SHAWNEE COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for burglary.
Daniel -photo Shawnee Co.
Just before 1a.m. Sunday, police responded to report of a robbery at an apartment in the 1200 Block of Western in Topeka, according to Lt. Kelvin Johnson.
A suspect had entered the victim’s unlocked apartment door armed with a machete, according to police. The suspect took several items and fled on foot.
Additional responding officers found a man matching the suspect’s description. Police recovered items taken from the victim and found the machete. Police booked 27-year-old Darren Daniel into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of Aggravated Robbery and Aggravated Burglary, according to Johnson.
Daniel has previous convictions for robbery, burglary and theft, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
Today A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. North northeast wind 5 to 8 mph becoming east in the afternoon.
TonightA 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. East southeast wind 6 to 9 mph.
TuesdayA 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. Southeast wind 6 to 11 mph.
Tuesday NightA 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 68. East southeast wind 8 to 11 mph.
WednesdayA 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 90.
Wednesday NightMostly clear, with a low around 68.
Dr. Roger Marshall, R-Great Bend, is the First District Kansas Congressman.
Friend,
Headlines last week felt like an old Clint Eastwood movie. The good news is that with the appointment of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump has made a selection that will solidify our Supreme Court as an institution that respects the Constitution, life and the rule of law. I am excited about this pick and hope the Senate will move swiftly to confirm him.
The bad news we saw across much of our district is the drought and near record heat that is scorching crops and forcing ranchers to find alternative feed and water supplies. The USDA has a host of programs available to help producers in drought areas.Those can be found here.
The ugly news has been the worst of all, in the escalating trade war with countries around the world. As I traveled the district last weekend, and read through your letters week, it is clear that the administration’s trade policy is putting Kansans through tough times. Not a day goes by that we don’t see a new story of cost increases for manufacturers, lost markets for our farmers or consumers paying more for everyday products. Just two weeks ago in a discussion with U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer, I asked him to please keep folks at home in mind as they are working on trade agreements. While I share their vision for better trade agreements, I am gravely concerned the path we are on will cause more harm than good if we don’t proactively work to expand markets.
GOP Doctors’ Caucus
We must lower the cost of health care
I had the privilege to sit down alongside fellow GOP Doctors’ Caucus Members with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, Alex Azar. During our hour-long conversation, Sec. Azar informed us of work being done by the Administration on lowering drug prices, decreasing physician burdens, mitigating drug shortages, and – most importantly – lowering the cost of care. Members of the Doc Caucus then discussed top legislative priorities and how Congress and the Administration can work together to accomplish these goals. The United States’ health care system desperately needs our attention; I plan to continue working
Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta
with all stakeholders to make changes that improve care and lower costs for our folks back home.
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.
I met with the Secretary of Labor, Alexander Acosta to discuss growing businesses, internships, agriculture worker visas and veterans opportunities. The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded $47.6 million in grants to help homeless vets get the job skills they need to secure work.
Our economy is BOOMING! Job openings have exceeded the number of job seekers for three straight months. Since passing the #TaxCutsandJobsActwe’ve created nearly 1.3 million jobs across the country.
In June alone:
213,000 jobs were created.
A record high,155 million Americans had a job.
Over the July 4th week, I saw firsthand the drought conditions across the Flint Hills region that some say are the worst they’ve seen in decades. The circumstances are bleak for our farmers and ranchers in the area. Ponds are dry, pastures are short on grass and ranchers are struggling to feed their animals.
Chase county ranchers Joe and Connie Mushrush raise Red Angus cattle. I had the opportunity to sit down with them and discuss the hardships the drought has created. They’ve had to abandon pastures and are moving part of their herd to grass in Missouri because they no longer have the feed to raise cattle on their property due to the drought conditions.
Still the Mushrushs endure their tough situation with optimism that things will change course. Kansas farmers and ranchers are resilient, but we must do more than a rain dance. I came to Washington to deliver certainty to our producers, like the Mushrushs. The 2018 Farm Bill contains resources for ranchers facing drought conditions and as the bill is tweaked in conference before final passage I will continue to advocate for these drought programs.
