Author: Brandon Peoples

A new MRI scanner suite was officially unveiled to the public Friday at Wamego Health Center. The permanent facility replaces a mobile MRI unit that came to the hospital twice a week. Hospital Administrator Brian Howells says construction on the roughly $3 million project took less than a year and came in under budget. “It’s been really about the last 9 to 10 months we’ve started from ground zero to up and running which has been terrific for us,” Howells said. The idea to bring an MRI suite to Wamego was born from conversations between the city and hospital over the…

Pottawatomie County officials say significant progress has been made on the cleanup effort in Westmoreland following Tuesday’s devastating tornado. “There’s still a lot to do but we kind of considered we’ve made it to the next phase of operations. We were able to send volunteers home this (Thursday) afternoon and we will not need volunteers tomorrow (Friday),” said Riley County Public Information Officer Vivienne Leyva, speaking on behalf of Pottawatomie County Thursday. Because heavy equipment will be hauling debris away, she says it’s not safe for volunteers to be out and about. The county plans to put out a notice…

The third phase of a pavement improvement project along K-18 and K-177 is scheduled to begin Friday, weather permitting. Traffic will be head-to-head on the southbound/eastbound lanes while the northbound/westbound lanes are reconstructed. The section of Zeandale Road/K-18 between K-177 and the local access road will also be reconstructed. Work will be done in subphases in order to keep two lanes of traffic open. This area will have a 10-foot width restriction. Turning restrictions at McDowell Creek, Stadel and Zeandale Road will remain in place, as well as at the intersections of Pride Drive, Johnson Road and Acorn Lane. KDOT…

Pottawatomie County officials have identified the woman who died in Tuesday’s tornado in Westmoreland. Ann Miller, 58, was killed when the tornado struck her home. Miller was a long term county resident and health department employee. “Ann was the welcoming face of the Health Department for many years,” said Becky Ryan, Pottawatomie County Public Information Officer. “She was a good neighbor and a good friend to everyone. We miss her and will be here to support her family during this difficult time.” Ryan says they’ve been humbled by the support that has poured in to the community in the last…

Konza United Way is supporting relief for Westmoreland in the aftermath of Tuesday’s tornado. Emergency Management officials noted late Wednesday that there is not a need for additional volunteers until debris and safety can be checked and double checked. Konza United Way has activated the Communities Active in Disaster (or COAD) response to help with relief efforts. CEO Tara Claussen explains… Financial donations can be made at KonzaUnitedWay.org to support Westmorleand relief. The Caring Community Foundation is also available ccfks.org and can be made in person at Farmers State Bank or on our the KMAN website on the right hand…

Tuesday’s storms were the third such strong wind event to impact the Flint Hills in the past two weeks and the first ever to hit Westmoreland directly, in what’s been an active few weeks for severe weather. On April 18, a downburst struck St. Marys, and while it wasn’t classified as a tornado, it did produce wind gusts of 80 to 90 mph. On April 27, tornado warnings were issued across portions of northern Riley and Pottawatomie Counties, but it wasn’t until after those storms moved out that a wake low caused significant wind damage in the Manhattan area. National…

The cleanup effort continues in Westmoreland after a tornado devastated the town’s northern edge. Evergy officials say nearly 1,000 customers lost power in the area Tuesday as a result, but by Wednesday morning most of the power had been restored to about 90 percent of the city. Evergy spokesperson Kaley Bohlen… Water service is also operating normally. A total of 22 homes were destroyed and 13 damaged, but livable. Five residential outbuildings were also destroyed. The Pottawatomie County Recycling processing building and the Buildings and Grounds office building at 407 Campbell Street were also destroyed.  Because of the extent of…

Seg. 1 & 2: USD 383 Superintendent Eric Reid and board member Karla Hagemeister preview tonight’s school board meeting and Seg. 3: Downtown Manhattan Inc. Executive Director Gina Snyder and Event Manager Heather Hnizdil visit about downtown events, Third Thursday among other things.

(This is the second of a two-part news series regarding NBAF’s initial research underway in Manhattan) Since the National Bio and Agro Defense Facility (NBAF) was dedicated almost a year ago, research has slowly begun in low risk areas of biocontainment, with officials promising a path forward to more higher-level research to come. In an interview with KMAN, research leader Dr. Chad Mire, with the Foreign Arthropod-Borne Animal Disease Research Unit (also known as FABADRU), noted that the unit has over 60 active research programs and agreements currently underway. That includes research into foreign arboviruses transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks,…