The following summary of calls for service/reports filed by the Riley County Police Department is a portion of those received by police. Some names, addresses, and case details are withheld to follow local, state, and federal law as well as in an attempt to protect community members from being victimized further. Those arrested are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. MANHATTAN, KAN. – Officers filed a report for aggravated assault in the 1100 block of Moro St. in Manhattan on October 5, 2020, at approximately 3:08 p.m. Officers listed a 34-year-old male as the victim when it…
Author: KMAN Staff
Manhattan City Manager Ron Fehr and Mayor Usha Reddi joined us Tuesday to preview the Manhattan City Commission meeting.
St Isidore’s Catholic Church and Riley County’s Food and Farm Council have been working together to provide affordable meals to K-State students. The Konza Student Table provides a free meal every Wednesday to students. Father Gale Hammerschmidt says he has been amazed at how well the event has been received by students, since they began this endeavor in early September. Hammerschmidt says the first week they had some meals left over, but the past two weeks have been wiped clean. They originally made 300 meals per week, but have now had to increase to 400. He says it’s their goal…
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted businesses and organizations throughout Manhattan and hotels have been no exception. Manhattan Convention and Visitors Bureau director Karen Hibbard says Manhattan is currently in its 28th week of down hotel occupancy. She says the occupancy in the months leading up to September weren’t much better. Hibbard says this downward trend is also the product of virtual meetings, and believes this trend will eventually turn around. Manhattan hotels had an occupancy rate of about 48 percent in the last week of September, nearly 30 percent less than normal for this time of year.
Kansas health officials report a new pandemic record for average daily hospitalizations. The state had an average of 26.29 new coronavirus hospitalizations per day for the seven days ending Monday. The previous high was 23.86 for the seven days ending Friday. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment also reported that the state saw 1,597 new confirmed and probable cases since Friday, an increase of 2.5%, bringing the total cases to 62,708. The state health department also reported eight new COVID-19-related deaths since Friday, bringing the total to 706.
The Biosecurity Research Institute at Kansas State continues to research the coronavirus. Dr. Stephen Higgs, BRI Director, tells KMAN that they have been working hard to contribute to the research of the virus. Dr. Higgs says recently they performed an experiment which shows mosquitos cannot be infected or spread the virus. Higgs says this was an important discovery and talks about its publishing worldwide. “The last time I heard it was in 450, we’re probably heading for 500, different newspapers and news outlets, radios like KMAN. And I think 80 different countries was the last count,” he says. Dr. Higgs…
Riley County voters will have two places to vote in person for advanced voting starting next week. Speaking to the Riley County commission Monday, County Clerk Rich Vargo says the county was fortunate to have enough volunteers to staff a polling a location at the K-State Student Union. Voters can go up to the Bluemont Room on the second floor to cast their vote starting on Oct 14. Advanced voting will also take place at the county office building as well. Advanced voting hours for both locations are as followed: County Office Building, second floor: Week of Oct 14-16: Wednesday-Friday…
The Riley County Health Department confirmed 76 new coronavirus cases since last Wednesday’s report. Numbers show that of those 76 cases, 40 of the patients are ages 18 to 24. The percent positive rate, released Monday shows that for the week of September 27, Riley county was at 9.4 percent, up slightly from the week before. Ascension Via Christi is currently caring for three positive patients, and one person with coronavirus symptoms waiting on test results. Results from last week’s free testing events in Riley County have began to come in. So far, 10 of the 215 residents tested were…
TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas state education commissioner Randy Watson said schools will need to rethink the way they deliver education amid the coronavirus pandemic because what is happening now is “not sustainable.” The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Watson told members of the Kansas Association of School Boards on Friday that one of the best solutions is to return students for five-day-a-week learning, while keeping class sizes to fewer than 15 students while requiring masks and social distancing. Watson said schools may need to partner with other organizations in the community, like churches or businesses that are closed anyway because of…