Expanding opportunities for Small Businesses
While small businesses employ a majority of Americans they still face unique challenges especially when competing for federal contracts. That’s why Congress passed he Small Business Act, that streamlines the contracting process at federal agencies for certain types of small businesses, including service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, women-owned small businesses, and HUBZone-certified businesses. I introduced a bill to improve this law by expanding the size of eligible contracts and providing additional checks to limit the potential for fraud and abuse in this program.
I look forward to advancing my bill – the Expanding Contracting Opportunities for Small Businesses Act of 2018 you can follow its progress on the Small Business Committee website: https://smallbusiness.house.gov/.
‘Diamond Top’ silos
Tariffs impact KS company’s bottom line
The Anderson family in McPherson has been building concrete storage structures for more than 100 years. Their signature ‘Diamond Top’ silos dot the landscape of Kansas and are incorporated into the state’s newest grain terminal facilities.
McPherson Concrete Products Inc.,( along with its sister companies, Wichita Concrete Pipe and McPherson Concrete Storage Systems) have been hit hard by the recently imposed tariffs. Their steel rebar costs have jumped 30 percent and supply is dwindling.
While these conversations are always tough to hear, I enjoyed speaking with business leaders and learning more about the challenges and opportunities in their industry and the many harmful effects these tariffs are having on Kansans.
Salina welcomes KU School of Nursing
University of Kansas Medical School in Salina
The University of Kansas Medical School in Salina officially opened its doors in its new location and welcomed the new KU School of Nursing to its facility. Laina and I toured the school and learned more about how the program is using technology to educate and prepare its students.
The four-year program is the smallest in North America but plays a vital role in educating our soon-to-be doctors. Working alongside Salina Regional Health Center, students in this program have the benefit of small classes and one-on-one relationships with faculty members and area physicians. This program is a critical part of encouraging more physicians to practice in rural areas, and is one of our best efforts in the long term to alleviate the doctor shortage we see across the first district.
As a graduate of KU’s Medical School, I’m happy to see them expand to continue to serve their communities and patients.
Joyce Price, age 91, died peacefully on July 11, 2018, at 3:20 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, Nebraska. She was born Joyce Thielbar in Danbury, Nebraska, on September 7, 1926.
After graduating from Danbury High School, Joyce met the love of her life, Virgil Price, at a local dance. The two were married when she was 19 years old on May 19, 1946, and from there they enjoyed 66 years of loving marriage.
Joyce attended Kearney State Teacher’s College, and she taught for three years in Red Willow County, Nebraska; substitute teaching thereafter. She lived and worked with Virgil on their farm in the Lyle community for 50+ years. Joyce loved to cook – she always put together a great spread, no matter how many people might be sitting at the table – and she especially loved to bake cookies with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She also enjoyed sewing, cross stitch, and embroidery. Some of her most beautiful artwork was done in the garden – she lovingly cultivated beautiful, lush flowers and plants.
Gentle and kind, Joyce was a devoted friend who was always there to answer the call for help from friends and family. She enjoyed playing 11-Point Pitch and Mexican Train Dominoes. She was a member of the Norcatur United Methodist Church, United Methodist Women, Sunflower EHU, Rebekah Lodge, Royal Neighbors Lodge, Liberty Star Club, and she was a volunteer for the Norcatur News Sheet. In her lifetime, she had visited both Canada and Mexico.
Joyce was preceded in death by her husband, Virgil; sister, Iris Smith; and brothers Melvin and Max Thielbar.
She is survived by her daughter, Linda Jurey and her husband, Keith; her son, Bob Price and his wife, Lea; her grandchildren: Richard Jurey, Jason Jurey and his wife, Kathy, and Kate Price; and her great-grandchildren: Connor and MacKinzey Jurey.
The Hays Larks and Derby Twins played a 16 inning, instant classic game on Sunday night at Larks Park to end a four game series over three days.
