Page 3 - Mark Hatesohl News Today

Plans to help tenants move safely out of the Royal Towers apartment complex are expected to be made public Friday. The Manhattan Fire Department condemned the building last week, giving residents until May 1 to vacate the building. A February exterior inspection found widespread spalling of concrete walkways and stairs, with some areas where concrete [...]

Manhattan extends face mask ordinance through May 16, aligns with RCHD The Manhattan City Commission voted 4 to 1 Tuesday to extend the face-mask ordinance to May 16th, the end of the academic calendar at Kansas State University and USD 383. The decision aligns the city with the Riley County Commission, who plan to include an extension of a county mask ordinance through May 16, as part of its next health order due out Thursday. Commissioner Aaron Estabrook says going forward, he’ll cont...

The Manhattan City Commission approved in a four to one vote Tuesday the first reading of an ordinance meant to extend the face mask mandate to May 16. Commissioner Mark Hatesohl was the lone commissioner to oppose. The passage of the first reading of the ordinance does not mean the mask mandate has been extended. It means that the commission is able to move forward with holding a final vote at its meeting on March 16. Despite the passage on first reading, the commission is still split on wheth...

Budget discussion and property taxes Mayor Wynn Butler asked Manhattan city commissioners Tuesday to state whether they will support property-tax increases during upcoming budget discussions. Commissioner Usha Reddi pushed back, calling Butler’s question unfair. “For the past seven years, you want us to say one way or the other without getting all the information,” Reddi said. “Let’s get all the information and then decide.” Commissioner Linda Morse says she will also avoid taking a...

New Manhattan mayor City commissioner Wynn Butler has officially been named Manhattan’s mayor for 2021. The change was made Tuesday as part of an annual reorganization which involves a rotation among the city commission’s five members. Butler says he wants the commission to focus on taxes, infrastructure and responsible growth during his term. “I don’t want to see property taxes go up,” Butler said. “I don’t want to see sales taxes go up either. We’ve got to continue with infras...

Only in 2020 would we have a story about alligators being found in Wildcat Creek. For a brief time in June the public was advised to avoid Linear Trail and Wildcat Creek after two alligators were stolen from Reptile World. Public reports of seeing the gator in the water led to a social media frenzy including memes of the Manhattan flag changing from an apple to a gator. The female gator, named Pebbles unfortunately died in June after a trap slipped under the water, which the owners believe was...

Hotel occupancy rates Fourth-quarter hotel occupancy rates for Manhattan are showing a clear dip when compared to past years. Year-to-date occupancy through October stands at 42.6 percent, down from 64.3 percent in 2019. The month of October alone was down about 16 percent from this time last year. Karen Hibbard, Manhattan Convention and Visitors Bureau director, told the Manhattan City Commission during a meeting Tuesday that the dip resulted in an approximately $1.3-million drop in revenue fr...