The Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce will be honoring former Mayor Linda Morse at a reception this afternoon. According to a Facebook event by the Chamber, the reception is a chance for their board and associates to recognize Morse for her service to the community. Morse was elected to a 4-year term in the Manhattan City Commission in April of 2015 before serving as the city’s mayor starting in 2017. Mike Dodson, who was also elected in April 2015, is stepping in as mayor. The reception will start at 4:30 p.m. in the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce building.
Author: KMAN Staff
Monday’s guests were Riley County Historical Museum Director Cheryl Collins and Curator of Design Allana Parker, discussing David Fairchild, Charles Marlatt and Walter Swingle, the food explorers who called Manhattan home in the late 1800s, early 1900s. We also spent segment four of the program discussing leaves and mulch, weeds and poinsettias with K-State Research and Extension Horticulture Agent Gregg Eyestone.
Riley County Public Works will be putting the final touches on the Marlatt-Denison connection project at the end of the week. As a result, Marlatt will be closed from Denison to College Avenue to all traffic starting Friday, November 23rd. Vicky McCallum from public works said the work is expected to finish up by Sunday. Any questions regarding the project can be directed to the Riley County Public Works Department at 785-537-6330
TOPEKA — The Kansas Republican Party will be getting a new chairman in February. State GOP Chairman Kelly Arnold has announced that he will not seek a fourth, two-year term after serving six years as the Kansas party’s top official. The Republican State Committee will name his successor during the party’s next statewide convention. Arnold began as chairman in 2013 with the GOP, which had won all statewide and congressional races starting in 2010. The party extended the streak through the 2016 election, with then-Gov. Sam Brownback and U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts winning tough re-election races in 2014 and U.S.…
Jason Simonds, 45, of Manhattan was arrested while in the 4000 block of Kimball Ave. in Manhattan on November 18, 2018, at approximately 10:25 AM. Simonds was arrested on a Riley County District Court warrant for probation violation and offenses of use/possess paraphernalia and possession of opiates, opium, narcotic or certain stimulants. Simonds was issued a total bond of $9,000.00. Simonds was not confined at the time of this report. Officers filed a report for theft in the 1100 block of Moro St. in Manhattan on November 17, 2018, at approximately 2:05 AM. Officers listed Caleb Bland, 22, of Fort…
LAWRENCE — A federal agency has found that administrators at Haskell Indian Nations University underreported crime statistics for a two-year period. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Interior also concluded in a report Friday that the Lawrence school had failed to follow internal policy when handling misconduct complaints. The agency’s report says university employees told investigators they felt “bullied and intimidated” by Haskell President Venida Chenault. The document concluded the president influenced, through her presence at a meeting, a family member’s appointment to a high-level campus job. Chenault told federal investigators Haskell’s annual…
WICHITA — The boyfriend of a woman found dead in her home after being beaten with a shovel has pleaded guilty to killing her. The Wichita Eagle reports that 38-year-old Travis Becker Jr. entered the plea Friday afternoon in a Sedgwick County courtroom to reduced charges of first-degree felony murder and aggravated kidnapping in the November 2017 death of 42-year-old Perla Rodriguez. He had originally been charged with first-degree premeditated murder. He’s expected to serve about 40 years after he’s sentenced on Jan. 2. Rodriguez was outreach director for the Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center. Her severely battered body was…
WICHITA — Wichita police will soon ask gun owners and sellers to keep spent ammunition as a way to help identify stolen weapons following an increase in gun thefts over the past five years. Wichita Deputy Police Chief Jose Salcido tells the Wichita Eagle that the city has seen a spike in firearms thefts from about 400 in 2012 to 1,600 last year. He says 328 of the guns stolen last year “showed up at violent crime scenes in Wichita.” Salcido says the police department plans to ask gun sellers and buyers to save two fired casings. The gun owner…
The Kevin Coffey Blood Drive was on Friday at St. Thomas More Church, collecting 252 pints of blood. This was the 9th drive held in Kevin’s memory, a 2009 Manhattan High School drive who died in a bus crash in 2010. American Red Cross Blood Drive Coordinator Kristi Ingalls said 168 people came to donate on Thursday, November 15, beating their goal by 4. On Friday at noon, they were well on their way to exceeding that day’s goal of 106 donations. Maxine Coffey said the drive is a way to keep her son’s memory alive in the community. Kevin’s…
Many travelers will be hitting the road this week for Thanksgiving and Riley County game warden Ben Jedlicka with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism joined KMAN’s In Focus recently with some caution for drivers. This time of year happens to cause the highest amount of deer activity on roads until the spring. Because deer collisions are so common, Jedlicka says there are some tips to get through them with minimal harm. Jedlicka warns travelers that swerving off the road in deer collisions is the biggest cause of getting injured or killed.