The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline has jumped 11 cents over the past two weeks.
That’s according to the Lundberg Survey of fuel prices, released Sunday, which puts the price of a gallon of regular at $3.93.
Midgrade costs an average of $4.07 a gallon, and premium is at $4.18.
Diesel was up a nickel, to $4.20.
Of the cities surveyed, Tulsa, Okla., has the nation’s lowest average price for gas at $3.58. Chicago has the highest at $4.56.
In California, the lowest average price was $4.24 in Fresno. The highest was $4.34 in Los Angeles. The average statewide for a gallon of regular was $4.31, down a penny.
A 105-year-old restored theater in north-central Kansas has suspended live performances over concerns about the safety of its curtain rigging system.
The Salina Journal reports that crews have had problems raising and lowering the curtain at the Brown Grand Theatre in Concordia. Executive director Susan Cantine-Maxon says that some pulleys are starting to come apart and some ropes are fraying.
The Brown Grand opened in 1907 and was considered for a time to be the most elegant theater between Denver and Kansas City. It was later used as a movie house and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Along with live performances by regional and touring acts, the theater screens broadcasts of symphony and opera performances from around the world.
Very windy conditions will develop today ahead of a dryline which will be located near the Colorado and Kansas border.
Sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 40 mph will be possible across southwest Kansas by the early afternoon. A wind advisory has been posted until 9 pm this evening. By late day/early evening there will be a chance for isolated thunderstorms across parts of western Kansas near a cold front/dryline.
The main hazard from any thunderstorm which may develop this evening will be quarter size hail, strong gusty winds and cloud to ground lightning.
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. Very windy, with a south wind 14 to 17 mph increasing to between 31 and 34 mph. Winds could gust as high as 45 mph.
Tonight: A slight chance of rain and thunderstorms between 10pm and 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 52. Windy, with a south wind 26 to 29 mph becoming west 15 to 18 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 75. North northeast wind between 6 and 15 mph.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 46. East southeast wind between 5 and 7 mph.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 79. East wind between 7 and 11 mph.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 54.
Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 78.
Thursday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 53.
Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 76.
Fort Hays State split the final two games of a four-game series with No. 1 ranked Central Missouri on Sunday (Mar. 25), dropping the first contest 13-5, but rebounding to win game two 14-6. The Tigers took three of four games in the series with the top-ranked Mules, moving back into good position in the MIAA standings now at 9-11 overall and 7-8 in the MIAA.
Game 1: Central Missouri 13, Fort Hays State 5
Fort Hays State jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first on a JC Ochoa RBI single. The Tigers could have had a big inning in the first, but two runners were caught stealing in the inning.
FHSU starter Connor Beer escaped a bases loaded jam in the first, but could not push through another tight situation in the second as the Mules scored four runs to take a 4-1 lead. They would never relinquish the lead from that point.
The Tigers made it interesting in the third, down 5-1 entering the inning. A run came across for FHSU on a Ryan Busboom ground ball that resulted in a double play. Later, back-to-back doubles netted RBIs for Ochoa and Brandon Hoefler, pulling the Tigers within one at 5-4.
The Mules would score eight unanswered runs from that point with three in the fourth, four in the fifth, and one in the sixth, before the Tigers picked up their final run in the seventh on another RBI single by Ochoa. Ochoa drove in three of the five runs for FHSU in the first game.
Beer took the loss for FHSU, dropping to 1-3 on the season. He allowed seven runs (six earned) in 3.1 innings of work. Casey Pierce allowed five runs in 0.2 innings of relief. The last UCM run came off Tyler Treinen, but it was unearned. He and Ethan Weber did not allow an earned run in three innings logged between the two of them.
Dane Krone picked up the win in relief for UCM, pitching 1.1 innings. He spelled the starter Chris Fitzpatrick, who gave up four runs to the Tigers. Ethan Gibbons got a save for UCM, pitching the final three innings, allowing just one run.
Game 2: Fort Hays State 14, Central Missouri 6
Central Missouri jumped on FHSU early with two runs in the first and second innings to take a 4-0 lead. An error comitted on the first batter of the game led to two Central Missouri runs in the first when the Tigers should have been out of the inning. Three consecutive singles in the second led to two more UCM runs.
