Author: Brandon Peoples

Plans to help tenants move safely out of the Royal Towers apartment complex are expected to be made public Friday. The Manhattan Fire Department condemned the building last week, giving residents until May 1 to vacate the building. A February exterior inspection found widespread spalling of concrete walkways and stairs, with some areas where concrete is completely missing, exposing deteriorated steel reinforcing. The issues date back to 2019, when an engineer’s report also outlined walkway issues, according to Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Almes, who appeared with city officials on KMAN’s In Focus Tuesday. At that time, he says, the structural…

A Douglas County man accused of causing a fatal crash last August involving a Wamego family is scheduled to appear for a June preliminary hearing. The Pottawatomie County Times reports the attorney for Mark Stanwix, of Lecompton, requested the hearing at a Tuesday status conference. Stanwix is facing eight total charges, including involuntary manslaughter and aggravated battery resulting in death. Stanwix was behind the wheel of a semi truck that rear-ended a pickup, driven by 37-year-old Randy Tinkel, as well as an SUV on Aug. 10. Tinkel and his son died in the crash. Three others were also injured. The…

Days after an investor pulled out of the Midtown Aggieville development project, Manhattan city officials remain optimistic that the project will be seen to the finish line. On KMAN’s In Focus Tuesday, Manhattan City Manager Ron Fehr said the land transfer agreement approved Nov. 15 stipulates that Back 9 Development has 38 months from the time of closing to produce the minimum 40 million dollar facility. The Manhattan City Commission agreed in November to sell the former city-owned parking lot for $1 to Back 9 Development for the project and closed on the transfer of property in December. According to…

The Kansas Department of Transportation announced Monday two projects to take place April 4-5 on a rural stretch of K-16 in Pottawatomie County. Two locations will be closed over the two-day period while maintenance crews replace underground pipes. K-16 will be closed to traffic April 4 just east of Blaine, between Kansas Avenue and Marshall Road. Then on April 5, K-16 will be closed, approximately two miles east of Onaga, between Straight Creek and Lincoln Roads. Closures will be in place 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days and motorists are advised to use alternate routes.

The Kansas Department of Transportation says a patching and concrete replacement project on I-70 in Riley and Wabaunsee counties has been delayed a week and will now start March 27. The work will stretch from the Riley/Geary county line to K-30 in Wabaunsee County but will not impact bridges and bridge approaches in the corridor. Crews are planning work in both directions in roughly 4-mile stretches of the interstate, resulting in lane reductions, width restrictions and reduced speed limits of 60 mph. On and off ramps will remain open during the project. KDOT says work will take place Monday through…

Pottawatomie County Commissioners on Monday approved the 2023 asphalt bid from Shilling Construction, who last week submitted a lone bid of over $1.9 million. As routine as that process was, the chip seal bid process was anything but routine. After two bids were publicly opened at last week’s meeting, Public Works officials became aware of a third bid submitted prior to the deadline that went unrecognized, according to County Counselor John Watt. Watt advised commissioners that they could simply ignore the bid that went to the spam email, based upon language spelled out in the county’s bid process. The other…

Pottawatomie County Appraiser Robin Knoblauch provided an update to county officials Monday, regarding the office’s work with taxpayers questioning or wanting to appeal their 2023 value notices. As of Monday, her office had 46 scheduled appeals. She says the major class of increase was residential, which according to the county wide index average was up 14.6%. Most small towns in Pottawatomie County also showed an index value much higher, by up to 6% or more. Knoblauch says in speaking with other county appraisers across the region, the average valuation increases in northeast Kansas have been approximately 15%. She calls it…

Firefighters had a busy afternoon Monday as a grass fire, fueled by strong winds, low humidity and warm temperatures, scorched around 300 acres in southeastern Riley County. The blaze was fully contained as of 6 p.m. Riley County Fire District No. 1 had been dispatched initially for a fire in the median of Hwy 177, near Deep Creek Road. Due to the speed and intensity of the fire, mutual assistance was called in from Kansas Forest Service, Geary County Rural Fire Department Explorer Post and Wabaunsee County Fire District No. 8. Contracted air support from Heinen Brothers Ag Services was…

Philanthropy and community service was recognized at the 10th annual Community Foundation Awards Monday. In addition to the awards, the meeting also serves as a transitional meeting from one Board of Trustees Chair to another. Jackie Hartman Borck handed those duties over to Kim McAtee. A dozen awards were handed out at the ceremony. The Young Trustee Volunteer Award went to Jamie Coons, who helped start the annual Young Trustees Chili Cookoff several years ago, and reflected on first coming to the area. The Philanthropist Award went to Robert and Tracey Debruyn, founders of the Master Teacher, who are also…

Fort Riley officials say one person was shot following an incident early Monday morning at the Trooper Gate, located on the southwest side of the installation. According to an initial report, a suspect drove through the gate just before 7 a.m. and was stopped by the automatic vehicle barrier and then exited their vehicle. Fort Riley Military Police say that’s when the situation escalated, ultimately leading to the suspect being shot by the guards. The driver is receiving medical attention for non-life-threatening injuries. Army CID and the Fort Riley Military Police are investigating. No further information has been released.