Celebrate the beginning of fall with a local event.
On the outskirts of town, A&H Farm will host the Fall Festival’s opening weekend. Patrons can go on the hay ride or spend time winding through the Kansas City Chiefs-themed corn maze.
Here’s a look at some other events in the area this weekend.
THURSDAY
September Student Showcase Recital, 11:30 a.m.
All Faiths Chapel.
Music Grad Seminar, 11:30 a.m.
McCain Auditorium.
Third Thursday, 5-8 p.m.
Downtown Manhattan.
Hand Built Clay Pottery Class, 6 p.m.
Also Paint and Sip: Solitary Life at 6 p.m. Friday, Paint and Sip: Pastel Birches at 6 p.m. Saturday, and Paint and Sip: Bridge Beyond at 4 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets: uncorkedinspiration.simpletix.com. Bring your own beverage.
Uncorked Inspiration, 1223 Moro St.
K-State Volleyball vs TCU, 6:30 p.m.
Watch, listen, live stats: Big 12 Now on ESPN+, kstatesports.com.
Manhattan.
Live music: Trent Gaddie, 6:30 p.m.
Liquid Art Winery, 1745 Wildcat Creek Road.
Live music: Nathan Page’s Underground Guitar Pull, 7 p.m.
Tickets: $5, auntiemaes.com.
Auntie Mae’s Parlor, 616 N. 12th St.
K-State Soccer at Oklahoma, 7 p.m.
Watch, listen, live stats: Sooner Vision on ESPN+, kstatesports.com.
Norman, Oklahoma.
Humanities Kansas presents: Voices of Japanese “War Brides” in Postwar Kansas, 7 p.m.
Manhattan Public Library, 629 Poyntz Ave.
Composition Studio Recital, 7:30 p.m.
All Faiths Chapel.
FRIDAY
K-State Women’s Tennis vs Charlotte Invite, all day.
Also Saturday and Sunday.
Charlotte, North Carolina.
Office of the President and Faculty Senate Town Hall, 9 a.m.
A town hall for K-State faculty and staff.
McVay Family Town Hall, Leadership Studies Building.
Blood Drive, 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
For appointment times: redcrossblood.org.
Meadowlark Hills, 2121 Meadowlark.
Meet the Artists Reception, 4-6 p.m.
Meet the artists of Marking Time: Marvin Gould, Duane Noblett, Lindsay Smith and Nelson Smith.
Manhattan Arts Center, 1520 Poyntz Ave.
Live music: Kelley Hunt, 5:30 p.m.
Tickets: vollandfoundation.org/kelley-hunt-at-the-ruin/.
Also Kelley Hunt Songwriting Workshop at 1 p.m. Saturday. Free, but RSVP required: vollandfoundation.org/kelley-hunt-songwriting-workshop/. Bring something to write on, but no instruments.
The Volland Store, 24098 Volland Road, Alma.
K-State Volleyball vs TCU, 6:30 p.m.
Watch, listen, live stats: Big 12 Now on ESPN+, kstatesports.com.
Manhattan.
DIY Glass Etching and Wood Workshop, 6:30 p.m.
Also Pick Your Project Workshop at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Tickets: boardandbrush.com/manhattan. Bring your own beverage.
Board and Brush, 311 Fort Riley Blvd.
Live music: The Mary Colored Death, Headlight Rivals, and Lyxe, 7 p.m.
Doors open at 6 p.m.
Tickets: $15, pressdistrict.com/the-press.
The Press.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $15+, manhattanarts.org.
Also 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday
Manhattan Arts Center, 1520 Poyntz Ave.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $19.50+, mccain.k-state.edu.
McCain Auditorium.
SATURDAY
MHK Community Market, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.
American Legion.
Manhattan Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.
Third and Leavenworth streets.
Fall Festival Opening Weekend, 9 a.m.
Hay ride, Kansas City Chiefs Corn Maze and more.
Tickets: ahfarm.ticketspice.com/2023-fall-festival.
A&H Farm, 1374 Collins Lane.
Ornamental Grass for the Landscape, 10 a.m.
Blueville Nursery, 4539 Anderson Ave.
Live music: Luke Brooks, 5 p.m.
456Wineries, 503 Miller Drive, Wamego.
K-State Football vs UCF, 7 p.m.
Watch, listen, live stats: FS1, K-State Sports Network, kstatesports.com.
Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Live music: Kolby Cooper with Joint Custody, 8:30 p.m.
Doors open at 7 p.m.
Tickets: $20, thehatksu.com.
The Hat, 1315 Laramie St.
SUNDAY
K-State Women’s Golf vs Schooner Fall Classic, all day.
Norman, Oklahoma.
CoCo Linked Pop-Up, 11 a.m.
Permanent jewelry pop-up.
The Dusty Bookshelf, 700 N. Manhattan Ave.
Monarch Tagging, noon-4 p.m.
Free activity for conservation.
Sunset Zoo, 2333 Oak St.
Open Hood Sunday, noon-5 p.m.
