A 1st Infantry Division Soldier was found dead Tuesday (Nov. 15) in Manhattan. Spc. Phillip Cruz-Medellin, a satellite communication systems operator-maintainer, was assigned to the 267th Signal Company, Special Troops Battalion, 1st Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade. “We are all greatly saddened by the loss of Spc. Cruz-Medellin,” said Lt. Col. Russell Klauman, commander of the STB. “We are committed to helping Phillip’s family and friends in this difficult time.” Cruz-Medellin joined the Army in October 2014 and arrived at Fort Riley in October 2015. His home of record is Prairie Lea, Texas. He was 21 years old. His awards and…
Author: KMAN Staff
JUNCTION CITY- A 6-year-old Kansas boy has died from injuries sustained in a suspected drunken-driving crash that killed his mother and younger sister. The Kansas Highway Patrol identified the boy as Jaydon Allan Thompson, of Junction City, who died at a hospital. Kansas Highway Trooper Ben Gardner says 26-year-old Jessica Michelle Thompson had taken Jaydon and 5-year-old Leah Michelle Thompson out of school Tuesday morning for a medical appointment. They were returning when a Houston man driving a large box truck crossed the median on Interstate 70 and crashed into the family’s vehicle in Geary County. The truck’s driver Steven…
The 1st Infantry Division assumed command of the Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command – Operation Inherent Resolve from the 101st Airborne Division during a Transfer of Authority ceremony Nov. 17 at Forward Operating Base Union III in Iraq. Maj. Gen. Joseph Martin, 1st Inf. Div. and Fort Riley commanding general, replaced Maj. Gen. Gary J. Volesky, commanding general, 101st Abn. Div. (Air Assault) and Fort Campbell, as the commander of the multinational land component command working by, with and through the government of Iraq to defeat ISIL in Iraq. Presiding over the ceremony was the Combined Joint Task Force…
Today’s guest was Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce President Lyle Butler.
A Marysville man has died and a Waterville man is hospitalized following a one vehicle accident in Marshall County Wednesday night. Lee James Busch, 43, of Marysville died in the crash at Fifth and Sunflower Road, eight miles south of highway 36. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, Busch was driving a 1998 Chrysler Van southbound on Fifth Road and attempted the curve at Sunflower Road without slowing. The van went into the south ditch, rolled, and came to rest on its top facing west. A passenger in the vehicle, 40 year old Timothy Lee Busch of Waterville, was taken…
Following weeks of deliberation and a community input forum, USD 383 board members signed a resolution at Wednesday’s meeting which will end up on Governor Brownback’s desk in the coming weeks. Districts across the state have taken up pen and paper to make their voices heard as the legislature prepares once again to craft a new education funding law. Assistant superintendent Eric Reid and board member Leah Fliter were active in procuring input and crafting the final document, but Superintendent Marvin Wade expressed satisfaction at what came out of a community input forum last Thursday night at Eisenhower Middle School. The district’s resolution…
GIRARD, Kan. (AP) One of two men who escaped from a southeast Kansas county jail has agreed to a plea deal. The Pittsburg Morning Sun reports that 27-year-old Steven Ray Barnes pleaded no contest Tuesday to aggravated escape from custody and two unrelated aggravated battery counts. As part of the agreement, charges of aggravated intimidation of a witness, possession of amphetamines and obstruction of official duty were dropped. He faces a 10 year prison term. One of the aggravated battery charges stems from a 2014 attack that left a Pittsburg State University with a broken jaw. Then in April, Barnes…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A few hundred Topeka students marched to the Statehouse to show they’re diverse and united. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that 400 to 500 Topeka High School students participated in the march Wednesday. Angelo Campos, an 18-year-old senior, says since the presidential election last week there’ve been reports of minorities being discriminated against, and he wanted to show he takes pride in the school’s diverse groups. Principal Rebecca Morrisey says the march occurred during a morning period when the school’s estimated 1,800 students are in homeroom and that students were allowed to participate if they chose to. Morrisey…
Steven Sprawka, a veteran who resides in Pottawatomie County, came to the county commission meeting Monday, to fight his case in keeping a second driveway at his home. Sprawka recently graded a driveway to reach his backyard shed without receiving a permit first, a permit to which Sprawka says he was unaware of. Sprawka stated that he needed the driveway to be able to reach his shed when it rains. He stated that when he received the permit to build the shed in 2011, he thought it also permitted a driveway to reach the shed. Unfortunately, due to county regulations, citizens…
Detectives with the RCPD Special Investigations Unit in conjunction with the Junction City/Geary County Drug Operations Group arrested Randall Joseph Simonds, 33, yesterday. The Manhattan man was located in Junction City at the conclusion of a three-month drug investigation. Simonds was arrested and booked into the Riley County Jail on two offenses of Distribution of Methamphetamine, one offense of Distribution of Methamphetamine within 1000 feet of a School, three offenses of the Unlawful use of a Telecommunication Device, and one offense of felony fleeing and eluding. The total bond set for Simonds was $26,000.00 and at the time of this…