Larks starter Tyler Blomster gave up two runs in the fourth inning on a solo home run and two out single. Blomster rebounded to give Hays seven strong innings, striking out 11 and walking one batter. RJ Williams drove in the Larks first two runs with two out singles in the fifth and seventh innings to tie the game at two.
Manager Frank Leo Postgame Interview
Wyatt Divis worked around lead off batters in all but one of his six scoreless innings on the mound before giving way to closer Shane Browning who struck out six over three innings. The Larks finally walked off after the games only error. With two on and one out in the sixteenth inning, Williams hit a grounder towards the Twins shortstop who bobbled the grounder then threw wide of the first baseman allowing Matt Munoz to score from second and claim a 3-2 win.
Browning took his first win of the season for the Larks who won their 30th game of the summer and are 30-7 and now 22-6 in the Jayhawk League. The Larks are five games ahead of Liberal who were rained out versus Great Bend on Sunday.
surveillance video image of suspected gunman who shot and killed a UMKC student during a robbery July 6 courtesy KCMO PD
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Latest on the shooting of three Kansas City police officers (all times local):
11 p.m.
Authorities say a gunman being investigated in the killing of a university student from India shot and wounded three Kansas City police officers Sunday before dying in an exchange of gunfire with police.
The three officers’ wounds were not life-threatening. Police said the suspect, whose name has not been released, had been identified as a person of interest in the slaying of Sharath Koppu and officers had him under surveillance.
The 25-year-old Koppu was a master’s degree student from India who was studying at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Koppu was shot on July 6 during an armed robbery at a fast food restaurant in Kansas City where he worked.
Jagdeesh Subramanian, president of the India Association of Kansas City, said the group is grateful to police for pursuing Koppu’s shooting diligently and that “there is some closure” with the person of interest’s death.
___
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police shot and killed a man Sunday suspected of shooting and wounding three Kansas City police officers, authorities said.
The suspect died Sunday afternoon after barricading himself in a house in the southeast part of the city. He emerged from the home and was killed in an exchange of gunfire, police Chief Rick Smith told reporters.
All three officers are expected to live.
Police spokesman Sgt. Jacob Becchina said the first two officers were shot during an undercover operation at a motel less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from Kauffman Stadium, where the Kansas City Royals baseball team plays. The suspect then fled in a vehicle with another person, who was arrested when officers found the vehicle.
The suspect barricaded himself inside of a home about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the motel. He shot the third officer in the arm during the standoff, Smith said.
The suspect was a person of interest in the fatal shooting of a University of Missouri-Kansas City student during a robbery earlier this month.
“We’ve been looking for him all week,” Smith said. “This is the first time we laid eyes on him.”
————–
3 p.m.
Authorities say a suspect in the shooting of two Kansas City police officers shot a third officer who was searching for him and had been barricaded inside of a house.
The third officer struck by gunfire is in stable condition at this time.
At approximately 1:15p the armed suspect exited a residence and once again exchanged gunfire with officers. He was shot and taken into custody. He was declared deceased by KCFD at that time.
KANSAS CITY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating an officer involved shooting that injured three officers in Kansas City.
Police were searching for a suspect near 40 Highway and Manchester in Kansas City, according to a social media report from police.
Approximately 12:15pm undercover and tactical officers were conducting an ongoing investigation at 8300 E 40 hwy. They encountered a suspect who fired on officers with a rifle. Two officers were struck and are at the hospital in stable condition.
An additional (3rd officer) was struck by gunfire and was taken to the hospital. That officer’s condition is unknown at this time. The standoff continues at this time. More information as it becomes available
CHICAGO (AP) – Although the White Sox head into the All-Star break with nearly twice as many losses as wins, the players remain optimistic.
Sunday certainly provided a reason for hope.
Daniel Palka and Yoan Moncada homered, and Lucas Giolito tossed two-hit ball into the seventh inning, lifting Chicago to a 10-1 victory over the struggling Kansas City Royals.
