MISSION, Kan. — The family of an 88-year-old man who died in a COVID-19 outbreak at a suburban Kansas City nursing home has sued. KCUR reports that the wrongful death suit that was filed Monday on behalf of the family of Gordan Grohman alleges that the staff at Brighton Gardens in Prairie Village, Kansas, failed to separate residents with COVID-19 symptoms from those without the virus. Grohman died May 1. It’s the first such suit against the facility, where there have been 76 positive cases and 14 deaths.
Author: KMAN Staff
The Wamego Area Chamber of Commerce officially announced that Jason Toll has been named as the new Executive Director. He replaces Daryn Soldan, who left earlier this year for a position at the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce. Toll joins the Chamber from his prior position as the Public Service Director at the Larned State Hospital. Prior to his work here, Toll has held the role as a small business owner and manager. He formed Computer Services and Consulting and Amber Wave Internet, a company that was acquired by a larger internet service company in 2002. Toll is also the…
Riley County commissioners on Monday reviewed preliminary numbers for the 2021 budget. Budget and Finance Officer Tami Robison presented early projections for budget appropriations and highlighted any increases to department budgets and the total number. Increases include the attorney’s office, community corrections, insurance, and council of aging. The total appropriations request is $33,956,690. Other costs for the county include bond and interest, county building, Riley County Police Department, and capital improvement. The costs for bond and interest are final since they can not make adjustments to money the county owes, while the county building budget is to remain flat. The…
Manhattan City Manager Ron Fehr and Mayor Usha Reddi joined us Tuesday morning
The Pottawatomie County Commission has approved a 60-day extension of the Emergency Declaration that was originally put in place in late March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Emergency Management Director Jennifer Merrow says doing so will give the county more flexibility and access to resources during an uncertain time. Although the emergency declaration was extended, Merrow says the county’s Emergency Operation Center team will soon be scaling back. They will continue meeting on Wednesdays and will also meet with the county commission on Friday mornings. Information on how to access these meetings can be found at pottcounty.org.
The Pottawatomie County Commission heard budget requests from five different organizations during its meeting Monday. Of the five organizations, the Pottawatomie County K-State Research and Extension office was the only one to request an increase for fiscal-year 2021. Their request of $236,056 is up from their current budget of $231,456. Commissioner Greg Riat says the commission’s goal is to keep the county’s overall budget flat for fiscal-year 2021. Erin Tynon, a K-State Research and Extension agent, says the increase request is due in part to a lack of flexibility with employee salaries and benefits. The remainder of the requests for…
Kansas State University has announced the formation of a new team tasked with finding safe ways to provide in-person classes while also complying with health requirements. This comes just two weeks after K-State President Richard Myers announced that the university intends to bring back in-person classes for the fall semester. The Academic Instruction Working Group is made up of K-State staff and faculty and will seek to form an academic instruction model that can maintain health and safety, cater to the needs of both faculty and students and provide a high-quality educational experience while also remaining adaptable to COVID-19 related…
TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas’ education commissioner is cautiously optimistic that the state’s 500,000 public school students will be back in their classrooms when the fall semester begins. Commissioner Randy Watson concedes it’s difficult to predict the future as it relates to the coronavirus pandemic. Concerns about spreading the virus prompted schools to go to mostly online learning since mid-March. Watson says the Kansas Department of Education intends to present a reopening guide to school districts by July 10. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Watson acknowledges that if cases surge again, things could change.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Rep. Sharice Davids of Kansas says she was among the few Democrats to vote against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill because it faces a such a small chance of making it through the Republican-controlled Senate. Davids was among just 14 Democrats to vote against the bill on Friday. The Kansas City Star reports that her vote came as a surprise because Davids has repeatedly called for aid to states and cities facing revenue losses from the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill would provide $5.2 billion to Kansas over two years and another $5.1…
MISSION, Kan. — A fourth inmate has died of the coronavirus during an outbreak that has sickened hundreds at the state’s largest prison. The Kansas Department of Corrections announced Monday that the Lansing Correctional Facility inmate who died Saturday was over the age of 60 and had underlying medical conditions. His name wasn’t released, but the corrections department said had been imprisoned since 1989 on charges that included aggravated robbery and first-degree murder. The prison near Kansas City has been the hardest hit in the state, with 88 staff members and 750 inmates testing positive. Two of the staff members…