The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred Saturday night in Junction City.

The Junction City Commission approved award of bid for blight mowing and for intersection improvements at Ash Street and Eisenhower Drive and approved easements related to the bike and pedestrian trail at its last meeting Tuesday.

The newly hired county finance officer met with the Geary County Commission at its meeting May 9 to discuss funds after she discovered funds were being miscoded since the department switched payroll software this year.

A federal court issued an early ruling Monday that favors a Fort Riley Middle School teacher in a case relating to the Geary County Schools controversial policy on preferred names and pronouns.

The USD 475 Board of Education approved new positions at its last meeting, including a budget specialist position for the district, an assistant principal and four CORE teacher positions at Karns, and a PE teacher, ELA teacher and Literacy Lab teacher at Junction City High School.

The USD 475 Board of Education voted unanimously to terminate the employment of Merrier Tartt, former Junction City High School principal, Tuesday evening.

Geary County Schools has 1,054 students with 20 or more absences in the 2021-2022 school year, leading district staff to bring a discussion before the Board of Education Tuesday to propose potential solutions.

The USD 475 Board of Education approved the implementation of body cameras on authorized security personnel at Junction City High School at its meeting Tuesday.

Jerome (Jerry) Lonergan was selected as the new executive director of the Flint Hills Regional Council.

The Junction City Commission meeting Tuesday addressed multiple items, including an Eagle Scout project, updating police weapons and construction decisions.

The USD 475 Board of Education discussed at its special board meeting how to make up learning time that was lost in some of the district’s schools because of disruptions during the school year.

Stormont Vail Health could provide hospital and clinic services in Geary County through a contract with Geary Community Hospital.

The proposal for an RV park north of Junction City was withdrawn and the Geary County Commission unanimously denied the request to place storage on the property, located near the K-57 and U.S. 77 intersection, at its meeting Monday.

The Junction City Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People sent a letter Monday to Geary County Schools USD 475 board and staff concerning unfair treatment of the recently reassigned Junction City High School principal Merrier Jackson-Tartt and other issues in the school district. The NAACP requested to meet with the school district to discuss the matters further.

The USD 475 Board of Education approved Monday the purchase of an access control platform for the school district that will integrate district devices, as well as detectors for two schools which will detect vaping and audio aggression.

The Geary County Commission plans to discuss the proposal for an RV Park and storage north of Junction City at its next meeting Monday.

Riley County police on Friday morning arrested a Junction City man who had a Geary County warrant for attempted rape.

The Drug Enforcement Administration St. Louis Division announced today an intelligence data-driven operation with local law enforcement partners in northeast Kansas to address the alarming increase in overdose events caused by counterfeit pills with fentanyl.

The Geary County Convention and Visitors Bureau held its first meeting with the organization’s newly picked advisory board Tuesday.

During the Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce bi-monthly board meeting Thursday, the Economic Development Commission announced that the top six economic development projects in Junction City, Geary County have created a total of $64 million in investment in the past five years.

Geary Community Hospital is moving forward with plans to improve operations and financial viability with the help of a “Transition Taskforce,” comprised of Geary Community Hospital board members and staff, the Geary County Commission and county staff members.

The 8th Judicial District Nominating Commission selected Neal Gugler to fill a district magistrate judge vacancy in Dickinson County. The vacancy was created when Judge Keith Collett was sworn in as a district judge Oct. 29.

At a special board meeting Thursday, the USD 475 Board of Education provided an update on the Memorandums of Understanding the school district is drafting between the district and the city for the future of the old high school property at 900 N. Eisenhower Drive.

For the next three weeks, Junction City is remodeling City Hall Customer Service. Customer Service is temporarily located in the basement at City Hall until the work is finished.

The Junction City High School principal Merrier Tartt is being reassigned from her position, with her new position yet to be determined, USD 475 Superintendent Reginald Eggleston said.

The Emergency Food and Shelter Program awarded Geary County with $12,004 to supplement emergency food and shelter programs in the county.

A Fort Riley Middle School math teacher is suing the USD 475 Board of Education members, the superintendent and Fort Riley Middle School’s principal for violating her First Amendment rights by forcing her to use students’ preferred names and pronouns.

The Junction City Commission approved moving forward with the Junction for Military/Civilian Innovation Project, a collaboration between the city, Fort Riley and a network of large regional employers to help soldiers transition to civilian careers.

Six state courts in Kansas have gone live with a pilot rollout of Enterprise Supervision, powered by Tyler Supervision. In this first phase of what will eventually be a statewide rollout, state courts in six counties, Clay, Riley, Dickinson, Geary, Morris and Marion, are now using Enterprise Supervision. The courts are also operating on a new centralized case management system, Tyler’s Enterprise Justice case management solution.

The Junction City Commission unanimously agreed not to allow citizens to keep chickens in backyards at its meeting Tuesday.

Desree Pettera, community member, spoke against the proposed meatpacking plant at the Junction City Commission meeting Tuesday. She said she lives right around the proposed location and that the plant would be detrimental to the surrounding area.

Junction City Commission voted to fund Freedom Fest JC for a total of $50,000. The event will occur from July 1-4 to celebrate Independence Day in Junction City.

More area residents came to the Junction City Commission meeting Tuesday to talk about their concerns surrounding the meatpacking plant proposed for the area and to ask questions.

The Junction City Commission, Geary County Commission and USD 475 Board of Education came together for a joint meeting on Feb. 28 at the C. L. Hoover Opera House to discuss current community happenings and future development.