One year in, the cell phone policy in USD 383 schools is driving improved classroom engagement and behavior, district officials said Wednesday, though a new Kansas law may soon require stricter enforcement and create new challenges. Officials gave a report reflecting on the policy’s first year during the Manhattan-Ogden school board meeting Wednesday at Lincoln [...]

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The USD 383 school board on Wednesday voted unanimously to refinance old debt to save money. The issue arose because the district’s outstanding Series 2016 bonds are approaching eligibility for refinancing. Superintendent Eric Reid said at the board meeting that every so often market conditions shift so that it becomes prudent to refinance past debt. [...]

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The USD 383 school board on Wednesday voted unanimously to refinance old debt to save money. The issue arose because the district’s outstanding Series 2016 bonds are approaching eligibility for refinancing. Superintendent Eric Reid said at the board meeting that every so often market conditions shift so that it becomes prudent to refinance past debt. [...]

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Officials are planning for a lot of comings and goings at Fort Riley over the next two years. Unit deployments and redeployments will see a high of 14,000 soldiers on post and a low of 6,000 soldiers on base, according to a recent report from Fort Riley officials. The estimate of “troops on station” is [...]

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The Manhattan-Ogden school board on Wednesday debated whether too much screen time was hurting students — and whether moving away from devices would hobble students down the road. The board was revisiting a discussion about replacing iPads after having tied 3-3 on the issue at a previous meeting. On Wednesday, board members voted 5-2 to [...]

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Manhattan Housing Authority is in a state of “substantial default,” according to a letter from the federal government obtained by The Mercury. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development officials say MHA, which oversees federally subsidized low-income housing, is in default “with respect to the covenants or conditions to which the public housing agency is [...]

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Recess is about to get even better for students at Lee Elementary. The USD 383 school board on Wednesday unanimously approved new turf and equipment for the school’s playground at a cost of $375,000. According to a memo, the district has a rotation for replacing turf on all its school playgrounds and playground equipment every [...]

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Col. Gerald Nunziato said Friday that Fort Riley recorded an increase in the population of military families on base in 2025. That’s good news for the local economy and a positive trend for Fort Riley soldiers. Nunziato was speaking at the Regional Growth Summit, an annual event put on by the Manhattan, Junction City and [...]

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Just over a year into the school district’s CiCo Park improvement project, officials say they are on track for an August completion. BHS Construction project manager AJ Devlin on Wednesday told USD 383 school board members that Phase 2 upgrades to the district’s sports facilities at the park are going well. The upgrades include four [...]

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School start times will not be returning to the school board agenda after a vote by the new board Wednesday night. As previously reported, USD 383 Manhattan-Ogden last month voted to change school start times for the 2026-27 school year. The shift is intended to address a bus driver shortage and moves elementary start times [...]

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