Unemployment rates in Riley and surrounding counties continued to rise in July, the Kansas Department of Labor reported on Friday.
Preliminary estimates set Riley County’s unemployment rate at 4.2% in July, a climb from 4% in June and 3% in May. Pottawatomie County’s unemployment rate rose to 3.6% in July, up from 3.3% in June and 2.6% in May, and Wabaunsee County jumped a full percentage point from 3.1% in June to 4.1% in July.
Geary County reached 5.4% in July, which is the sixth-highest in Kansas, after it was at 5% in June and 4.2% in May.
In Manhattan, the unemployment rate rose from 3.8% in June to 4% in July. Junction City’s rate grew from 5.1% in June to 5.4% in July.
Unemployment rates ticked upward across the state as well. In Kansas, unemployment increased from 3.2% in July from 3% in June and 2.6% in May. That’s still below the current national unemployment rate of 4.3%
Seasonally adjusted job estimates for Kansas indicate total non-farm payroll employment decreased by 1,700 jobs from June. Private sector jobs were up 3,900 from June, but government jobs dropped by 5,600 during the month.
A Fort Leavenworth unit is preparing for a large-scale training exercise with the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, part of a series of trainings meant to improve readiness across the Army.
Fort Leavenworth’s 35th Infantry Division is conducting the trainings as part of a string of initiatives focusing on proficiency in the new division alignment structure, according to a report from the Army.
In June, a contingent from the 35th ID traveled to Tennessee to support one of their six aligned brigades, the 230th Sustainment Brigade, during their annual training and command post exercise (CPX).
Division alignment increases readiness for potential large-scale combat operations and improves talent management across the force.
“As the Army reorients to the division as the unit of action on the battlefield in preparation for the next conflict — wherever and whenever that may be — it is critical for the 35th ID and its aligned brigades to work together to build relationships, share best practices, and understand processes and procedures so we are synchronized and ready for whatever is next,” said Lt. Col. Jason Inskeep, 35th ID deputy chief of staff, operations.
The training scenario used for the CPX was one in which the units were deployed in support of a global contingency warfighter mission.
Maj. Ryan Mincey, operations officer for the 230th, attributed the quality of training during the exercise to extensive planning and preparation done at every stage.
Mincey explained that it can be difficult to achieve effective and realistic training for a sustainment brigade staff outside of a division-level warfighter, but that ultimately the CPX was able to exceed his expectations.
“Initially, training at this level in our motor pool seemed unfeasible,” said Mincey. “However, the event was successfully executed with a concerted effort from the brigade staff and plenty of command guidance.”
Another factor to the overall quality of the training was the expertise added by training partners like the National Guard’s Mission Command Training Support Team.
“We have talented personnel who dedicated many hours to creating a realistic “virtual” training environment,” Mincey said. “Their efforts made it easy to immerse in the training entirely. After hours of battle rhythm meetings and observing the staff take the training seriously, I felt like I was in the country our exercise was simulating.”
As the 35th ID turns its attention toward the next major training event, a combined command post exercise with the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, the staff members will take what they’ve learned and put it to the test, preparing to meet the national security objectives of the future.
The K-State Alumni Association is celebrating a milestone birthday.
The organization will mark its 150th anniversary in style next month with a celebration reception at its headquarters near Memorial Stadium.
The event is set for 4-7 p.m. on Sept. 27, the day before K-State football takes on Big 12 opponent Oklahoma State at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
“We’re going to have several special guests on hand including (men’s basketball head) coach (Jerome) Tang and Willie the Wildcat,” said Adam Walker, president of the K-State Alumni Association.
The K-State marching band and In-A-Chord — the university’s auditioned a cappella group — will perform, and the alumni association will host various giveaways.
The K-State Alumni Association was founded in June 1874 and now has a network of more than 37,000 members nationwide. Walker said he was proud of be part of an organization that has adhered to three founding principles.
“Those three principles are membership, legislative advocacy and of course events,” he said. “We’re proud to be still following those principles 150 years later.”
Walker encouraged K-State alumni to sign up for the association, saying, “It allows you to continue to be a part of this great community we have K-State for generations to come.”
Manhattan city commissioners will set the 2025 budget and mill levy rate at their weekly meeting Tuesday evening.
The commission last month approved a maximum levy increase of 52.929 mills, though members said they might lower it. That mill levy, if passed, would exceed the revenue-neutral rate, which is the rate at which the city would generate the same property tax revenue as the previous year using the current year’s assessed valuation.
In order to exceed the revenue-neutral rate, state law requires taxing entities to hold a public hearing before formally adopting the rate. In Manhattan, that hearing is scheduled for Sept. 3, the same day as the public hearing for the budget.
A mill levy rate of 52.929 mills means the average homeowner would see an increase of up to 13.6% in their taxes in 2025. The owner of a $100,000 home in 2024 would have paid $562.68 in taxes that year. That person in 2025 would pay $639.12 in city taxes on a home now worth $105,000, based on an average increase of 5% for existing single-family homes in Riley County.
Officials have said the increase on the mill levy — which was 49.9 mills in 2024 — is intended to help close the $4 million gap between expenditures and revenues in the general fund.
City staff members said further information about the 2025 mill levy and budget will be available on its website by the end of the day Monday.
Per state statute, the city will publish notice of the public hearings in The Mercury. The city commission will formally adopt its 2025 budget and mill levy after the public hearings.
Commissioners on Tuesday also will discuss water, wastewater and stormwater funds to provide more direction on the 2025 budget.
Tuesday’s meeting will take place at 6 p.m. in the city commission room at city hall.
A furry public servant is retiring after a long career working for humans.
Barney, an active duty K-9 with the Junction City Police Department, is set to call it quits and kick up his paws, JCPD announced Thursday. With his 13th birthday coming up Oct. 31, Barney spent the last 11 years racking up honors from the Heart of America Police Dog Association — including detector dog and patrol dog awards — for his work with JCPD.
“Although it may be difficult for Barney to transition to not working anymore, he has certainly earned this retirement,” a JCPD spokesperson said in a written statement. “We want to thank Barney for his unwavering service and dedication to making the streets safer for 11 years. Here’s to many treats, naps and relaxing days ahead.”
Barney will live the rest of his life with Nick Blake, the officer alongside whom he worked during the entirety of his JCPD career. Barney performed drug sniffs, tracks, search warrants, school sniffs, barricaded subjects, pursuits, public demonstrations and school classroom visits, and a JCPD release says he is “responsible for getting thousands of pounds of marijuana, hundreds of pounds of cocaine, hundreds of pounds of heroin, hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine, fentanyl and millions of dollars of drug money off the streets.”
“One of our favorite memories is when Barney located a suspect hiding in a field as a backup K-9,” the JCPD spokesperson said. “Barney was waiting on the other side of a tree line while another K-9 unit started to track the suspect from his last known location. While waiting, Barney pulled his handler to a nearby thicket where the suspect was found hiding. The suspect was taken into custody without further incident.”
Barney was born in 2011 in Omaha, Nebraska, and came to Junction City from Code 2 K-9 Services. Barney’s father, Rocky, was a police K-9 with the Douglas County (Nebraska) Sheriff’s Office.
JCPD will hold a retirement celebration for Barney at 2 p.m. Sept. 6 at the police headquarters.