Area community leaders and representatives of Pawnee Mental Health Services ended a 60 year birthday celebration for the group with a rendition of “Happy Birthday” Thur. Executive Director Robbin Cole was pleased with the special day describing it as “amazing. Pawnee Mental Health was found November 19, 1956–with one therapist who also served as the director. Now there’s one executive director and 240 employees who serve 10 counties Local legislators, city and county governmental, law enforcement, corrections, and other community officials participated in the ceremony–with many giving brief speeches. Manhattan Mayor Usha Reddi has great appreciation for the services provided, saying…
Author: KMAN Staff
Last night the gymnasium at Eisenhower Middle School was transformed into a work space for Manhattan residents to voice their concerns regarding state education funding. For the last few months, USD 383 officials have been working on a resolution which will soon be adopted by the board and sent to the state. The resolution comes after calls from Gov. Brownback’s office for Kansas’ public schools to provide input on a new education funding formula to be drafted in the spring session. Eric Reid, assistant superintendent, has been the driving force behind the district’s resolution with assistance from board member Leah…
Riley County commissioners and local state legislators met Thursday for their 2017 Legislative Luncheon. Commissioners used the luncheon to communicate the county’s legislative priorities when the state legislature reconvenes in January. “We have a very fortunate relationship between our elected state officials and the county commissioners,” Rep. Tom Phillips of Manhattan said after the luncheon. “We work very well and our lines of communication are wide open, and I think we’re all committed to do what’s best for Riley County and Manhattan.” Phillips was joined by Sen. Tom Hawk and Rep. Sydney Carlin — both of Manhattan — and Rep.…
TOPEKA — Kansas is preparing for a new fiscal forecast for state government that is expected to be more pessimistic in projecting the state’s tax collections than the current one. State officials, legislative researchers and university economists were meeting Thursday to draft revised projections for tax collections through June 2017. They also planned to issue the first projections for the following two years. Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, his staff and legislators use the numbers in budgeting. The current forecast was issued in April. From July through October, tax collections have been $80 million less than projected for a shortfall of 4.2…
Police in Riley County arrested 21 year-old Cesilio Martinez-Gonzalez, 21, of Manhattan on November 9th, 2016 at approximately 4:20 PM while at the Riley County Police Department. Gonzalez was arrested on a Riley County district court warrant for a felony DUI charge. This warrant listed a bond of $5,000.00 and Gonzalez remained confined in the Riley County Jail. RCPD also arrested Daniel Thompson, 26, of Hiawatha, Kansas on November 9th, 2016 at approximately 11:00 AM while at the Riley County Police Department. Thompson was arrested on the offense of failure to appear, which was listed on a warrant from Manhattan municipal court. This warrant had…
Today’s guests will be Monica Smith and Kristina Springer with Fort Riley Education Services. Later, we welcome in Rod Harms to talk about current sales tax and other building/economic numbers for city of Manhattan. Monica Smith and Kristina Springer: Rod Harms:
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Voters are retaining four Kansas Supreme Court justices targeted for removal by abortion opponents and conservative Republicans. The results from Tuesday’s election mean that Chief Justice Lawton Nuss and Justices Carol Beier, Dan Biles and Marla Luckert will remain on the seven-member court for another six years. Voters also retained Justice Caleb Stegall. He was GOP Gov. Sam Brownback’s only appointee and was not targeted. The ouster campaign started with critics of rulings that overturned death sentences in capital punishment cases. Abortion opponents also joined the effort, as did a gun-rights group. Conservative Republicans were critical of…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A top Kansas education official says results of the 2016 state assessment tests were essentially flat, but he expects to see improvements in the future. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Education Commissioner Randy Watson reported on the results to members of the Kansas State Board of Education on Wednesday. Those numbers show that 41.33 percent of Kansas students in third through 10th grades met or exceeded grade-level reading expectations in the spring, down from 42.02 percent in 2015. The data also show that 34.44 percent of those students met grade-level math expectations for college and career readiness, up…
Today’s guests for In Focus were Wamego’s USD 320 Superintendent Tim Winter, Rock Creek’s USD 323 Superintendent Kevin Logan, and Executive Director of the Chapman Center for Rural Studies Bonnie Lynn Sherow. Winter and Logan: Sherow:
A 23-year-old Ogden man was arrested yesterday afternoon. Police in Riley County arrested Kody Nations on the offense of probation violation, which was listed on a warrant. The warrant had an original offense of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Bond was set at five-thousand dollars. Two individuals were arrested yesterday on the offenses of failure to appear. 33-year-old Sarah Burns of Wamego and 34-year-old Carmen Johnson of Manhattan were arrested while at the Riley County Police Department. Burns’ offense was listed on a warrant from Allen County, while Johnson’s offense was listed on a warrant from Jackson County, Missouri. Both…