A Nebraska man is currently behind bars in the Riley County Jail after being arrested Saturday evening. Joseph Michael Thomas Bruce, of Bennington, was arrested around 6:30 p.m. Saturday for failure to appear regarding a separate theft case. Last week, the 37-year-old Bruce was arrested for deceptive commercial practice and also attempted theft valued at between $1,500 to $25,000. His total bond for all three charges is set at $75,000 and was still confined in the RCJ as of Sunday.
Author: Peter Rice
U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann is the only incumbent candidate in Riley County facing a primary challenger. Eric Bloom is looking to unseat Mann as the District 1 representative in the U.S. House. Bloom is a Lawrence property investor and farm owner who once ran for lieutenant governor alongside his father, Dan Bloom, in 2002. Mann is a K-State alumnus from Quinter who has represented the “Big First” district since 2021. Democrat Paul Buskirk awaits the primary winner in the Nov. 5 general election. What are your priorities as a candidate, and of those, what is the greatest challenge the nation…
Donnithan Maurice Jones, of Dodge City, was arrested shortly after noon on Friday for possession of heroin with the intent to distribute. The 31-year-old Jones was in the Riley County Jail for violating post-release orders on a separate drug distribution case where he spent over two years in various state prisons. Online records show Jones has many other arrest on his record including failure to register on the violent offender registry, making false criminal threats, and possession of various narcotics with the intent to distribute. He is currently being held on $40,000 bond, and was still confined in the RCJ…
The City of Manhattan announced Friday that the City Commission will vote this Tuesday to appoint Danielle Dulin to serve as Manhattan’s newest City Manager. A contract will also be considered by the City Commission during the August 6th meeting, and Dulin has an anticipated start date of Monday, October 14. Dulin was selected after a nationwide search conducted by Strategic Government Resources that produced a field of 50 candidates and then four finalists who visited Manhattan. “I am honored to be selected as the next City Manager for Manhattan,” Dulin said. Dulin has more than 10 years of municipal leadership…
Updated 8/2/24: The Kansas Highway Patrol recently revealed the identity of the man killed Thursday in a crash on I-70. The KHP reports that Brycen Chance Ronk, 21, of Fort Riley, died at the scene of the crash. A 2023 KTM RC390 motorcycle driven by Ronk was traveling onto eastbound I-70 at Grandview Plaza at a high rate of speed on the on-ramp and passed a vehicle on the right shoulder of the ramp. The motorcycle swerved back into the eastbound lane of Interstate 70, continued to swerve and crossed through the center line entering the westbound lanes of the…
One person is injured following a car versus e-bike crash that happened just after 3 p.m. Wednesday in Manhattan. The Riley County Police Department reported that a vehicle driven by an 83-year-old Frederick Bammes of Manhattan struck an e-bike driven by 25-year-old Zackary Murphy of Manhattan at the corner of Osage and N. 5th Street. EMS transported Murphy to Via Christi, and he was later air-lifted to Stormont Vail for further treatment of his injuries. The driver of the vehicle, Frederick Bammes, was cited for failure to yield the right of way.
A 19 year old Manhattan man has been jailed on allegations of sex crimes committed against children. Dkuwasi Oscar was taken into custody by Riley County Police at midday Wednesday. He’s been charged with four counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child, two counts of sexual exploitation of a child, and criminal sodomy. His total bond for these crimes was set at $200,000, and he was still confined in the Riley County Jail as of Thursday. RCPD continues to investigate and a spokesperson noted that since these crimes involve minors, no additional information would be released.
Local drivers may notice a new “Find Your Manhappiness” sign with the wrong indicated exit along I-70, when heading East from Ogden to Manhattan. The sign says Exit 301, which is the exit for Ft. Riley, instead of 303 or 313 which are the Manhattan exits. The sign is from the Visit Manhattan branch of the Chamber of Commerce, who released a statement on Facebook after the mistake was discovered online. Visit Manhattan Director Marcia Rozell said on Facebook… “This one is on me, I’m the one that signed off on it. I’ll be the one paying for it out…
The Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday requested a budget increase from the city commission for 2025. The chamber asked for $1.65 million, which is up from last year’s request of $1.38 million, from the city’s transient guest tax funds on behalf of the convention and visitors bureau. That total is 60% of the fund’s estimated revenue. Chamber president and CEO Jason Smith told commissioners that while this is an increase, the city and chamber previously have had an informal agreement that would allow the chamber to receive 60% of the transient guest tax funds. However, he said recently…
The next phase of the Manhattan levee project will get underway in a few months. Project manager and city stormwater compliance engineer Bill Heatherman on Tuesday told city commissioners Phase 1 is “95% complete” and that the next step will involve creating a 50-foot gap in the levee where the Union Pacific Railroad structure goes through it. The 50-foot gap — which will be able to close during flood events — came about after extensive negotiations with officials from the railroad company, who originally demanded a 100-foot gap. The city is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on…