Update 2:30 p.m. Friday: A new COVID-19 positive test has been reported Friday afternoon by health officials, the first positive seen in a week. They identify the individual as a 63-year-old man and say disease investigation is ongoing. That makes 6 active cases in the county and a cumulative total of 61 positive novel coronavirus tests. Two people under investigation remain hospitalized awaiting test results. Overall, 102 COVID-19 tests are pending. Original: Riley County novel coronavirus cases continue on a downward trend, seeing a full week without a new positive test. Officials Friday morning reported just 5 active COVID-19 cases…
Author: KMAN Staff
BELLE PLAINE — A new report shows net farm income in Kansas last year rose to an average of $110,380 per farm, propped up by government payments. The Kansas Farm Management Association released this week its annual economic data based on the 970 agricultural operations that their economists advised on financial decisions. Their figures show farm balance sheets were heavily subsidized by government payments with 72.49% of the income Kansas farmers received last year coming from the government. Additionally, Kansas farmers are projected to harvest 284.4 million bushels of winter wheat this year, industry leaders said Thursday. The forecast from…
BELLE PLAINE — U.S. farmers leaned more heavily upon the federal government last year to finance their agricultural operations amid low commodity prices and trade disputes. And more of the money they borrowed is now delinquent. The Agriculture Department said it has not seen significant change in loan delinquency rates because of the coronavirus pandemic. But it does expect an impact if the the economic fallout continues. Farm foreclosures have not increased. The department is taking a number of measures to help borrowers, including extending repayments for operating loans. The department says it also temporarily suspended loan accelerations and non-judicial…
TOPEKA — Republicans lawmakers in Kansas have hashed out a plan for limiting Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s power to direct the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Their work started Thursday night and continued into Friday morning. The move comes after the state’s GOP attorney general suggested she’s been on “legally suspect” ground for three weeks. Key provisions of the Republican plan would require Kelly to get permission from leaders of the GOP-controlled Legislature to keep businesses closed after May 31 or exercise other broad powers granted to governors during emergencies. Legislative leaders also would have the final say over…
On Friday’s edition of In Focus we spoke with RCPD Director Dennis Butler.
After righting a budget miscalculation, the Riley County Police Department will present a budget to the Law Board that is slightly decreased from 2020’s numbers. But officials at a joint meeting of Riley County and Manhattan Thursday discussed looking for further reductions and potentially codifying how the police department’s carry over cash is handled. RCPD Director Dennis Butler Monday presented the board with a proposed budget flat with 2020’s approved figures — totaling more than $22 million. They approved that budget for publication, but Director Butler says the figures were based on ’20 numbers that did not subtract carry over…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas softened its quarantine guidelines for meatpacking plants after industry executives repeatedly pushed state officials to allow employees who were potentially exposed to the coronavirus to keep working, text messages and emails show. The Kansas City Star and The Wichita Eagle reported that they obtained messages through an open records request showing that executives at Tyson and National Beef pushed Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Mike Beam to advocate more-lenient federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. Beam told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his role was to “emphasize internally” in Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has received the kind of praise from President Donald Trump that Republicans in her home state of Kansas would love to hear about themselves. Kelly met with the Republican president Wednesday in Washington to discuss the coronvirus pandemic, along with GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas. Trump said, “They’ve both done a fantastic job.” Kelly said before leaving for Washington that she would discuss outbreaks in meatpacking plants, a major source of new cases in Kansas, and press Trump to support direct aid to states to help them cover revenue shortfalls tied to…
MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Teacher Tabatha Rosproy’s preschool class met inside a nursing and retirement home in rural Kansas, forming a bond with residents that continued even when social distancing requirements due to the coronavirus pandemic forced her classroom to close down. After a school year of unprecedented disruptions, Rosproy was chosen as the 2020 National Teacher of the Year for bridging the worlds of her community’s oldest and youngest. Her selection from among 55 award-winning teachers around the country was announced Thursday by the Council of Chief State School Officers, with the selection committee praising her in a statement…
The Pottawatomie County Commission will have a little competition in this year’s election for who will represent District 2. Nancy McCarter, the current Pottawatomie County clerk, will oppose District 2 incumbent Pat Weixelman. KMAN sat down with Nancy and talked about her background as a county clerk, why she is running for commission and her stances on various county issues. This conversation can be found below. Can you tell me a little bit about your family life and time in Pottawatomie County? Which part of Pottawatomie County do you currently live in? How long have you been the Pottawatomie County…