Expanding Riley County Police Department operations into the Pottawatomie-County portion of Manhattan and an expanding RCPD budget were at the center of a discussion between government officials at a joint city-county-county meeting Thursday. Currently, there is an agreement stating Riley County will pay 20 percent of the RCPD budget while Manhattan will pay the other 80 percent. Some Riley County officials believe that while they pay a smaller portion of the RCPD budget than Manhattan does, the amount they pay unfairly increases as the budget increases due to expanded operations in Pottawatomie County they don’t benefit from. “We understand that…
Author: KMAN Staff
The USD 383 Manhattan/Ogden school board has approved the naming of its planned new elementary school in Blue Township. It will be called Oliver Brown Elementary, the namesake of the landmark Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education Supreme Court case which led to the desegregation of schools nationally. Assistant Superintendent Eric Reid says public suggestions have been collected since the summer. “We had in the triple digits of unique suggestions come in to the district. We were able to look at those and then Dr. Wade and I appointed a committee to look at those names closely and screen it…
Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce Director of Membership Sharla Meisenheimer joined us for the hour to discuss Chamber happenings and Small Business Saturday, coming up Nov. 30.
EMPORIA — A jury has ruled in favor of four families who sued Emporia State University and two employees of its Center for Early Childhood Education. The Lyon County jury ruled Tuesday the defendants must pay a total of $350,000 in damages to the four families. They alleged four toddlers at the center were abused and demeaned by a former teacher, Kimberly Schneider. They also contend the center’s director, Keely Persinger, and university staff ignored their complaints. The Emporia Gazette reports investigators with state social service agencies substantiated claims of physical and emotional abuse and lack of supervision at the…
Manhattan took the first step toward approving the Warner Memorial Park master plan, which currently envisions a future where Warner Park Road is re-opened for vehicles. The City Commission approved first reading of the plan Tuesday by 4 to 1 vote, which would plan to open the road up to the location of the existing park shelter among other planned future amenities such as trail improvement, expanded parking at the northeast side, the installation of a ravine bridge on the south side of the park and leaving the existing 9-hole disc golf course as-is. The plan also accounts for invasive…
On Wednesday’s edition of In Focus we spoke with USD 383 Assistant Superintendent Eric Reid and board member Leah Fliter We also spoke with Manhattan Christian College President Kevin Ingram
Dropping water levels at Tuttle Creek Reservoir have reached a milestone following a spring and summer full of severe rainfall. For the first time since March, the lakes elevation has dropped below the United States Army Corp of Engineers’ “increased surveillance level” of 1100 feet. To put this in perspective, water levels came very close to the record of 1137.76 feet, which was set in 1993. While this is a step in the right direction, Tuttle Creek Dam officials hope to lower levels even more. “We’re releasing 14,000 cubic feet per second right now,” Brian McNulty, the Tuttle Creek U.S.…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Topeka police arrested a man who allegedly threatened police with a large candlestick during a disturbance at a church. Police spokeswoman Gretchen Koenen said officers responded to a call early Tuesday about a disturbance at the Holy Name Catholic Church. The nearly 100 children and adults attending a Mass were evacuated from the church. Koenen says 32-year-old Edwin Soto Jr. became combative with officers and threatened them with a large candlestick. No one was injured. Koenen says Soto is being held in the Shawnee County jail without bond facing possible charges of aggravated assault and making…
Manhattan’s newly combined smoking and vaping ordinance will not completely ban nicotine consumption on bar and restaurant outdoor patios. It passed by 3 to 2 vote. The City Commission Tuesday changed course on the regulations following outreach from multiple area business owners after having previously passed a first reading of an ordinance that extended the ban to patios and would have applied on golf courses as well. The amended version of the law still prohibits smoking and vaping within 20 feet of access points such as doors and open windows — even on patios — in all Parks and Recreation…
Tuesday’s guests were Manhattan City Manager Ron Fehr and Mayor Mike Dodson.