A federal judge has dismissed a wrongful termination case brought on by a former Riley County employee. Olsburg resident Steven DeHart and the Riley County Commission agreed to a settlement Monday. DeHart worked as an environmental health specialist, but was fired in 2017. He had alleged the county commission violated his First Amendment rights after speaking up about a private sewer hookup on the property of Commissioner Ron Wells, who earlier this year began a repayment plan with the city after receiving years of free sewer service. DeHart also he alleged he blew the whistle on supposed public water environmental…
Author: KMAN Staff
Kansas has set another record for its biggest seven-day spike in new coronavirus cases. The state’s top public health official said Wednesday that it’s a sign the state is seeing community spread of the virus even in “frontier” counties. The state health department reported 1,267 new confirmed and probable coronavirus cases since Monday, an increase of 2.3%, to bring the total to 55,226. The average number of new cases per day was 622 for the seven days ending Wednesday, beating the previous record average of 615 for the first seven days of September. The state also reported another 21 COVID-19-related…
Police in central Kansas say a 91-year-old man was hit and killed this week as he stood in the middle of a street in Salina. Police say the crash happened Monday afternoon, when a sport utility vehicle hit another vehicle, pushing it into 91-year-old James Price. Salina police say the 82-year-old driver of the SUV may have lost consciousness before hitting the vehicle. Police say Price was in the street standing next to the vehicle that was hit. He died from his injuries.
Whether it is finding a new hobby or learning something new, the UFM Community Learning Center has options. Linda Teener, director at the UFM Community Learning Center, tells KMAN there are several classes coming up. She says that one class that she is excited for is the upcoming book discussion over the book “How to Be an Anti-Racist”. She mentions that this is a perfect time for this class. “I think there’s need for somebody just to have some civil discourse around a lot of what’s going on with the protests in the world and in the United States. UFM…
A very important day for many school districts is Count Day, or September 20th. Count Day is the day that schools will learn how much funding they will receive based on their number of students and a few other factors. Cliff Williams, Riley County District Superintendent, tells KMAN that the USD 378 school district was rather impressed with their results from count day this year. “Overall we are down, again, about 19, but we’re pleased with the number we have. We are trending with the remote learners that they’re coming from home back to school, and we think that’s great…
Thursday’s program featured a conversation with K-State Department of Communications Associate Professor Dr. Timothy Shaffer. Shaffer is also the Director of the Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy. The conversation centered around the legacy of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the future of the open seat on the court as well as how party politics could impact the results of the election in the fall. Pawnee Mental Health Services Executive Director Robbin Cole also joined us where she highlighted some new FEMA funding for COVID outreach and a new grant for emergency housing for mental health…
The Riley County Police Department has had its first in-house case of COVID. According to the department’s interim Public Information Officer Rachel Pate, an RCPD employee tested positive Wednesday for the novel coronavirus. The employee has been in isolation since becoming aware of the exposure and will continue to recover at home. Based on contact tracing, it is believed that the employee had no close contact with members of the public while working. RCPD is currently working to identify any additional staff members who may need to quarantine. RCPD will not release any further information about the employee to protect…
Four proposals made the rounds Tuesday with the Manhattan City Commission debating the best course for the Kimball Avenue/Grand Mere Parkway roundabout. Among them, Options 3 and 4 — both of which would remove the current roundabout and install a single-lane roundabout west of the existing placement. Those options received support from Commissioners Linda Morse, Mark Hatesohl, Aaron Estabrook and Mayor Usha Reddi. Commissioner Wynn Butler was lone opponent to any roundabout proposals. “I’m not going to support any roundabout. I think we should bulldoze that thing, put the signalized intersection there. We’ve had fatality accidents there over the…
K-State has moved commencement ceremonies for 2020 spring, summer and fall graduates who attended the Manhattan campus to the weekend of Nov. 20. The commencement ceremonies for the Manhattan campus will take place Friday, Nov. 20 through Sunday, Nov. 22 in Bramlage Coliseum. Ceremonies for the Polytechnic Campus in Salina will remain on Nov. 20. These ceremonies were originally scheduled for Monday, Nov. 23 and Tuesday, Nov. 24 in Bramlage Coliseum. However, according to Chuck Taber, K-State provost and executive vice president, a change in availability at the commencement venue prompted the date change. Taber says in a letter that…