Two roundabouts are going in on Tuttle Creek Boulevard north of town, with a stretch of the road set to shut down for most of the year starting in April. Kansas Department of Transportation officials on Thursday said work is underway on a roundabout at the junction between Tuttle Creek Boulevard and Kansas Highway 13, which goes over the dam. Meanwhile, construction will start at the intersection of Tuttle Creek Boulevard and Seth Child Road in the coming weeks. Currently, both intersections have stop signs on the roads crossing Tuttle Creek Boulevard, and traffic on Tuttle Creek Boulevard is unimpeded.…
Author: KMAN Staff
By Megan Moser A path to economic growth for Manhattan could include proactively approaching investors, opening a regional business research center hiring a development director. Matt Tarleton, an Atlanta-based consultant specializing in community development spoke Friday at the Regional Growth Summit, which is the new name for the Regional Leaders’ Retreat. The event is organized by the chambers of commerce of Manhattan, Junction City and Wamego. The Tarleton’s firm, Matt Tarleton LLC, made an economic assessment in June that showed Manhattan was lagging in several areas that indicate economic health. Manhattan posted 0% job growth, according to the 2024 report,…
Preliminary estimates reported by the Labor Market Information Services (LMIS) division of the Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.6% in December. This is an increase from 3.5% in November and an increase from 2.6% in December 2023. Seasonally adjusted job estimates for Kansas indicate total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 1,200 from November. Total nonfarm includes private sector and government employers. Private sector jobs increased by 500 over the month, while government increased by 700. Since December 2023 Kansas’ seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs have increased…
Officers filed a report of an injury accident at the corner of S. 10th Street and Fort Riley Blvd. on January 24, 2024, at approximately 1:53 PM. Officers report Eugene Fells, 85, of Herrington, failed to yield at a red light. Subsequently, his Lincoln MKZ struck a Mazda Tribute riven by Carrie Baker, 50, also of Manhattan. Baker was transported via EMS to Via Christi for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. Fells was issued a citation for failure to yield. Jalisa Carson, 36, of Manhattan, was arrested on January 23, 2025, at approximately 12:58 PM in the 1000 block of S.…
By Rose Gruenbacher Scorpius BioManufacturing officials on Thursday told The Mercury the original deal they made with the state to construct a $650-million, 500,000-square-foot vaccine and biologic medicine plant is off after they failed to meet an end-of-year timeline, though they said the door is open to renegotiate a new agreement. “I think there’s a desire on everyone’s part to see this happen,” said Scorpius founder and CEO Jeff Wolf in a phone interview. “But you know, I think given the amount of time that it’s taking, the original deal with the state is no more.” In April 2022, Scorpius,…
By Emma Loura/Manhattan Mercury Riley County and the city of Manhattan will enter an official agreement to split costs for aerial surveys. Riley County commissioners on Thursday signed their part to formalize the deal, which in the past had only been a verbal agreement that the city would reimburse the county for its portion of the survey costs. The county continues to own the contract with EagleView Technologies for pictometry, an aerial survey technique for creating maps via imagery from above. The new multi-year contract, lasting until August 2029, states that the county will pay EagleView Technologies the full cost…
By Megan Moser According to a report earlier this year by the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce, Manhattan under-performed in several metrics that indicate economic health. Manhattan posted 0% job growth, according to a 2024 report, which was well below that of the four peer cities the report used for comparison. For instance, Ames, Iowa, had 10.1% growth, and Columbia, Missouri was at 8.2%. Morgantown, West Virginia had 7.8% job growth for the same period, and Stillwater, Oklahoma, was at 7.7%. Manattan was near the bottom compared to the other middle-of-the-country college towns in other economic categories, as well. To…
The USD 383 school board on Wednesday unanimously voted to outsource mowing and upkeep services to two outside companies, making up for staff shortages and saving the district some cash. Previously, USD 383 employed three full-time groundskeepers to take care of nearly 310 acres across 24 district locations, but all three have shifted to other positions in the short-handed maintenance and transportation department. On Wednesday, the school board agreed to groundskeeping contracts with Martin Lawn and Landscaping of Herington and Augusta Lawn Care Services of Manhattan totaling $174,112. District officials estimated that the previous cost of groundskeeper salaries and benefits,…
The 1st Infantry Division from Fort Riley has returned to the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California, for a division-level training rotation. It’s the third time an entire division has undergone training at the NTC and the 1st Infantry Division’s first time back since 2021. Traditionally, NTC rotations have been the domain of individual brigades, but divisions now are rotating through the NTC in what officials called “a significant shift aimed at enhancing war-fighting capabilities.” The 1st Infantry Division will deploy its division headquarters and elements of its combat aviation brigade, division artillery brigade and division sustainment brigade to…
Anthony Sutton, 42, of Manhattan, was arrested on January 22, 2025, at approximately 7:30 PM in the 1000 block of S. Seth Child Road. Sutton was arrested on a Riley County District Court warrant for failure to appear. The original charge was for aggravated assault. Total bond was set at $25,000. Sutton was confined at the time of this report. Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers. Using Crime Stoppers allows you to remain anonymous and could qualify you for a cash reward of up to $1,000. Click here for past RCPD reports.