The Tigers began their comeback charge in the second, plating three runs. A pair of singles and a walk set up a two-RBI single by Shane Wade to put FHSU on the board. Chris Sontoscoy followed later with another RBI single to put the Tigers within one at 4-3.
The Tiger offense errupted in the third inning for six runs to take a 9-4 lead, a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way. After a single and double to start the inning, JC Ochoa tied the game with an RBI single down the right field line. The hit parade continued after UCM recorded the first out of the inning. FHSU had four consecutive singles, which netted RBIs for Wade and Brett Macari. Ochoa scored on a wild pitch between the RBIs by Wade and Macari. Sheldon Howell picked up an RBI by getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 8-4. A sacrifice fly RBI by Mace Krol capped the six-run rally.
FHSU pushed its advantage to 10-4 in the fourth scoring on a bases loaded double play off the bat of Macari.
After Tayler Davis pitched the first 2.1 innings, FHSU reliever Jesse Hart stepped in to give the Tigers five strong innings on the mound. He worked out of a bases loaded jam with one out in the third before the Tigers exploded for six runs to take the lead. He held the Mules scoreless in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings. He only earned run allowed was in the fifth on a single. He allowed one other run in the top of the eighth, but it was unearned.
FHSU pushed its lead back to six in the sixth at 11-5 with an RBI double by Wade. After a UCM run in the eighth, FHSU tacked on three more runs in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI groundout by Brandon Hoefler and a two-RBI double by Santoscoy.
Brett Macari picked up the final five outs of the game to seal the FHSU win and series win. He allowed Jesse Hart to pick up the win and move to 1-0 on the season. Hart allowed just three hits in his five innings of work, while walking five and striking out three.
ST. LOUIS — Tyshawn Taylor broke out of his slump in a big way, scoring 22 points and leading Kansas back to the Final Four with an 80-67 victory over former coach Roy Williams and top-seeded North Carolina on Sunday.
The second-seeded Jayhawks (31-6) will play Ohio State on Saturday in their first Final Four appearance since winning the 2008 national championship.
Taylor led five Jayhawks in double figures. Player of the year candidate Thomas Robinson added 18 points and nine rebounds, and Elijah Johnson kept up his blistering pace in the NCAA tournament with 10 points, including a 3-pointer with 3:07 to play that sparked Kansas’ 12-0 run to end the game.
Jeff Withey made two monster blocks to deny the Tar Heels during the run — including one that set up a big three-point play by Taylor.
James Michael McAdoo scored 15 for the Tar Heels (32-6), who played better in their second game without injured point guard Kendall Marshall. But North Carolina couldn’t overcome a 5:46 field goal drought to end the Midwest Regional final.
Authorities have identified a man killed while skiing in Colorado as a 19-year-old Kansas State student.
Kansas broadcaster KMAN reported that the Mineral County Sheriff’s Department said the victim is Garrett Spencer of Hesston, Kan. He was skiing with friends when he hit a tree at the Wolf Creek Ski Area in southwestern Colorado.
Resort owner Davey Pitcher told The Denver Post that the accident happened Saturday on a green run. He said the victim was skiing without a helmet.
Mineral County Sheriff Fred Hosselkus said Spencer received almost immediate attention, with a nurse happening by the scene. The ski patrol was alerted and arrived shortly. Attempts at CPR all the way down the slope failed.
The Fort Hays State softball team picked up their 20th win of the season on Sunday after splitting a doubleheader against Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo. The Tigers won the first game 7-0 but fell to the Lions in the second by a score of 9-3. Fort Hays State is now 20-8 (7-1 MIAA) on the year.
Game 1: Fort Hays State 7, Lindenwood 0 Maddie Holub allowed a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Lions got nothing else in the first game as the Tigers picked up their 20th victory of the season.
The teams were scoreless through the first three innings before the Tigers broke through in the fourth with an RBI single from Chelsey Rottinhaus to go on top 1-0. Adriana Wortley hit a two-run home run, her fifth on the year and second in as many days, in the top of the sixth before Rottinghaus hit an RBI triple, her first of the year, to put the Tigers ahead 4-0 after six.
Madison Putman led off the seventh with her first triple of the season and came around to score on a Taylor Nelson single as FHSU picked up some insurance runs in the top of the final inning. Nelson came around to score after a Lion error and Rottinghaus got her third RBI hit with a single later in the inning.