Select hoods will be open. Regular museum admission applies.
Midwest Dream Car Collection, 3007 Anderson Ave.
K-State Soccer at Oklahoma State, 1 p.m.
Watch, listen, live stats: Big 12 Now on ESPN+, kstatesports.com.
Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Open Trails at Prairiewood, 4-7 p.m.
Check in and grab a trail map at the Blue Sage Gallery, then hit the trails. No cost. No pets.
Also Prairiewood Jazz Series hosted by Nate McClendon. Special guest: Craig Treinen. Suggested donation: $10.
The Grill to Go will be onsite.
Prairiewood Retreat and Preserve, 1484 Wildcat Creek Road.
Movies on the Grass: “Kiss the Ground,” 7:30 p.m.
Speaker begins at 7 p.m., film begins at 7:30 p.m.
Bosco Student Plaza.
Tuttle Creek Lake is at its lowest September level ever.
Brian McNulty, the operations manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said Monday the lake elevation is usually much higher at this time of year.
Over the weekend it dipped to 1,073 feet, 2 feet below the normal level of 1,075 feet. As of 11:30 a.m. on Monday, the lake is 2.2 feet below normal. McNulty said the lack of precipitation is responsible. Until it rains or snows, the lake levels are expected to continue dropping.As of Wednesday, the monthly precipitation is 2.20 inches below normal, and the annual precipitation is 10.07 inches below normal.
“Normally at this time of the year, we are normally trying to increase the pool level for the fall but the pool is actually dropping,” McNulty said. “Normally in the winter time between December and January, we usually drop the lake three feet. Two to three feet is not uncommon. For this time of the year, it actually is lower.”
McNulty said the lake should be up around 1,078 or 1,079 feet in elevation right now, as it usually is in the month of September. However, the inflow is lower than normal as the lake proceeds to make its releases downstream.
When the lake elevation drops to 1,072 feet or lower, McNulty said the boat ramps at the upper levels of the lake and downstream, closer to the dam, will become unusable.
“As far as the amount of water in the pool, it’s at 91.1% full as of this morning,” McNulty said. “The Milford is at 87.7% full.”
City officials on Tuesday took a step toward making Manhattan “barrier free” for people with disabilities.
Manhattan city commissioners at their meeting unanimously approved adopting the American Disabilities Act Transition Plan.
Since summer of 2022, city officials have been working with consultant Kimley-Horn to do a self-evaluation and make a transition plan to summarize the activities completed to date related to ADA compliance.
The findings and plan were previously presented to the commission and include evaluations of four city buildings, 11 parks, 19 signalized intersections, 25 miles of sidewalks and adjacent unsignalized intersection/curb ramps and all 11 miles of paved trails.
Some of the improvements in the plan are widening sidewalks, adding new, smoother layers of asphalt, and removing obstructions on sidewalks or walkways.
The findings and improvements have been used to create a schedule that is estimated to take 25 years to complete.
This does not cover the entire city, and officials intend to evaluate remaining infrastructure in later phases.
Commissioner Linda Morse asked how the city government will get to Phase 2 if funding for Phase 1 can take up to 25 years.
All the projects in total would require an estimated $11 million in maintenance or construction costs.
Assistant city manager Jared Wasinger said he doesn’t know if the city will ever reach 100% barrier-free, but that’s the goal. He also said he hopes to get Phase 2 going in a couple of years.
Mayor Mark Hatesohl said this is an opportunity to show the federal government the intent to comply with ADA regulations and avoid being fined for areas that do not yet comply.
Two people charged with fentanyl distribution that caused death appeared in Riley County District Court via Zoom Tuesday afternoon.
Judge William Malcolm set a four-hour preliminary hearing for Nathan Reeves on Nov. 16.
Reeves is charged with the death of his then-36-year-old girlfriend because he and Ronald Ince bought oxycodone, a drug commonly laced with fentanyl, for her on Aug. 11, 2021, according to court records.
His girlfriend inhaled both pills through her nose. An autopsy later revealed that only one of the pills resulted in her death.
According to court documents, the Aug. 2, 2022, autopsy performed by Dr. Jacqueline Benjamin ruled that the victim took a methamphetamine and fentanyl pill. Benjamin reported that the victim had no “adverse” reaction to the methamphetamine but listed the fentanyl poisoning as an “accident.”
In the other case, Shawn Samuelson, 22, received a continuance at his preliminary exam status hearing. It’s the third consecutive occurrence at which he has requested a continuance.
The first continuance was granted because his attorney withdrew for “conflict of interest” reasons. The second continuance is because his new attorney said he hasn’t had enough time to discuss the case with Samuelson.
Police arrested Samuelson along with Noah Baker, 19, of Junction City and McKaine Farr, 21, of Wamego, on June 22 for distribution of a controlled substance causing death. According to court records, the three men dealt drugs laced with fentanyl to 18-year-old Thomas DeLoach of Manhattan.
Samuelson was held at Riley County Jail at the time of his arrest on unrelated charges and is now in jail for the distribution charge.