Former Manhattan Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Director Trent Armbrust has been named to lead the newly created Office of Innovation in the Kansas Department of Commerce. Lieutenant Governor and Commerce Secretary David Toland made the announcement Wednesday, shifting Armbrust from his previous post of Director of Strategy for Bioscience and Technology in the department. Before taking that role with the Department of Commerce, he spent seven years leading the Manhattan chamber’s economic development efforts. “Trent possesses a broad knowledge of innovation in our economy, which along with his practical experience as an economic development professional make him the perfect…
Author: Troy Coverdale
Troy Coverdale
Currently the host of "KMAN's Morning News", Troy is a 30 year veteran of radio, nearly 20 in northern Colorado, where he served as the "Voice of the UNC Bears" while serving as the news and sports director for one of the oldest AM stations in the country. No stranger to Manhattan nor Kansas, Troy is an alum of K-State in broadcast journalism and grew up near Circleville. He began his broadcast career with KSDB-FM on campus while working part time at another radio station in town. He's married to the former Monica Haugsness of Seneca, who has patiently put up with his schedule for more than 25 years.
Governor Laura Kelly announced Wednesday amounts of additional federal coronavirus funding smaller communities in the state will be receiving. The monies were to be directed to communities under 50-thousand in population. The relief, which comes from The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), supplies $1.9 trillion for economic recovery in the wake of the pandemic. Riley County Riley $ 144,424.69 Leonardville $ 65,385.55 Ogden $ 297,041.53 Randolph $ 23,666.23 $ 530,518.00 Geary County Junction City $ 3,258,961.30 Grandview Plaza $ 231,807.69 Milford $ 77,522.08 $ 3,568,291.07 Pottawatomie County Belvue $ 30,341.32 Emmett $ 28,217.43 Havensville $ 23,514.52 Louisville $ 34,133.99 Olsburg…
The Junction City man arrested late last week on a sexual exploitation of a child charge faces additional charges. Aaron Zachry remains jailed on a bond of 360-thousand dollars after three additional counts of sexual exploitation of a child were put in place against him Wednesday. Riley County Police say the charges were added after further information was collected in their investigation that began when Zachry was accused of suspicious activity at Northview Pool. He was found to have sexual pictures of children on his cell phone. He worked as a special education paraprofessional at Northview Elementary, according to USD…
Geary County USD 475 plans to replace two of its elementary school playgrounds. Both Sheridan and Eisenhower Elementary School’s playgrounds have been selected for replacement based on the ages of the playgrounds. The project, performed by Noah’s Park and Playground, is planned to begin in late October to early November. The current playgrounds will be entirely replaced with new, American with Disabilities Act-supportive equipment. The total cost of both replacements is around 321 thousand dollars.
Former and current commanders of Fort Riley joined a virtual panel to discuss leadership both in and out of the military. The event was hosted by the First Division Museum in Cantigny Park in Illinois. Current Commanding General D.A. Sims was asked what advice he would give to the future leaders. Sims says those three phrases made him think about all of the things in his life that had gone well. While thinking on those events, he realized he could bring those back to any of those three key phrases. Sims was also joined by Executive Director of the Governor’s…
On Wednesday’s Edition, we talked with USD Wamego Superintendent Tim Winter and USD 323 Rock Creek Superintendent Kevin Logan in the first half hour. Manhattan Area Technical College President Ken Genandt was our guest in the second half hour.
An assistant vice president of student life for diversity and multicultural student affairs at Kansas State University has been hired as the new V-P for student engagement and success at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Adrian Rodriguez served as the lead for the Morris Family Multicultural Center project as well as the K-State DreamZone for DACA program students as well as students from families with mixed immigration status. “Adrian’s positive impact on K-State and our students has been substantial and will be long-lasting,” said Thomas Lane, Kansas State University vice president for student life and dean of students. “He served in partnership…
The transition continues for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, as operations staff move and new hires continue to be made. Communications Director Katie Pawlosky said Thursday on KMAN’s In Focus that they see ongoing shifts in the demographics as the facility moves towards being operational in 18 months. NBAF Coordinator Dr. Ken Burton adds that leadership has been tasked with getting people up to speed because of remote work mandates implemented when the pandemic started. Operations Director Patrick Moylan said Thursday on KMAN’s In Focus that the new facility is dramatically different than the one it replaces, located at…
The Riley County Health Department says 43 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the past week, while there were 19 recoveries during the same timeframe. That jump in cases means there are nearly 70 cases active currently in the county. Just over 50 tests registered positive on the week, out of 526 tests given. That moves Riley County’s positive rate to 9-point-7 percent, though the number of people getting tested for coronavirus continues to decrease. One COVID-positive patient is currently hospitalized, but is not in the Intensive Care Unit. The county health department is preparing for giving second doses…
Kansas State University has rescinded mandatory face masks and social distancing, effective today. The new policy makes face coverings and physical distancing optional on all campuses and at university events, and doesn’t make any exceptions regarding vaccination status. The school does continue to “strongly encourage” those who have not recieved the COVID-19 vaccine to do so. It was less than a month ago that the K-State administration had cleared those who had been vaccinated from needing to wear facemasks outdoors, while adjusting indoor guidance. Those visiting Lafene Health Center or riding University shuttles do still need to follow masking and…