AUDIO
IN FOCUS - CITY OF MANHATTAN
January 2023
I spoke with City Manager Ron Fehr, Mayor Linda Morse and Commissioner Mark Hatesohl ahead of the evening's meeting.
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Manhattan's city government was to meet at 6 p.m. for a legislative session, during which the commission was to reorganize along traditional lines with Hatesohl - the current mayor pro tem - expected to be elevated to the mayorship for 2023.
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The trio discussed a positive year revenue-wise for the city as well as previewed the brief agenda for the evening. Aside from the reorganization, commissioners will conduct a public hearing to vacate a utility easement in the Interlachen Addition in West Manhattan. The group ended noting the upcoming interruption of service at the Manhattan Regional Airport amid the long-planned runway reconstruction project and shared some messages for the Manhattan public for the new year.
RILEY COUNTY COMMISSIONER KATHRYN FOCKE
December 2022
I was joined for a conversation with Riley County Commission Vice-Chair Kathryn Focke.
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She started off discussing plans for the holiday and looking back at 2022 - including the selection of new RCPD Director Brian Peete.
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Focke also recapped the Board's recent legislative priorities meeting with area State delegates including their hopes for action on LAVTR revenue sharing, the 'dark store theory' and enshrining home rule for counties in the Kansas constitution. She also highlighted progress on the county's new EMS HQ in Manhattan and t he North County station in Leonardville.
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K-STATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR RESEARCH DAVID ROSOWSKY
December 2022
I got an opportunity to meet Kansas State University Vice President for Research David Rosowsky.
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Rosowsky discussed the impact of the pandemic on research capacity at K-State and how the university is plotting a course forward to rebound.
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He also shared information on the ambitious Economic Prosperity Plan announced by KSU just a year ago - which is on track to meet its goals of generating a billion dollars in investment and create thousands of new jobs in the State of Kansas.
KMAN INTERVIEW - SEC. OF STATE SCOTT SCHWAB
September 2022
I spoke with incumbent Sec. of State Scott Schwab during a visit to Manhattan.
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He spoke about his confidence for the general election a month out from his primary victory, the philosophy and ideals he carries with him in his role, what inspires him to serve as well as run for re-election, as well as election security and ways the office of the secretary can support new businesses and the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
KANSAS HOUSING REP. VINCENT, COUNTY COMMISSIONER JOHN FORD
July 2022
In this episode of In Focus, I had a conversation on housing in Kansas and Riley County - welcoming guests from the Board of County Commissioners and Kansas Housing Resources Corporation.
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I spoke with Commissioner John Ford and Kansas Housing Rep. Ryan Vincent, stemming from a conversation at a recent Habitat for Humanity groundbreaking in the City of Ogden.
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The conversation touched on housing needs in the State and Riley County, opportunities to preserve historic properties through housing initiatives as well as new investment from the State into Kansas Housing programs to promote new low and moderate income housing development.
PAWNEE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ROBBIN COLE
May 2022
I spoke with Pawnee Mental Health's Robbin Cole on In Focus in the wake of the Uvalde shooting.
The conversation started with an anecdote of a child expressing their fear for and desire to save their teacher if something similar were to happen in their school - leading to a conversation about how to work through these emotions with high-profile acts of school violence so often in the news.
Cole shared advice on how to talk about tragedy with kids, and the need to support one another amid compounding trauma.
K-STATE MILITARY SCIENTIST TALKS US SENATE ROUNDTABLE PARTICIPATION
January 2022
I spoke with Dr. Arthur DeGroat, executive director of Kansas State University's Office of Military and Veterans Affairs.
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Dr. DeGroat had recently been invited to participate in a virtual roundtable discussion on veterans suicide prevention efforts that was hosted by Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chair Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and ranking member Jerry Moran (R-Kans.). The discussion also included representatives of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and the Montana Job Service.
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Dr. DeGroat reflected on the roundtable with me and discussed his thoughts on efforts to increase veterans access to mental health resources.
MICRO-MOBILITY AND PEDESTRIAN ACCESS IN NORTHVIEW
March 2021
I spoke with 11-year Northview resident Dominique Saunders. Originally from the Denver-area in Colorado, Dominique has lived on-and-off in the Manhattan community for 24 years, and raised a daughter in that time.
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Dominique has been involved with community advocacy and engagement work for around four years now. She’s a working group member of Northview Rising and a volunteer member of Bike Walk MHK. And recently she met with me via Zoom to discuss bicycle and pedestrian accessibility in Northview. The topic has come up as an issue in numerous conversations with residents, and Dominique spoke with me about their impact, some changes they’ve seen over the years, and what’s next to be done.
100 PROTEST RACISM ON K-STATE CAMPUS
July 2021
Around 100 people on July 4th marched from Aggieville’s Triangle Park to K-State President Richard Myers’ home on campus, protesting racism in the university community and calling for accountability. Myers was out of town and not present at the protest.
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The demonstration was put together quickly by Tori Swanson, Miranda Urban and Kirsten Novotny following a series of tweets by student Jaden McNeil about George Floyd deemed racist by numerous residents, student athletes, and President Richard Myers.
EVENING FLASHLIGHT VIGIL CONCLUDES MANHATTAN JUNETEENTH OBSERVATIONS
June 2021
Following a morning march, at least 100 Manhattan residents continued Juneteenth observations Friday night at City Park with a flashlight vigil for those killed by police nationwide.
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Juneteenth commemorates the date when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas and announced the emancipation of enslaved people in the state on June 19, 1865. Also known as Black Independence Day, the institution of slavery persisted in Union-held territory until the 13th amendment's ratification that December.
COMMUNITY ENGAGED LEARNING - A PODCAST
May 2021
What is community engaged learning? How does it differ from traditional approaches? Where do Indigenous education models fit into the picture? I spoke with MSU's Michelle Snitgen and KSU's Alex Red Corn and Brandon Kliewer about the principles and practices of these pedagogies in this podcast.
IN FOCUS: K-STATE PRESIDENT RICHARD MYERS
June 2019
Tuesday’s guest was Kansas State University President Richard Myers. He talked about the changing of the guard in the Football program as well as in Student Life. Other topics of discussion included new recruitment focuses, state funding and the role KSU played regarding recent flood concerns.
IN FOCUS: DR. TIMOTHY SHAFFER
February 2019
On this episode of KMAN's In Focus I spoke with Dr. Timothy Shaffer, the assistant director of the KSU Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy. He talked about his soon-to-be-released book title ‘A Crisis of Civility?,’ what first got him interested in land-grant institutions and framing theory in discussing division in modern society.
IN FOCUS: RCPD DIRECTOR BRAD SCHOEN
October 2018
I was joined by Riley County Police Department Director Brad Schoen on this episode of KMAN's In Focus. The conversation started with a chat about Schoen's recent bicycle incident, during which we had an honest conversation about the overlooked struggles that come with trauma.