Moncada was 3 for 3 with a walk and three runs scored a day after leaving a game with a bruised right knee. Palka also had three hits and two RBIs while Tim Anderson and Kevan Smith each hit a two-run double as Chicago pounded out 13 hits.
The rebuilding White Sox had dropped seven of nine before Sunday and are 33-62 overall.
“It wasn’t a very good first half in wins and losses, but I think that’s part of the process,” Moncada said. “We’re all trying to do our best. We improved during the first half, and I think in the second half we’ll be much better.”
Adalberto Mondesi homered leading off the eighth for the Royals, who are 2-11 in July.
“Losing (stinks), and we’ve lost a lot,” second baseman Whit Merrifield said. “It hasn’t been fun as far as all that goes. We got four days off. Hopefully, we can regroup and everyone can kind of step back and reset.”
Kansas City decided to go with a bullpen day instead of a regular starting pitcher. The relievers were no match for Giolito (6-8). The right-hander allowed just two hits in 6 1/3 innings, striking out six and walking three.
“Today was one of those days where we put it all together,” Giolito said. “I’m looking forward to more of those.”
After Giolito worked out of his only jam in the top of the first with an assist from the defense – Jorge Bonifacio was thrown out trying to score from second on a single to left with one out – Palka’s two-run blast off starter Burch Smith (0-1) gave the White Sox a 2-0 lead.
“I’m not really feeling my best in the first and then an unreal play,” Giolito said of the play at the plate. “It gets me fired up. It’s like, ‘Alright, no one’s crossing the plate this inning.”‘
The lead grew to 4-0 in the third as Jose Abreu scored on a wild pitch and Leury Garcia followed with an RBI single against left-hander Brian Flynn. Chicago then broke the game open with a five-run fifth against left-hander Enny Romero. Moncada, who was hit in the knee by a pick-off throw on Saturday, started things with a lead-off homer. It was his 12th of the season and first right-handed. Anderson and Smith each had a two-run double to make it 9-0.
Moncada doubled and scored in the sixth to make 10-0 before Mondesi’s homer off Jeanmar Gomez broke the shutout.
“It was one of those days,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. “We didn’t pitch good.”
TAKING A DIVE
When Moncada was hit in the knee on Saturday, he appeared to be in great pain and significantly injured. After discovering he was fine on Sunday, his teammates taped the name “NEYMAR” above his locker.
“He’s known to be a player who likes to act when people touch him or he gets kicked,” Moncada said of the Brazilian soccer star through a translator. “They were messing with me.”
START ME UP
Salvador Perez, the Royals’ lone All-Star, will replace injured Wilson Ramos as the AL’s starting catcher in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game.
TRAINER’S ROOM
White Sox: RHP Nate Jones (strained forearm muscle) will travel to Triple-A Charlotte during the All-Star break and throw live batting practice on Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Royals: LHP Danny Duffy (4-8, 4.59 ERA) will pitch the opener of a three-game series with Minnesota on Friday night.
White Sox: RHP James Shields (4-10, 4.43 ERA) takes the mound Friday night for the start of a three-game series at Seattle.
Bethany College track and cross country coach Aaron Yoder spends a lot of time on the treadmill in the Lindsborg, Kansas, school’s cardio room. It doesn’t seem unusual unless you see what he’s doing — running backward.
Yoder has been training for this weekend’s world championships for backward running, or retrorunning, in Bologne, Italy. Yoder is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as a record-holder in three retrorunning events: 1 mile (5 minutes, 54.25 seconds), 1000 meters and 4X400m relay. Plus, he’s awaiting ratification for a world record in the 200m, which he did last year on the campus track.
Yoder’s first world record came three years ago with the mile, a distance with deep roots in Kansas; think legendary Olympians Glenn Cunningham, (1932 and ’36), Wes Santee (1952) and Jim Ryun (1964, ’68 and ’72).
A few years earlier, doctors advised him not to run, period. He was a high school champion in the mile, but by his mid 20s, a chronically injured left knee led to arthritis.
