Cole Bertelsen – B104.7 Manhattan's Hometown Country Station

Hackers attack K-State’s online course system; thousands of schools affected

Cole Bertelsen — Thu, 07 May 2026 22:00:25 +0000

Kansas State University has been swept up in a nationwide cybersecurity attack affecting approximately 8,800 educational institutions.

Canvas, the college’s learning management system, is currently inoperable. The hackers claiming responsibility demand payment, or they say they’ll leak all information on the site.

In a message sent around 4 p.m. Thursday to students and staff, K-State officials said that Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, notified them of the issue.

To view the full article visit theMercury.com.

The post Hackers attack K-State’s online course system; thousands of schools affected appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

Commissioner Von Lintel says transparency about ‘psychosis’ led to leaving his job

Cole Bertelsen — Thu, 07 May 2026 14:15:34 +0000

Manhattan city commissioner Andrew Von Lintel left his day job after a mental breakdown in January brought on by stress and lack of sleep.

Von Lintel was employed at Big Lakes Developmental Services for two years. In interviews this week with The Mercury and News Radio KMAN, he said the decision was necessary to improve his mental health.

“Pretty much everybody told me — Big Lakes told me, my wife told me, my therapist told me — pretty much everyone said that Big Lakes was getting to me,” he said.

To view the full article visit theMercury.com.

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City commission begins budget talks

Cole Bertelsen — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 12:24:07 +0000

The Manhattan City Commission got an early look at the city’s finances Tuesday as it begins work on the 2027 budget.

Consultant Benjamin Hart of Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors presented a preliminary budget to commissioners during the work session.

“Any time you have an ability to look out into the future, make changes now that will make changes into the future, that’s not a critical situation,” Hart said. “You’re in a good position, and you’ve got really good news with both the operating budget and that debt budget.”

To view the full article visit theMercury.com.

The post City commission begins budget talks appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

City commission begins budget talks

Cole Bertelsen — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 12:24:07 +0000

The Manhattan City Commission got an early look at the city’s finances Tuesday as it begins work on the 2027 budget.

Consultant Benjamin Hart of Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors presented a preliminary budget to commissioners during the work session.

To view the full article visit theMercury.com.

The post City commission begins budget talks appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

Manhattan allocates federal funds toward road work

Cole Bertelsen — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:40:15 +0000

City commissioners on Tuesday approved accepting $781,185 in federal funds for use in local street maintenance.

City engineer Brian Johnson said the city will again utilize the federal fund exchange program, calling it “federal gas tax reimbursement that comes back from the federal government to the states,” which can then be passed on to cities.

Johnson explained Manhattan can either spend those dollars on federal highways or exchange them for local use at a 90/10 split. “The state keeps 10, we get 90,” he said, noting the city typically chooses the exchange option to avoid costly federal requirements.

To view the full article visit theMercury.com.

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City makes Aggieville parking garage free ahead of Moro construction

Cole Bertelsen — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:06:45 +0000

Manhattan city commissioners unanimously agreed Tuesday to eliminate all fees from the Aggieville parking garage to compensate for the loss of parking spaces during Moro Street’s 2027 reconstruction.

The city will remove parking fees, suspend use of the ParkMobile system and no longer require vehicles to park nose-in. A 48-hour maximum limit will be added for cars left in the garage. The changes are set to take effect June 1 and are intended to encourage increased use of the garage before Moro Street construction begins.

Deputy city manager Jason Hilgers said he anticipates work on Moro will start in the first quarter of 2027.

To view the full article visit theMercury.com.

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City makes Aggieville parking garage free ahead of Moro construction

Cole Bertelsen — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:06:45 +0000

Deputy city manager Jason Hilgers said he anticipates work on Moro will start in the first quarter of 2027.

To view the full article visit theMercury.com.

The post City makes Aggieville parking garage free ahead of Moro construction appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

Riley County places temporary pause on data centers

Cole Bertelsen — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:15:13 +0000

Riley County commissioners on Monday implemented a temporary moratorium on data centers and battery energy storage systems.

A moratorium is a temporary pause on a specific activity or legal obligation — in this case, local investment in data centers — while officials study potential impacts before making a more firm policy decision.

Data centers are physical facilities housing an organization’s IT infrastructure to process large amounts of data. Opponents of data centers primarily state concerns over high electricity consumption leading to higher utility bills and potentially vast amounts of water used for cooling.

To view the full article visit theMercury.com.

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City enters design and construction agreements for Moro Street project

Cole Bertelsen — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 19:47:13 +0000

The Manhattan City Commission approved agreements with BHS Construction Inc. and Olsson Inc. to design and construct the Moro Street improvement project, despite one commissioner’s objections.

The decision includes a construction manager at risk agreement with BHS in the amount of $22,500 and an agreement with Olsson for $442,979 for design and pre-construction services.

To view the full article visit theMercury.com.

The post City enters design and construction agreements for Moro Street project appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

City commission to vote on new public comment policy

Cole Bertelsen — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:22:00 +0000

City commissioners on Tuesday will decide whether to change their meeting policies concerning public comment.

They will vote on a resolution which repeals existing policy and proposes changes to how residents may address the commission.

Each speaker would still have three minutes per item, but the mayor or majority could modify the length of time per speaker. Agenda items would have no cap on total duration of public comment, except that open public comment is capped at 30 minutes. The mayor or majority retain the flexibility to cap total duration on any item, or to extend open public comment. Public comment would also be allowed on work session items, changed from the current default that the majority must vote to allow public comment on work session items.

To view the full article visit theMercury.com.

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