Local News

Pottawatomie County continues to grapple with what to do with its old courthouse, which has sat vacant in Westmoreland for almost a decade. A site visit was held Thursday featuring architectural consultants who are evaluating the property for possible Brownfields Technical Assistance grants through the local office of the Environmental Protection Agency. A popular suggestion [...]

Sunset Zoo is ready to take you on an Asian Expedition. After breaking ground in 2020, Sunset Zoo is holding their grand opening for Expedition Asia tomorrow. Melissa Kirkwood, Marketing and Development Officer, talks about what you can expect to see in the exhibit. “They are going to see three amazing species. They are going [...]

The state of Kansas is taking some time to recognize the importance of registering to vote. While many tend to just vote in the general election in November, Tim Shaffer, Director of the Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy at Kansas State, says getting registered ahead of the primary elections and placing your vote for [...]

Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art Director, Linda Duke, has announced her retirement. Duke has been the museum’s director since 2011 and has many notable accomplishments during her tenure. Under her leadership the development of virtual exhibitions and program offerings were created, cross discipline work was featured to demonstrate the value of the arts to [...]

After a rich history with Kansas State University and 20 years of serving as a faculty member the director of the AQ Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications at K-State, Steve Smethers, will be honored at a retirement reception. Smethers earned his bachelor’s degree from K-State in 1975 and his masters in 1985. Between [...]

Who is Gordon Parks to you? This question was asked to three black artists during Wednesday’s Art Matters Now public talk at McCain Auditorium . The event is in conjunction with the ongoing Gordon Parks exhibit through the end of May at the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum. Local Academy Award Winning Filmmaker Kevin Willmott says [...]

The Manhattan-Ogden School Board unanimously approved some significant changes to its Pandemic Response Plan Wednesday, including the disbanding of its medical advisory committee. “We’ve reached the point where our default now is no longer being closed and are there opportunities to open. It’s more of a default of let’s open things up unless you have [...]

A wildfire scorched at least 1,500 acres Wednesday in areas of northern Riley and Pottawatomie counties. Crews worked well into the night to contain the fire with assistance also called in from the Kansas Forest Service. The fire began in the Fancy Creek area near Carlson Road which also hopped into Pottawatomie County, including areas [...]

The K-State College of Veterinary Medicine hosted a dedication event in honor of Dr. Steve and Colleen Hodes who have given a gift to name the deanship in Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Steve graduated from Kansas State’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 1979 and Colleen earned her physical education degree from K-State [...]

The Riley County Health Department has identified nine new COVID-19 cases and three additional recoveries in the past week. Health officials say there are 16 known active cases in the county. An additional death was verified through the Office of Vital Statistics last week, showing a 101-year-old patient who tested positive for COVID-19 on Jan. [...]