Beneath a sea of grasses and wildflowers, a vast network of life-forms reaches toward ancient bedrock.
Brendon McCampbell will present “Prairieism” at the final Science Cafe for the 2013-2014 academic year at 7 p.m. Thursday at Gella’s Diner, 117 E. 11th. Science Cafe is sponsored by the Fort Hays State University Science and Mathematics Education Institute.
McCampbell is a Hays senior majoring in biology.
“Prairieism” will look at the subterranean world of botanical, fungal, bacterial and animal life that has made the prairie so resilient and unique and has also made this land the target of human industry and agriculture.
TOPEKA — A former state legislator, Phil Hermanson, has been named inspector general for Kansas’ Medicaid programs.
Hermanson’s first day on the job was April 28. He replaced Bill Gale, a former Sedgwick County election commissioner who resigned to become director of the Department for Children and Families regional office in Wichita.
The inspector general position had been vacant since Gale’s exit in early January.
Hermanson, a Wichita Republican, served two, two-year terms in the House. He resigned midway into his third term in October 2013, saying he wanted to spend more time with his new wife and stepchildren.
In legislative circles, Hermanson, 49, is well-known for having proposed to his girlfriend, Rhonda Riggs, on bended knee in front of a chamber full of House colleagues near the end of last year’s legislative session. They later married.
Hermanson was vice chair of the House Insurance Committee in 2013. He also served on the House Health and Human Services Committee.
A graduate of Goddard High School, he spent six years in the U.S. Navy, becoming a deep sea diver. While in the Navy, he attended the University of Virginia.
Upon returning to Wichita, Hermanson became a commercial real estate agent and property manager.
As inspector general he will oversee audits of the state’s KanCare contractors – Amerigroup, UnitedHealthcare and Sunflower State Health Plan, a subsidiary of Centene – and
Hays High’s No. 1 doubles team of Andrew McGinnis and Austin Berry went 3-1 to finish third at the Western Athletic Conference tournament in Garden City. They were the only Indians to win a match.
No. 1 singles- Mikey Ploutz
L 8-1 vs. Buddy Buchanan (Liberal)
L 8-1 vs. Grant Harris (Great Bend)
L 8-1 vs. Dillon Burkhard (Dodge City)
L 8-4 vs. Sebastain Kyaw (Garden City)
No. 2 singles- Logan VanDerWege
L 8-0 vs. Mitchell Irby (Liberal)
L 8-4 vs. JunRuiChen (Great Bend)
L 8-2 vs. Jacob Waldman (Dodge City)
L 8-0 vs. Dozie Ekweariri (Garden City)
No. 1 doubles- Andrew McGinnis/Austin Berry
W 8-5 vs. Hernendez/Grant (Liberal)
W 8-1 vs. Kuhlman/Marshall (Great Bend)
L 8-3 vs. Schwara/Johansen (Dodge City)
W 8-7 (7-3) vs. Neave/Victor (Garden City) 3rd Place
No. 2 doubles- Trenton Flora/Jacob Alexander
L 8-0 vs. Borjas/Ho Ho (Liberal)
L 8-2 vs. Lopez/Telemontes (Great Bend)
L 8-0 vs. Rankin/Finley (Dodge City)
L 8-0 vs. Basillo/Depaz (Garden City)
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Two organizations are getting $25,000 each from the Kansas Health Foundation to help residents in the Baxter Springs area recover from an EF-2 tornado that damaged 100 homes and 12 businesses.
The Joplin Globe reports the American Red Cross Midway-Kansas Chapter and the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas are getting the funds to help the community bounce back from the April 27 tornado. The money will be used to provide food, shelter, clothing and emotional support for those affected by the storm.
Monday’s announcement followed a weekend announcement by the Federal Emergency Management Agency that the tornado didn’t do enough damage to meet the requirement for disaster funding.
The Hays High girls’ soccer team has gone nine straight matches without a loss. The Indians scored three goals in the first 10 minutes Monday to defeat Garden City 4-0 at the Hays High Field.
Alexa Brull got the Indians on the board followed by two goals from freshman Courtney Molleker for a 3-0 lead at the half. Lacey Pfannenstiel scored the lone second half.
The Indians improve to 10-2-1 and 7-0 in the Western Athletic Conference. They play at McPherson Tuesday at 6pm.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An official from Indiana’s judicial system will be taking over next month as the new clerk for both the Kansas Supreme Court and the Kansas Court of Appeals.
The state’s high court says Heather Smith will start work in Topeka on June 9. She will replace Carol Green, who has been clerk since 1991 and is retiring June 6.
Smith is deputy clerk of the Indiana Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and Tax Court. In that job, she is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the clerk’s office. She also played a key role in planning several technology projects.
In Kansas, she’ll be responsible for planning and overseeing the day-to-day administrative work of the state’s two appellate courts.
