Manhattan City Manager Ron Fehr and Mayor Usha Reddi joined us Tuesday morning
Author: KMAN Staff
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…
Riley County Historical Museum Director Cheryl Collins was our guest Monday. The topic for the conversation was Outgrown, Outdated or Obsolete: Objects that once were common, that are now uncommon.
The Wamego Hospital Foundation has been gifted a large passenger van with a wheelchair lift to help transport patients. The van is valued at $23,500 and was donated from Diamond Health, operating partner of Heritage Senior Behavioral Health in Wamego. It will be used to transport patients to and from other facilities for non-emergent care. “We recognize the challenges that lack of transportation may pose, especially in rural communities, in obtaining necessary health care. Diamond is honored for the opportunity to provide this donation,” said Trey Steckline, Vice President of Operations for Diamond Health. Prior to the donation, the hospital…