Holub was the real story of the game for the Tigers, allowing just one hit and striking out 10 batters and improving her record to 11-5 on the year.
Game 2: Lindenwood 9, Fort Hays State 3
The Tigers got on top early in the second game, with Nelson drawing a leadoff walk and coming around to score on a Lindenwood error to put FHSU up 1-0. The Lions came back with three runs in the bottom of the second inning off Tiger starting pitcher Katelyn Shattleroe to go up 3-1.
Morrison relieved Shattleroe in the second inning and retired the first eight batters she faced, allowing the Tigers to get back into the game. Nelson led off the fifth inning with a double and ended up scoring on an error by the Lions. FHSU would get another run on an Amanda Vaupel RBI single, which tied the game at 3-3.
Lindenwood responded in the bottom of the fifth, scoring three runs to go back on top 6-3. The Tigers mounted a rally in the sixth, getting runners on second and third with one out, but they were unable to push either across and cut into the deficit. The Lions added three insurance runs in the sixth for the final margin of 9-3.
Shattleroe started the game for FHSU, but lasted just 1.2 innings and allowed three runs before coming out. Morrison took the loss and drops to 2-2 on the year. She pitched the final 4.1 innings, allowing seven hits and six runs.
Fort Hays State, who is currently in third place in the MIAA standings, will meet the two teams that are ahead of them next weekend. The Tigers take on Missouri Western on Friday and travel to Emporia State on Saturday.
Kansas legislators must whittle down a long list of attractive proposals that have passed one or both houses if they’re to cut taxes this year.
And the work is likely to prove difficult.
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback proposed overhauling the individual income tax code. But lawmakers have been aggressive as well in considering different scenarios for reducing different taxes.
Both the House and Senate have approved bills to reduce income and sales taxes, and both have passed measures aimed at holding down local property taxes. Their negotiators were scheduled to start meeting Monday to work on the final version of a package.
Each possible tax cut has significant support, but lawmakers can’t include too much without pushing the state toward large budget cuts.
A state wildlife commission has changed the rules for allowing hunters to use crossbows to take down big game in Kansas.
The new change, approved Thursday by the Kansas Wildlife, Park and Tourism Commission, will make it legal for hunters 55 and older and those with a youth big game permit to use crossbows during archery big game and turkey seasons.
Chris Tymeson, Wildlife and Parks attorney, said regulation would not be in place before April 1, the opening of archery turkey season, but would be for fall seasons for antelope, deer and elk.
Kansas regulations have allowed use of crossbows for hunters unable to use traditional archery equipment. The Wichita Eagle reports that crossbows are legal for hunters in other states after a push from sportsmen and manufacturers.
(Spc. Ryan Hallock, 28th Public Affairs/U.S. Army)
The United States has paid $50,000 in compensation for each Afghan killed and $11,000 for each person wounded in the shooting spree allegedly committed by a U.S. soldier in southern Afghanistan, an Afghan official and a community elder said Sunday.
The sums, much larger than typical payments made by the U.S. to families of civilians killed in military operations in Afghanistan, come as the U.S. tries to mend relations following the killing rampage that has threatened to undermine the international effort here.
Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales is accused of sneaking off his base on March 11, then creeping into houses in two nearby villages and opening fire on families as they slept.
U.S. investigators believe the gunman returned to his base after the first attack and later slipped away to kill again, American officials have said. Bales has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and other crimes and could face the death penalty if convicted.
That would seem to support the U.S. government’s assertion – contested by some Afghans – that the shooter acted alone, since the killings would have been perpetrated over a longer period of time than assumed when Bales was detained outside his base in Kandahar province’s Panjwai district.
But it also raises new questions about how the suspect could have carried out the pre-dawn attacks without drawing attention from any Americans on the base.
The families of the dead, who received the money Saturday at the governor’s office, were told that the money came from U.S. President Barack Obama, said Kandahar provincial council member Agha Lalai. He and community elder Jan Agha confirmed the payout amounts.
Survivors previously had received smaller compensation payments from Afghan officials – $2,000 for each death and $1,000 for each person wounded.
Two U.S. officials confirmed that compensation had been paid but declined to discuss exact amounts, saying only that it reflected the devastating nature of the incident. The officials spoke anonymously because of the sensitive nature of the subject.
A spokesman for NATO and U.S. forces, Lt. Col. Jimmie Cummings, said only that coalition members often make compensation payments, but they are usually kept private.
