Officials have confirmed that Katie Allen is no longer employed with the Kansas Department of Education following her comments on the death of political activist Charlie Kirk. Allen had worked for the KSDE as a research analyst. KSDE’s director of communications did not give a reason for Allen’s separation and told The Mercury on Monday there would be no further comment. Allen faced backlash after commenting on a Facebook post about the assassination of Kirk on Wednesday “Well-deserved.” Allen deleted the post and apologized Thursday. She also said in an updated post that she was receiving threats from people through…
Author: KMAN Staff
On today’s episode of Wildcat Insider, we’ll go over another K-State loss on Friday, dropping them to their worst record since 1989, and we’ll talk to “Voice of the Wildcats” Wyatt Thompson and his thoughts on the early season struggles for KSU. https://www.youtube.com/live/aAScEYQL5Zc?si=tPyB50nN8OIOYZVw Hour 1 Segment 1 – Cats fall at Arizona 23-17 Segment 2 – K-State dealing with an identity crisis Segment 3 – Last week in the Big 12 Hour 2 Segment 1 – “Voice of the Wildcats” Wyatt Thompson Segment 2 – K-State with worst start since 1989 Segment 3 – This week in the Big 12
By Emma Loura While renovating the old Emergency Medical Services building, Riley County is updating it to better house the Fire Department’s Information Technology. At Monday’s meeting, the county’s IT director spoke about the process of moving the technology over. This project is estimated to cost $800,000. “To start with, the building doesn’t have a generator, so we have to have a generator installed and put in,” said Corey Meyer, director of IT. “All of our services right now, all our internet, all those things, our entire services room, all those pieces would need to move over into that building.”…
K-State on Monday confirmed it had placed employee Derron Borders on leave. Borders, an investigative specialist in the civil rights and Title IX office at K-State, made several posts in support of Palestine that critics say are extremist and anti-Semitic. K-State officials did not say why Borders is on administrative leave or when it began. To view the full article visit theMercury.com. Click here for more local news.
Riley County police officers filed a report of an injury accident in Riley at 12:18 p.m. on Friday. Officers responded to the accident near the intersection of Main Street and Madison Road, where they found a crash involving two vehicles. The report stated Lesa Heiman, 34, of Riley was driving a Chevy Traverse and struck a Ford F-250 driven by Miguel Mercado-Soto, 35, of Clay Center. Heiman was transported to Via Christi for treatment of her injuries, and was issued a citation for failure to yield right of way at a stop sign.
While area teams saw mixed results in Week 2, Council Grove and Wabaunsee rolled to shutout wins to highlight the weekend’s action beyond the Backyard Brawl. Council Grove Council Grove rolled to a 41-0 shutout over Mission Valley on Friday, powered by both its offensive line and a balanced attack. To view the full article visit theMercury.com. For more high school sports click here.
By Kamden Tatkenhorst After being shut out by Wamego a season ago, Rock Creek football flipped the script Friday. The Mustangs (2-0) avenged last year’s 20-0 loss with a 21-13 win in the Backyard Brawl. To view the full article visit theMercury.com. For more high school sports click here.
Junction City Police say they’ve arrested a suspect in connection with a string of recent tire slashings. Officers on Monday morning spotted 30-year-old William Kenneth Taylor and say he ran when they tried to make contact. After a brief chase, police say Taylor was taken into custody without incident. He’s being held at the Geary County Corrections Center on 10 counts of damage to property and burglary, tied to reports of tire slashings in the 200 to 400 blocks of West 5th and West 6th Streets and other nearby areas. Police say the investigation is ongoing and are asking anyone…
Within Reason with Mike Matson: Ned Seaton, Mercury publisher, and Megan Moser, Executive Editor Subscribe to our YouTube channel. Stream the show live weekday mornings at 9am: https://www.youtube.com/@NewsRadioKMAN. Click here to listen on Apple Podcast. Click here to listen on Spotify.
John Swartz, 54, of Manhattan, was arrested on Sept. 13, 2025 at approximately 4:28 p.m. in the 1000 block of Seth Child Road in Manhattan on a Pottawatomie County District Court warrant for failure to appear. Swartz was issued no bond and is no longer confined in the Riley County Jail at the time of this report. Maurice McGee, 45, of Ogden, was arrested on Sept. 12 at approximately 4:48 p.m., in the 1000 block of Seth Child Road on a Hinds County (Miss.) District Court warrant on the uniform criminal extradition act. McGee was issued no bond and remains…