Author: Brandon Peoples

Pottawatomie County health officials are increasing efforts to fight against opioid overdoses. At Monday’s county commission meeting, the health department’s community health educator Jenny Ebert, described a new initiative the department started, placing boxes containing naloxone in easily accessible public spaces. “You pick that box up and it gives you step-by-step instructions on a 60-second video how to start naloxone if someone is in opioid distress, from pharmaceutical or illicit opioids,” she said. “It gives you start to finish (instructions), to call 911, how to administer the nasal spray, how to put them in the recovery position and wait for…

A new housing development on Moro Street is moving forward after city officials on Tuesday unanimously supported a resolution and economic development agreement with Midtown Holdings, LLC. The developer is planning an $800,000, five townhome project at 716 Moro called “Moro Flats.” The project will receive $80,000 in the form of a workforce housing sales tax grant and a property tax abatement for 10 years, totaling a little over $10,000 annually. Manhattan Director of Community Development Stephanie Peterson says the abatement will be based on performance. To view the full article visit theMercury.com. Click here for more local news.

Visitors to Aggieville can once again drive the length of Moro Street from North Manhattan Ave. to 11th Street. Construction crews reopened the intersection of 12th and Moro Wednesday morning following a nearly one month closure, for utility replacement and reconstruction. Manhattan Public Works Director Brian Johnson said the project finished ahead of schedule, thanks to good weather. To view the full article visit theMercury.com. Click here for more local news.

Downtown Manhattan soon will have a designated space where people can freely roam while drinking an alcoholic beverage. City commissioners on Tuesday narrowly approved an ordinance that will establish a common consumption area that will include several downtown businesses. The vote was 3-2, with commissioners Susan Adamchak, John Matta and Jayme Minton supporting. Mayor Karen McCulloh and commissioner Peter Oppelt voted against. To view the full article visit theMercury.com. Click here for more local news.

All eyes will be on the Riley County Commission Thursday as the board considers a possible veto of a Manhattan workforce housing project. In a Wednesday newsletter to its members, the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce reiterated its support for the project and urged the county to support the project. “We would be disappointed if the county would take this approach on the issue,” the letter stated. “We cannot continue to pay for existing services if we don’t grow. The existing tax burden on our residents, small businesses and entrepreneurs and lack of growth to provide more jobs and shopping…

Authorities are investigating the drowning of a six-year-old girl at Milford Lake. Deputies with the Geary County Sheriff’s Office responded around 5 p.m. Monday to a medical call at the swim beach near the splash pad and south boat ramp at Milford State Park. The girl was then transported to Stormont Vail Flint Hills where she was pronounced dead. The girl’s identity has not been released. Authorities have ruled out any criminal activity and are asking anyone who may have witnessed the incident to contact investigator Lt. Zachary at (785) 238-2261. Click here for more Geary County news.

Manhattan Public Works crews plan to begin water, street and stormwater improvements at Anderson Avenue on Monday. This marks the beginning off a series of projects which will impact the corridor over the next two years. “We’re going to be starting construction on Anderson Avenue, from Connecticut to Lee school,” Brian Johnson, director of Manhattan Public Works, said. “That’s the entirety of the project. We’re going to start from Connecticut to about the Unger complex, and we’re going to be reducing (traffic) from four lanes to two lanes, so you’ll be head-to-head now.” A website providing updates on the construction…

City officials are considering a request to amend the sales tax exemption for renovations to Wareham Hall in downtown Manhattan. The item is part of the Tuesday work session agenda. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in City Hall. City administrators seek direction from the city commission over a proposed 10-year, 100% property tax abatement for the project. The developer also requests a $350,000 cash incentive for public infrastructure improvements. The city, in December 2023, approved a resolution of intent to issue industrial revenue bonds for a sales tax exemption. Since then the project’s budget increased from $25 million…

A spokesperson with Chipotle Mexican Grill has confirmed to KMAN and The Mercury that the company is planning to open a new restaurant in Manhattan later this year, but declined to share further details, including the future site of the new store. It’s believed the company has chosen a commercial lot west of Walmart and south of Meritrust Credit Union, at 818 Tuttle Creek Blvd. ARC General Contracting, of Lenexa, was approved for a building permit at that site on April 16. According to its company website, ARC has designed numerous quick service restaurant buildings in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma,…

The Manhattan City Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved an agreement with Hartford LLC at 700 Poyntz Ave., which is the former Commerce Bank building. The plan calls for crews to make streetscape, landscaping and sidewalk improvements along Poyntz Avenue, Eighth Street and Houston Street, around a future 80,000-square-foot building that will boast retail and residential space. “Part of it is making that streetscape mirror what is further down to the east so there would be one lane that is going eastbound and then some diagonal parking that would be in front of the new Hartford building,” Stephanie Peterson, the city’s…