Running backward, however, made Yoder feel more comfortable.
“A big difference is the stress you put on your joints,” the 32-year-old said. “When you’re running backward, you don’t have as much pressure on your knee because you’re landing behind yourself.”
Dr. Brian Ware, a podiatrist in Kansas City, says retrorunning puts less stress on joints.
Dr. Brian Ware, a podiatrist in Kansas City and a runner himself, said he understands Yoder’s reluctance to give up running all together.
“With runners it’s a mindset. We do not like to take time off,” said Ware, who also backs up Yoder’s claims that running backward is easier on the joints.
He added that there’s another other benefit to backward running.
“The posture is a little bit better backward running. When you tend to get fatigued in forward running, your back muscles get overused because you lean forward,” Ware said.
Running backward piqued Yoder’s interest during his middle school years in Peabody, Kansas, saying he did it “because I was trying to get in better shape for other sports.”
Retrorunning is popular in Europe, and this is the seventh running of the International Retrorunning championships, which happen every other year.
One of Yoder’s former athletes at Bethany, Noah Smucker, said Yoder’s backward treadmill habit caught his attention at first —because of how much time Yoder spends on it. It was enough to wear out and break one of the training center treadmills, Smucker said.
“I always knew he was a little different,” he said. “When I saw him do that, I definitely knew he was a something different.”
Yoder takes that as a compliment. Though he said he comes from a family that likes to stay active, no one else within the family ran backward.
“My mom would tell of (when) we would go out in the country — she’d have her bike — and she would time me while I did some mile runs,” he said, adding, “They just said, ‘Aaron is just doing what he does.’”
But things have changed. Yoder’s twin brother and his parents are now retro-running and also will compete in this week’s world championships.
Greg Echlin is a freelance sports reporter for KCUR 89.3.
WICHITA – The Kansas Leadership Center (KLC) is currently accepting applications for 2019 Leadership Transformation Grants through Friday, August 31.
We’re looking for partners who aspire to spread a culture of leadership through their organization or community. Is that you or someone you know?
Help us spread the word. Pass this email on to your local city manager, superintendent, pastor or Rotary president. Encourage them to apply for a grant or join us for an informational conference call next week. With your help, we can extend our reach to more civically engaged organizations and individuals across Kansas.
Learn more about the grants. We’re hosting a conference call on Wednesday, July 18 from Noon to 1 p.m.Anyone wanting to know more about the Leadership Transformation Grants is welcome to join us and bring questions. Call-in number: 1-877-567-1262. Passcode: 6113-000#
MANHATTAN — The Kansas Department of Agriculture’s agricultural marketing, advocacy and outreach team is seeking talented Kansans to serve on the Marketing Advisory Board. The mission of the KDA marketing team is to serve all Kansans through innovative programming and deliver solutions designed to create an environment that facilitates growth and expansion in agriculture while increasing pride in and awareness of the state’s largest industry — agriculture.
The Marketing Advisory Board will advise the program team on a variety of topics through the following sub-programs: agricultural business development, international agricultural development/trade, From the Land of Kansas, local foods and affiliated programs, agricultural workforce development and agricultural education.
If you are interested in applying to serve as a Marketing Advisory Board member, please email a resume, statement of interest/cover letter and tax clearance confirmation PDF. For more details about the board and about the application process, go to agriculture.ks.gov/marketing-advisory-board. Submit application materials and address questions to Kerry Wefald, marketing director, at [email protected] or call 785-564-6758.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Even before the specter of a trade war with China and other countries threatened to cost them billions of dollars, American farmers were feeling the squeeze from fluctuating crop prices and other factors that have halved their overall income in recent years.
Farm truck traveling to a western Kansas grain elevator
The threat of counter-tariffs on U.S. farm goods and the impact of President Donald Trump’s other policies on immigration and biofuels, though, have some farmers more worried than ever about their ability to continue eking out an existence in agriculture.
“No matter where you look in ag right now, you see storm clouds on the horizon and some of those are a lot closer overhead than we’d care for,” said Chad Hart, an agricultural economist with Iowa State University.
