Sunset Zoo attendance The Sunset Zoo has reportedly seen positive-attendance numbers since it reopened to the public on June 13. Melissa Kirkwood, Sunset Zoo marketing and development officer, credits some of this to good weather. “When we first reopened, attendance was great,” Kirkwood said. “They were like ‘wow, we’re so thankful you’re back open,’ and we are seeing that every day, that members and guests are coming back. We had really good attendance this past weekend. The weather was beautiful.” Those going to the zoo in the near future can expect to see most of the indoor viewing areas closed…
Author: KMAN Staff
The USD 383 Manhattan/Ogden school board on Wednesday approved the $26.7 million guaranteed maximum price for the Manhattan High School construction project. Construction manager Patricia Brooke-Freundt says the project includes additions to the east and west sides of the building, including 25 new classrooms. The proposal is going out to bid with several alternates that have reductions and additions. “We have a guaranteed max price of $26,773,168 when in reality the contract is going to say $26,772,718,” she said. The approval goes to McCown Gordon Construction. Brooke-Freundt says they will return with an amendment for the artificial turf for the practice…
K-State Associate Professor in the Department of Communications and Director of the Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy joined us for the first half of the program. Pawnee Mental Health Executive Director Robbin Cole highlighted the center’s reopening plan beginning July 1.
TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has appointed a commission to examine policing and other racial justice issues and named the superintendent of Topeka’s public schools and a state university administrator to lead it. Kelly issued an executive order Wednesday to create the Commission on Racial Equity and Justice. She said it would focus first on relationships between law enforcement agencies and the communities they police and develop policy proposals for state and local officials. The governor promised her administration would tackle such issues following George Floyd’s death May 25 in Minnesota. The commission’s leaders are Topeka Superintendent Tiffany…
TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas has seen its largest jump in coronavirus cases in more than six weeks with an increase of more than 500 cases in two days. The state health department on Wednesday reported a total of 12,970 cases of the novel coronavirus, up 4.1% from Monday. Gov. Laura Kelly has urged local officials to postpone lifting their last restrictions on businesses and public activities for another two weeks. The state also reported an additional two deaths since Monday, bringing the total to 261 since the pandemic began in early March. The state hasn’t seen such a spike in…
TOPEKA, Kan. — A Kansas congressman running for the Senate has come under attack over a 12-year-old misdemeanor criminal case and for missing votes while treating coronavirus patients. The criticism of Rep. Roger Marshall came during a Wednesday night debate in Wichita. Marshall sought to portray GOP primary rival Kris Kobach as an iffy prospect for the November general election. Kobach cited a 2008 criminal case in which the son of a Marshall business partner helped him get the charge changed from misdemeanor reckless driving to a lesser traffic infraction. When Kobach also criticized Marshall for missing votes, he said…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Sheriff’s officials in northwestern Kansas have pulled the body of a man from a lake in Miami County. Television station WDAF reports that recovery crews found the man’s body Wednesday as they were searching for someone who went under the water in Hillsdale Lake on Tuesday. Authorities have identified the man as 65-year-old Richard Bangs, of Spring Hill. Rescue crews were first called to a boat ramp on the lake late Tuesday afternoon after a witness reported seeing a person fall out of a boat while trying to tie off. Crews searched for hours before suspending…
A long time pillar of the Manhattan community, Bill Stolzer, passed away Saturday. Stolzer was 86. The Kansas City native married Eleanor Griffith in 1957 after meeting as students at K-State. He served in the US Air Force in England, and then returned to Manhattan where he followed his father and father-in-law, T.J. Griffith, into community banking at Union National Bank of Manhattan. During his career of over 50 years at Union National, Stolzer served as President, CEO and Chairman. Stolzer was active in the Kansas and American Bankers Associations, The Kansas State University Foundation, and also was the Chairman…
Health officials Wednesday officially designated COVID-19 outbreaks centered around Aggieville and Kansas State University. Riley County health officials updated the public via Facebook Live, saying the designation was made that morning in collaboration with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The county reported 24 new positive cases since Monday and 51 since Friday the 19th. Officials say 30 cases are linked with Aggieville activity and 14 student athletes have tested positive. Health Officer Julie Gibbs says contact tracing is underway, though specific businesses linked to the outbreak are not being released at this time. Gibbs says the recent spikes…
Facing COVID-19 related revenue hits, the City of Manhattan foresees some tough calls in allocating funds to outside agencies. City Commissioners Tuesday heard fiscal year 2021 requests from the various organizations Manhattan provides funds. Those groups range from the Manhattan Public Library and Manhattan Arts Center to business districts and the city’s multitude of social service agencies. All requests were flat or decreased from 2020’s figures, altogether amounting over $4.2 million. Even that amount, though, is uncertain as the city awaits April’s sales tax receipts — when the region felt the brunt of pandemic-prompted stay-at-home orders. Sales tax figures for…