About the area:
Manhattan is a city located in the northeastern part of the state of Kansas in the U.S., at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. It is the county seat[4] of Riley County and the city extends into Pottawatomie County. As of the July 2009 census estimate, its population was 52,836, making it the eighth-largest city in Kansas.[1] It is the principal city of the Manhattan, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area – with an estimated population of 113,629, the Manhattan MSA is the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state.[5]
Nicknamed The Little Apple in 1977 as a play on New York City's "Big Apple", it is best known for being the home of Kansas State University and has a distinct college town feel. Eight miles (13 km) west of the city is Fort Riley, a United States Army post.