Author: Brandon Peoples

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…

The City of Manhattan will contract out services at the T. Russell Reitz Animal Shelter. City commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved an agreement with Prairie Paws, a nonprofit organization out of Ottawa to manage the shelter. Mayor Mark Hatesohl says the move should give the city a better understanding of how much it’s spending on services. The city began discussions in January to explore avenues to outsource shelter services, without requiring additional tax dollars. Deputy City Manager Jason Hilgers noted on Tuesday’s edition of In Focus that the city has struggled with turnover at the shelter for several years. Commissioner…

Big changes are coming for the Manhattan Area Resettlement Team. The nonprofit organization, founded in late 2021, as a local effort to resettle some 200 Afghan refugees into the community, has shifted its focus to help receive refugees from any country. This past spring, the organization rebranded from the Manhattan Afghan Resettlement Team, to the Manhattan Area Resettlement Team, to broaden its scope and serve a wider range of individuals in need or resettlement assistance. MART President Susan Adamchak says the goal is fully integrating these individuals into the community. Idrees Khalil, a client of MART, was one of the…