Manhattan City Manager Ron Fehr and Mayor Usha Reddi previewed Tuesday’s Manhattan City Commission meeting.
Author: KMAN Staff
Voters this year can expect longer wait times at the polls in Riley County. County Clerk Rich Vargo says his office has heard from 70 poll workers that will not be helping out this year due to coronavirus concerns. This means those who want to vote at the polling sites will have to wait longer if there are a large number of people. “I absolutely predict we will be limited on staff. Even if we’re fully staffed, it’s going to be a longer process because of all the sanitation requirements and extra efforts that will need to be made regardless…
Release from the Kansas Highway Patrol. It’s a busy time for farmers in Kansas with harvest underway and hay season in full swing. The Kansas Highway Patrol would like to remind motorists to use caution and patience when traveling around farm trucks, tractors, combines and other implements. “As the busy farming season is underway, each traveler in Kansas needs to be more aware of increased farm implement and truck traffic,” said Lieutenant Adam Winters, KHP Public Information Officer. “In Kansas, we have many trucks exiting and entering the roadways at any given time. Traveling around these vehicles requires extra caution.”…
WICHITA, Kan. — Hundreds of people in Kansas’ largest city flocked to bars and clubs on the first weekend they were open after Gov. Laura Kelly and local officials lifted restrictions meant to check the spread of the novel coronavirus. The Wichita Eagle reported that by 11 p.m. Friday, bars in the Old Town district in downtown Wichita were packing in customers for a celebration after being closed for two months. Knots of people moved through the streets, hugging friends they met and in some cases, turning cartwheels. Johns Hopkins University on Saturday reported more than 9,600 coronavirus cases in…
WICHITA, Kan. — Auditors say about $145,000, guns and drugs are missing from the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office property and evidence storage, and it’s possible more could be missing. Sheriff Jeff Easter said an investigation began after an employee noticed the storage area was in disarray in January. A property and evidence technician and a supervisor were the focus of the investigation and no longer work with the department. Sedgwick County Attorney Marc Bennett said some cases have been dismissed because of the missing evidence, most of which was supposed to be destroyed. He says the dismissed cases are lower-level…
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Two University of Kansas students are suing the school over refunds and other funds they believe they should have received after the classes and activities were moved online or canceled because of the coronovirus pandemic. Several universities across the country are facing similar lawsuits. The two anonymous female students based in Johnson County contend the university has refused to issue refunds for campus fees for activities they could not participate in since being sent home in March. They also object to receiving credits for dining packages, rather than refunds. Kansas spokeswoman Erinn Barcomb-Peterson said the university would…
WICHITA, Kan. — Kansas officials will pay $3.5 million to the family of a man who was killed in 2017 with a homemade beanbag round fired by from a Barber County undersheriff at close range. An attorney for the family said in a written statement Monday that Barber County will pay the amount to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit brought by the widow of Steven Myers, who was unarmed and following law enforcement commands when he was shot on Oct. 6, 2017, by Barber County Undersheriff Virgil “Dusty” Brewer. Brewer is on unpaid leave after being charged in 2018…
Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism Natural Resources Officer and Game Warden Ben Jedlicka discussed critters that typically present in June. Manhattan Parks & Recreation Department Director Eddie Eastes, Community Relations Officer Theresa Mueller and T. Russell Reitz Animal Shelter Deb Watkins discussed updates to reopening plans, adoptions and other information related to the parks and trails.
Students enrolled in skills-based classes at Manhattan Area Technical College wrapped up their semester last week, having received authorization to return to in-person instruction at the beginning of May. MATC is also starting renovations at its new Wamego-based high school facility and has had funds committed for its adult education program, alleviating some financial uncertainty for the college’s recently re-signed president. Like all Kansas educational institutions, MATC closed its doors as numbers of COVID-19 cases began to rise nationally. But MATC provides hands-on skills training in multiple fields that President Jim Genandt — whose contract was recently extended through the…