“As the settlement of claims is in most cases a sensitive topic for those who have suffered loss, it is usually a matter of agreement that the terms of the settlement remain confidential,” Cummings said.
However, civilian death compensations are occasionally made public. In 2010, U.S. troops in Helmand province said they paid $1,500-$2,000 for a death and $600-$1,500 for a serious injury.
The provided compensation figures would mean that at least $866,000 was paid out in all. Afghan officials and villagers have counted 16 dead – 12 in the village of Balandi and four in neighboring Alkozai – and six wounded. The U.S. military has charged Bales with 17 murders without explaining the discrepancy.
The 38-year-old soldier, who is from Lake Tapps, Washington, is accused of using his 9mm pistol and M-4 rifle, which was outfitted with a grenade launcher, to kill four men, four women, two boys and seven girls, then burning some of the bodies. The ages of the children were not disclosed in the charge sheet.
Bales is being held in a military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The mandatory minimum sentence if he is convicted is life imprisonment with the chance of parole. He could also receive the death penalty.
Families of the dead declined to comment on any payments by U.S. officials on Sunday, but some said previously that they were more concerned about seeing the perpetrator punished than money.
Kandahar is the birthplace of the Taliban and remains a dangerous area despite several offensives.
In the latest violence, a bomb struck a joint NATO-Afghan foot patrol in Kandahar’s Arghandab district late Saturday, killing nine Afghans and one international service member, according to Shah Mohammad, the district administrator.
Arghandab is a farming region just outside Kandahar city that has long provided refuge for Taliban insurgents. It was one of a number of communities around Kandahar city that were targeted in a 2010 sweep to oust the insurgency from the area.
The Afghan dead included one soldier, three police officers, four members of the Afghan “local police” – a government-sponsored militia force – and one translator, Mohammad said.
NATO reported earlier Sunday that one of its service members was killed in a bomb attack in southern Afghanistan on Saturday but did not provide additional details. It was not clear if this referred to the same incident, as NATO usually waits for individual coalition nations to confirm the details of deaths of their troops.
Fort Hays State continued its hot play of late to sweep the Saturday doubleheader from the nation’s top ranked team, Central Missouri, by scores of 6-1 and 8-7. The Tigers used a great pitching effort from Shawn Lewick in game one, then Jay Sanders delivered a walk-off single in the ninth inning of game two to lift the Tigers to a pair of victories.
Game 1: Fort Hays State 6, Central Missouri 1 Shawn Lewick threw a complete game to help the Tigers to a 6-1 victory in the series opener. Lewick blanked the Mules for six innings before finally allowing a run in the seventh.
Lewick worked around runners in scoring position for the Mules in the first and second innings. He then escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth with one out, getting a strikeout and a lineout to third base to end the inning. With one out in the seventh, the Mules loaded the bases once again on Lewick, but he surrendered just a fielder’s choice RBI for the second out then ended the game with a flyout to short left field.
Lewick finished the game with seven strikeouts. He allowed seven hits and walked five. The only run he allowed was earned.
Mace Krol put the Tigers on the board early with a sacrifice fly RBI in the first inning. Anthony Salinas pushed the lead to 2-0 in the second with an RBI single. Krol returned to the plate in the third and delivered a two-run home run to right field to give FHSU a 4-0 cushion. JC Ochoa gave the Tigers even more insurance in the fifth with a two-RBI single to make it 6-0.
Kurtis Schulyer took the loss for Central Missouri, going 4.2 innings in his start. Five of the six runs he allowed were earned.
Game 2: Fort Hays State 8, Central Missouri 7 Central Missouri looked to be methodically pulling away with game two, leading 5-0 after 4 1/2 innings. However, the Tiger bats finally came to life in the bottom of the fifth with three runs to make it an interesting game the rest of the way.
Sheldon Howell sparked the rally with an RBI single to make it 5-1, followed by a Mace Krol sacrifice fly RBI to make it 5-2. A Ryan Busboom RBI double pulled the Tigers within two at 5-3 going to the top of the sixth.
FHSU tightened the screws a bit more in the seventh when Krol delivered an RBI single to make it 5-4, but the Tigers ended the inning with a runner at third on a line drive double play, with the runner getting doubled off first base.
