On Monday’s edition of In Focus we spoke with Sunset Zoo Marketing and Development Officer Melissa Kirkwood. Manhattan Fire Assistant Chief of Risk Reduction Ryan Courtright and Hands On K-State members Kait Long and Reagan Stonestreet preview Furniture Amnesty Day happening July 30th.
Author: KMAN Staff
The Riley County Fair continued Sunday with a mixed-berry pie baking contest. Ten pies were entered into the competition with Pete Delnero taking second place and Jonah, Lilla, and Melissa Wanklyn snagging the first place prize. County Commission Chair John Ford was one of the celebrity pie judges and spoke about the Wanklyn’s champion triple berry pie, his favorite of the day. Ford says despite all that pie, he’ll probably take it easy on the sweets going forward. Former B 104.7 morning host and first-year pie judge Tyler Jackson spoke about his personal pie-judging philosophy. The Riley County Fair concludes…
Technology continues to change the face of emergency response for first responders, including in Riley County. RCPD Director Dennis Buttler on KMAN’s In Focus Friday noted one new app that can help alert dispatchers to someone in trouble. Called “What 3 Words”, the app’s developers have assigned three unique words to every 10-foot square on maps worldwide. He says the app gives dispatchers info even if the caller can’t speak. Another program the police department is utilizing is called “SafeCam”, where homeowners can register their security cameras. Police would be able to view that information in a database and determine…
Local 4 H students showed off their birds during Friday’s Riley County Fair Poultry Show. Chickens, turkeys, ducks, and pigeons lined the tent at Cico Park. Poultry Judge Ryan Flemming explains how the judging of each bird works. Flemming says the first thing he checks is the bird’s health and making sure there are no mites or lice. Then he checks the color pattern, eyes, and the angle of the tail. Rachel Kovar, one of the 2021 Fair Queens, helped with the judging of each bird. The 2021 overall champion was a Bantam Rhode Island Red, with a White Call…
A stabbing in Pottawatomie County Thursday afternoon landed one person in the hospital with non-life threatening injuries and a second in jail. According to the Sheriff’s Office, 24-year old Nigel Breaux was arrested after deputies arrived on scene to find him walking near where the stabbing occurred. He is in jail awaiting bond on aggravated battery and domestic battery charges. The victim called 9-1-1 saying they were driving towards Westmoreland and was intercepted by first responders on Westmoreland Road near Rock Creek Road.
On Friday’s edition of In Focus we spoke with Riley County Police Department Director Dennis Butler. We also previewed the Pott County Fair with 4H Ambassadors Tyree Figge, Kiersten Blankley, and Hayes Rickstrew. 4H agent Daniel Skucius also joined us.
Ernie Minton, Kansas State University College of Agriculture dean, is encouraging the federal government to make investing in agricultural research facilities part of its ongoing infrastructure spending discussions. According to Minton, an Association of Public and Land-grant Universities report shows that 69 percent of agriculture-research buildings at land grant universities are 25 years of age or older, with many having been built between the 1950s and 1980s. The same report shows that $11.5 billion worth of renovations and repairs and an additional $550 million in annual repairs are needed at the 97 institutions that were studied. Despite the large dollar…
No changes have been made to the draft COVID reopening plan for Manhattan-Ogden Schools. Superintendent Dr. Marvin Wade informed the board Wednesday that they still plan on opening the schools without mask or vaccination requirements. COVID positive rates have continued to rise in the county over the past couple of months. Wade said the administration would be reviewing the plan again before the end of the week to go over the all aspects of the district. Wade says while they were hoping to not have conversations about vaccines and masks, the district is still in a better place now than…
WICHITA, Kan. — Spirit AeroSystems says it plans to hire more than 4,600 workers in Wichita by 2024 and expand its manufacturing plant in south Wichita. It’s a turnaround for the aviation company, which lost more than 5,000 jobs after the 737 Max was grounded and because of the coronavirus pandemic. The City Council received the company’s hiring forecast on Tuesday. Spirit ended 2019 with more than 13,200 employees in Wichita, which dropped to about 8,000 by the end of 2020. The company said it plans to have 12,619 employees in Wichita by 2024.
TOPEKA, Kan. — A 34-year-old Washington County man has been convicted in the deaths of a woman and her cousin in Topeka. Richard Showalter, of Greenleaf, was convicted Tuesday for his role in the beating and stabbing deaths of 28-year-old Lisa Sportsman and her 17-year-old cousin, Jesse Polinskey in July 2018. Showalter was the third man convicted in the case. Lisa Sportsman was the estranged wife of 43-year-old Bradley Sportsman, of Hollenberg, who pleaded guilty in October to two counts of second-degree murder and was sentenced to almost 46 years in prison. The third suspect, 22-year-old Matthew Hutto, of Clay…