Early voter turnout for Riley County has almost doubled since the last presidential election. County Clerk Rich Vargo tells KMAN that as of noon Monday 15,326 Riley County voters cast their ballots in advance. Compared to 2016, that number was only slightly over 8,000. “Our total election participation in 2016 was 22,198. We’ll far surpass that,” Vargo told the Riley County Commission Monday. Nearly 80 percent of the mail ballots have been received, as 8,668 of the 10,889 had been returned by noon Monday. A total of 6,053 residents voted in advance in person. Vargo says his office does not…
Author: KMAN Staff
Riley County saw an additional 37 positive COVID-19 cases come in over the weekend. Julie Gibbs, Riley County Health Department director, updated the county commission during their meeting Monday. Along with the additional positive cases, there were 60 more recoveries over the weekend as well. “As of today, that brings us to a total of 2,251 confirmed positives and out of those, 103 are considered active,” Gibbs said. “We’ve had 2,136 recover. Our percent positive was declining for about seven weeks up until the week before last, (when) it went up to 7.7 percent from 5 percent the week prior…
TONGANOXIE, Kan. — An eastern Kansas deputy is dead following an accident involving a school bus. The Kansas Highway Patrol said the accident happened Friday afternoon in Leavenworth County near the town of Tonganoxie. Deputy Corporal Daniel R. Abramovitz was driving an unmarked sheriff’s vehicle when it collided with a school bus. The bus driver was hospitalized with injuries characterized as not life-threatening. A child on the bus had minor injuries that did not require hospitalization. The patrol has released no further information about the accident, which remains under investigation. Abramovitz leaves behind a wife and three children.
LENEXA, Kan. — A man is hospitalized after being shot by a motorcyclist on Interstate 35 in Johnson County, and police believe road rage was behind the shooting. KCTV-TV reports that the incident happened Friday night, causing the shutdown of the interstate near the busy intersection with I-435. Lenexa police say the victim was driving northbound on I-35 when a motorcyclist driving the same direction shot him. Police say they’re investigating it as a road rage incident, but provided no additional information. The victim drove home and called 911. He was taken to a hospital but details about his condition…
OLATHE, Kan. — The largest county in Kansas has reported a record number of new COVID-19 cases, and its health director says the spread of misinformation is a significant factor in the spike in cases. The Kansas City Star reports that Johnson County health officials confirmed 287 new cases on Friday, along with two additional deaths. Dr. Sanmi Areola, director of the county health department, says the spread of misinformation is proving problematic and contributes to the spread of the virus. He says rhetoric promoting herd immunity and suggesting masks don’t work are hurting efforts to combat the pandemic.
WICHITA, Kan. — Both the Kansas Republican and Democratic parties have failed to disclose which candidates they are targeting with campaign mailers this election cycle. The Wichita Eagle reports that both major parties failed to provide that required information when they filed reports with the state. The Republican Party has spent more than $1 million on campaign mailers since August. The state Democratic Party reported spending more than $730,000 on mailers in the same period. The Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission has asked both parties to correct this year’s reports to add details about which candidates they were supporting, but that…
TOPEKA, Kan. — A man who beat a Topeka toddler to death in 1995 has been granted parole. The Kansas parole board determined that 46-Glenn Allen Heath Jr. will be released on or after Dec. 1 if an approved plan is in place. The parole board had turned down Heath’s three previous requests for parole. Heath was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder in the October 1995 beating death of 2-year-old Cain Baker, his then-fiancee’s stepson. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Heath’s supporters say he has no prison disciplinary violations, has completed five prison programs, has a strong support…
The following summary of calls for service/reports filed by the Riley County Police Department is a portion of those received by police. Some names, addresses, and case details are withheld to follow local, state, and federal law as well as in an attempt to protect community members from being victimized further. Those arrested are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. MANHATTAN, KAN. – Officers filed a report for criminal damage to property in the 700 block of Highland Ridge Dr. in Manhattan on October 30, 2020, at approximately 12:08 p.m. Officers listed Stone Pointe Apartments as the…
On Monday’s edition of In Focus we spoke with Flint Hills Veterans Coalition President Chuck Sexton and Publicity Director Melody Sexton. We also spoke with Manhattan Parks & Rec. Aquatics Specialist Sydni Baker. And in our final segment we spoke with Tracey Mann – Republican candidate for U.S. House District 1 in Kansas.
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran may soon look into obtaining more federal funding for Manhattan Regional Airport. The airport is currently in need of a runway reconstruction that could cost the city, which is currently in a budget crunch, about $6.7 million. The Federal Aviation Administration could cover the remaining cost of about $29.5 million, but Moran wants to see if they can cover more. “We want to see if there is opportunity for them to be altered that would be beneficial and that has to do with the width of the runway and the depth of the pavement or asphalt…