A very important day for many school districts is Count Day, or September 20th. Count Day is the day that schools will learn how much funding they will receive based on their number of students and a few other factors. Cliff Williams, Riley County District Superintendent, tells KMAN that the USD 378 school district was rather impressed with their results from count day this year. “Overall we are down, again, about 19, but we’re pleased with the number we have. We are trending with the remote learners that they’re coming from home back to school, and we think that’s great…
Author: KMAN Staff
Thursday’s program featured a conversation with K-State Department of Communications Associate Professor Dr. Timothy Shaffer. Shaffer is also the Director of the Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy. The conversation centered around the legacy of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the future of the open seat on the court as well as how party politics could impact the results of the election in the fall. Pawnee Mental Health Services Executive Director Robbin Cole also joined us where she highlighted some new FEMA funding for COVID outreach and a new grant for emergency housing for mental health…
The Riley County Police Department has had its first in-house case of COVID. According to the department’s interim Public Information Officer Rachel Pate, an RCPD employee tested positive Wednesday for the novel coronavirus. The employee has been in isolation since becoming aware of the exposure and will continue to recover at home. Based on contact tracing, it is believed that the employee had no close contact with members of the public while working. RCPD is currently working to identify any additional staff members who may need to quarantine. RCPD will not release any further information about the employee to protect…
Four proposals made the rounds Tuesday with the Manhattan City Commission debating the best course for the Kimball Avenue/Grand Mere Parkway roundabout. Among them, Options 3 and 4 — both of which would remove the current roundabout and install a single-lane roundabout west of the existing placement. Those options received support from Commissioners Linda Morse, Mark Hatesohl, Aaron Estabrook and Mayor Usha Reddi. Commissioner Wynn Butler was lone opponent to any roundabout proposals. “I’m not going to support any roundabout. I think we should bulldoze that thing, put the signalized intersection there. We’ve had fatality accidents there over the…
K-State has moved commencement ceremonies for 2020 spring, summer and fall graduates who attended the Manhattan campus to the weekend of Nov. 20. The commencement ceremonies for the Manhattan campus will take place Friday, Nov. 20 through Sunday, Nov. 22 in Bramlage Coliseum. Ceremonies for the Polytechnic Campus in Salina will remain on Nov. 20. These ceremonies were originally scheduled for Monday, Nov. 23 and Tuesday, Nov. 24 in Bramlage Coliseum. However, according to Chuck Taber, K-State provost and executive vice president, a change in availability at the commencement venue prompted the date change. Taber says in a letter that…
Dean of K-State Libraries Lori Goetsch is retiring at the end of the school year. Her last day will be May 28, 2021. Goetsch has led the library since August 2004 and during that time faced many challenges, most notably the May 2018 fire at Hale Library. She says the fire and the aftermath have been the most challenging experience of her career. The fire led to the library being closed for 15 months and she was tasked with overseeing the recovery process and leading planning and renovation. Those renovations are set for completion in January. “I would like to…
TOPEKA, Kan. — A Republican lawmaker says Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s office blocked a Kansas legislative committee from obtaining a list of the state’s personal protective equipment suppliers. The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that Sen. Dennis Pyle of Hiawatha released emails Tuesday during a meeting of a study committee showing that its request had been refused. The committee sought the list after testimony last month that some of the state’s personal protective equipment was defective. According to the emails released by Pyle, the Adjutant General’s Department cited instructions from the governor’s staff in declining to release the list. Kelly’s chief of…
CHICAGO — Chicago Bears Hall of Fame running back Gale Sayers has died. Sayers made his mark as one of the NFL’s best all-purpose running backs and was later celebrated for his enduring friendship with a Bears teammate with cancer. Nicknamed “The Kansas Comet,” Sayers was considered among the best open-field runners the game has ever seen. Yet it was his rock-steady friendship with Brian Piccolo depicted in the 1971 film “Brian’s Song” that marked him as more than a sports star. Sayers died Wednesday at the age of 77, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Relatives say…
WICHITA, Kan. — More Kansas schools have ended in-person classes and canceled sports because of coronavirus exposure and team quarantines. The Wichita Eagle reports both Haysville and Derby have quarantined their high school football teams. Chanute has canceled football games, but is continuing in-person classes. The school board in Atwood overruled the superintendent’s decision to move classes to remote learning then later reversed course. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is expected to identify active coronavirus clusters on Wednesday, including outbreaks at schools and on sports teams. State health officials reported on Monday 53,959 confirmed cases and 600 deaths…