saturdays as needed. Traffic will be reduced to one lane when crews…

City officials say American Airlines will resume flights Monday morning at Manhattan Regional Airport. The first return flight will arrive at approximately 11:45 a.m. where it will be greeted with a water-cannon salute from Manhattan Fire Department Station 4 apparatus as it pulls into the jet bridge at the terminal. The ceremony will mark the end of a multimillion dollar runway reconstruction project that has kept the airport shutdown since mid-May. Deputy Manhattan City Manager Jason Hilgers spoke about the airport project on KMAN’s In Focus Tuesday. Hilgers says despite the project being delayed by almost a month, he’s been…

A Missouri woman was injured Wednesday morning after authorities say she fell asleep at the wheel on Interstate 70 in Geary County. The Kansas Highway Patrol says a Chevy Silverado, driven by 74-year-old Sandra Colyer of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, went off the road just after 8 a.m. in the westbound lanes near milepost 294, and drifted into the north ditch. The vehicle overturned but officials say Colyer’s injuries were only minor. She was transported to Stormont Vail Hospital. Later in the day, in a separate incident, Geary County Emergency crews battled a semi truck fire that spread to about an…