CONWAY, Kan. (AP) — Environmental regulators say officials at natural gas liquids storage facility in central Kansas have agreed to spend $2 million to reduce air pollution.
The Environmental Protection Agency said Monday the settlement with Mid-Continent Fractionation and Storage in Conway resulted from a 2012 inspection.
The company has agreed to install and operate a new vapor collection system that reduces emissions of volatile organic compounds into the atmosphere.
EPA says the upgrade will bring the company into compliance with the Clean Air Act and cut emissions by more than 15 tons a year.
The agency says volatile organic compounds may cause wheezing and breathing difficulties during outdoor activities, aggravate asthma and increase susceptibility to respiratory illnesses.
The Hays High boys golf team brought home both the team and individual title at the Great Bend Invitational Monday at the par-71 Stone Ridge Country Club.
The Indians shot a 318 and finished 12 shots ahead of second place Dodge City.
Payton Ruder fired a 6-over-par 77 to win the individual title on a second hole playoff. Ruder and Garden City’s Taylor Larson both parred the par-3 18th in the first playoff hole. When they played the same hole the second time, Ruder made a par and Larson a bogey.
Kaden Bielman shot a 78 and finished third. Chase Lynd was seventh with an 81. Cash Hobson eight after an 82 and Lane Clark 10th with an 84.
The Indians are in Junction City Thursday.
HHS Varsity
Payton Ruder-77 1st place – won on second hole of playoff Kaden Beilman-78 3rd place Chase Lynd-81 7th place Cash Hobson-82 8th place 1st place
Lane Clark-84 10th place Nathan Romme-85 T-12th place
Team Finish: 1. Hays High 318 2. Dodge City 330
3. Garden City 333
4. Great Bend 358
5. Liberal 359
6. Salina South 421
Top 10 Medalists: 1. Payton Ruder-Hays 77 2. Taylor Larson-Garden City 77 3. Kaden Beilman-Hays 78 4. Levi Bone-Dodge City 79
5. Kameron Miller-Dodge City 80
6. Jace Larson-Dodge City 81 7. Chase Lynd-Hays 81 8. Cash Hobson-Hays 82 9. Logan Durst-Garden City 84 10. Lane Clark-Hays 84
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Daytona 500 champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. plans to visit a Topeka high school this week ahead of Saturday’s Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway.
Earnhardt, who drives the No. 88 car sponsored by the National Guard, will talk to students and sign autographs at Seaman High School on Thursday.
Members of the Kansas National Guard are also expected to be on hand for the afternoon event.
Earnhardt won at Daytona to start the 2014 season and is 19 points back of teammate Jeff Gordon in the point standings heading into the weekend at race in Kansas City, Kansas. The race is the first night NASCAR Sprint Cup event to be held at the track since it opened in 2001.
Hot temperatures and high fire danger is expected today and tomorrow. #kswx
Today Patchy fog before 10am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 92. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 54. South wind 8 to 11 mph. Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 94. Very windy, with a south southwest wind 10 to 20 mph increasing to 21 to 31 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 47 mph. Wednesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 54. Breezy, with a south wind 20 to 24 mph, with gusts as high as 39 mph. Thursday Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. Breezy, with a southwest wind 17 to 21 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 34 mph. Thursday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 45. Breezy. Friday Mostly sunny, with a high near 72.
Fort Hays State junior Trey Herman completed his first round at the NCAA Division II Midwest/Central Regional in Eureka, Mo. on Monday (May 5). Herman finished Monday with a 2-over par round of 74, currently in a tie for 24th. The tournament is being held at the Fox Run Golf Club, a par-72 layout.
Herman had a solid start to the day, shooting 1-under par on the front nine. After a bogey at par-4 2nd hole, Herman responded with back-to-back birdies at the par-4 3rd and the par-3 4th to move to 1-under. He slipped back to even with a bogey at the par-3 8th, but then birdied the par-5 9th to go out with a 35.
Holding steady through the first two holes of the back nine, Herman went further into red numbers by making a birdie at the par-4 12th. That pushed him into a tie for fourth at the time, just a stroke back of the lead. However, he ran into trouble on his next two holes with a bogey at the par-5 13th and a double-bogey at the par-4 14th. After three straight pars, he carded one more bogey at the par-4 18th, leaving his round at 2-over par.
Even at 2-over, Herman is just six strokes back of the lead (4-under) held by Marcos Sevilla of Southeastern Oklahoma State. Eleven players had under-par rounds on the first day and four players shot even par. Of the eight individuals selected to play in the regional, Herman is tied as the second-best after day one. Ross Miller of Minnesota State-Mankato is the top individual in the tournament so far at 1-over, while Herman and Ryan Buerk of Missouri Southern are just one stroke behind. The top 15 golfers in the field so far are affiliated with teams that qualified for the tournament.