Central Missouri pushed its lead back to three in the top of the eighth with two more runs to make it 7-4 on a Kevin Gratza RBI double and Ben Cox RBI single.
BrandonHoefler delivered a huge blow for the Tigers in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run home run. An error by the Mule third baseman allowed the runner to get on before the Hoefler blast. The Mule third baseman then committed another error to allow Shane Wade to reach base. A sacrifice bunt by pinch hitter Chris Santoscoy set the table for an Anthony Salinas RBI single that tied the game.
After a leadoff walk by the Mules in the ninth against FHSU reliever Tyler Treinen, head coach Steve Johnson went to the pen for the fifth time in the game to get closer Brett Macari. Macari worked around the walk, getting the last two batters of the inning for UCM to strikeout swinging stranding the runner on second.
After Ryan Busboom nearly hit a ball out of the park to right-center field to open the Tigers’ half of the ninth, JC Ochoa drew a walk and Brandon Hoefler singled to put runners at first and second with one out. Hometown product Jay Sanders delivered the walk-off game winning single to left field as Ochoa just beat the tag attempt of the catcher on a throw that was to the first base side of home plate. The game-winning hit came off reliever Aaron Baker, who entered the game just before Sanders’ at bat. The game-winning run belonged to UCM reliever Travis Unthank.
Even in the 8-7 win, the Tigers worked around 15 Central Missouri walks in the game. The Mules stranded 17 baserunners in the second game.
Macari picked up the win in his one inning of relief. He is now 2-0 on the season. Travis Unthank took the loss for UCM, allowing the final two runs of the game to FHSU. Just one of the runs (the game-winner in the ninth) was earned.
The Fort Hays State softball team picked up two wins over Lincoln on Saturday afternoon (March 24) in Jefferson City, Mo. The Tigers, who have now won 10 of their last 12 games, got the wins by scores of 6-2 and 4-1 to improve their record to 19-7 (7-1 MIAA) on the year.
Game 1: Fort Hays State 6, Lincoln 2 Fort Hays State jumped on top early in the first game, scoring three runs in the first two innings to take command. Amanda Vaupel had an RBI in the first while Taylor Nelson plated two on a single of her own in the second to put the Tigers up 3-0 after two.
The Tiger offense added two more runs in the top of the fourth after a two-RBI double from Callie Wright pushed the lead to 5-0. Lincoln battled back for their only two runs in the bottom of the inning, but FHSU added an RBI from Kellsi Olsen in the fifth to push the lead back to four at 6-2.
Maddie Holub took care of things from there, allowing just three hits and two runs as she improved her record to 10-5 on the year. Holub, who entered the week ranked No. 4 in NCAA Division II in strikeouts, notched 11 more against the Blue Tigers, giving her 166 for the year.
Game 2{ Fort Hays State 4, Lincoln 1 The Tigers got another strong pitching outing in the second game, this time from freshman Abby Morrison. Morrison threw her first complete game of the season and picked up her second straight victory after allowing four hits and one run, which was unearned. She also struck out three Blue Tigers and improved her record to 2-1 on the year.
The Fort Hays State offense managed two hits in the first three innings before Adriana Wortley put the Tigers ahead with a solo home run in the top of the fourth inning. FHSU put together a two-out rally in the fifth inning after Madison Putman eached on a Blue Tiger error. Nelson and Wright came through with back-to-back RBI doubles to make Lincoln pay and put FHSU up 3-0. Putman drew a bases-loaded walk in the sixth inning for an insurance run and a 4-0 Tiger lead.
Lincoln scored their lone run in the bottom of the sixth, but that would be all that Morrison allowed.
Fort Hays State will play in Missouri again on Sunday. The Tigers will meet future-MIAA member Lindenwood in St. Charles, Mo., in a doubleheader starting at 11:00 am.
The governors of Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado are collaborating on how to attract more tourists to their states.
Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman hosted Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on a crane-watching tour Friday, where the three discussed efforts to boost tourism.
While Colorado is a well-established draw for its winter sports and Rocky Mountains, Brownback said his state and Nebraska could do a better job of marketing their outdoor experiences.
Heineman said the region could draw tourist from “two coasts … to experience what it is like to live on a farm for a couple of days.”
Tourism represents Nebraska’s third-largest source of income, bringing in almost $4 billion in 2010.
The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline has jumped 11 cents over the past two weeks.