Trump’s tariff threats earlier this year against China, Mexico, Canada and European Union elicited quick retaliatory measures that depressed the prices of certain U.S. agricultural products, including corn, soybeans, pork. When $34 billion worth of tariffs against China took effect July 6 and China responded with tariffs of its own, U.S. farmers were already feeling the squeeze from lower crop prices, higher land prices and other factors.
The Department of Agriculture predicted before the threat of tariffs and counter-tariffs that U.S. farm income would drop this year to $60 billion, or half the $120 billion of five years ago. That projection is likely high, given what’s transpired since.
Don Bloss, who grows corn, soybeans, sorghum and wheat on his farm in the southeastern Nebraska community of Pawnee City, said he’s already seen a few neighbors quit farming as they struggled to make a profit even before the tariff battle began this year.
“They aren’t making money. One has said the banker is giving up on them,” said Bloss.
John Weber, who raises pigs and grows corn and soybeans with his son about 100 miles northeast of Des Moines, near Dysart, said many farmers’ budgets were already tight going into this growing season and the impact of tariffs has made it worse.
“Some were given the go-ahead for another year, but boy, you start looking at these lower prices and the extra costs that are out there now it gets tough. It just doesn’t work,” he said.
Per-bushel soybean prices have fallen 19 percent since early May to a 10-year low and corn is down more than 15 percent. At current prices, most farmers lose money on corn, soybeans and pigs.
U.S. pork producers stand to lose more than $2 billion per year because of plunging hog futures prices, the result of the Chinese retaliatory tariffs, according to Iowa State University economists’ projections.
“That means less income for pork producers and, ultimately, some of them going out of business,” said Jim Heimerl, a pig farmer from Johnstown, Ohio, and president of the National Pork Producers Council, an industry trade group.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has promised that Trump will restore farmer profitability but he hasn’t specified how and some economists are skeptical that the administration can come up with the billions of dollars necessary to cover losses.
“If this continues and the USDA does not discover a way to helicopter in and drop buckets of cash into the corn belt this fall, then I would not be surprised if there are tractor parades going to DC at some point in the next year,” said Scott Irwin, University of Illinois agricultural economist.
There’s no sign of a quick resolution to the trade dispute. The U.S. and China have threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs next week on $16 billion of each other’s goods. And on Tuesday, Trump announced plans to impose 10 percent tariffs on an additional $200 billion in Chinese imports by the end of August. China said it would retaliate, leaving even more U.S. farm products at risk.
Meanwhile, Trump’s hardline immigration policies have been making it even harder to recruit workers for pork producers, who have historically relied on immigrants for a third of their workforce. The industry had been planning a rapid expansion due to growing export demand from China and Mexico, but the trade dispute and raids spring immigration raids on a Tennessee meatpacking plant and an Iowa concrete plant have worried pork producers.
“Skilled and unskilled foreign workers have been crucial to maintaining and growing the workforce and revitalizing rural communities across the United States. We need more of them, not less,” Heimerl said.
The Trump administration’s willingness to issue waivers exempting petroleum refineries from having to blend ethanol into their fuels has led to an estimated 250 million bushels of corn going unused, which contributed to lower corn prices.
“There’s potential here for this to turn into the worst farm financial crisis since the 1980s,” Irwin said.
KANSAS CITY. – A Kansas City man was sentenced in federal court Friday for sharing child pornography over the Internet.
Michael Vandergriff, 56, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 11 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Vandergriff to supervised release for the rest of his life following incarceration, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
On Feb. 6, 2018, Vandergriff pleaded guilty to attempting to distribute child pornography. Vandergriff admitted that he shared videos and images of child pornography over the Internet via peer-to-peer file-sharing networks.
On April 2, 2015, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Vandergriff’s residence and seized numerous electronic items. According to court documents, a forensic examination established that Vandergriff had no less than 6,500 video and image files depicting child pornography. The seized media also included obscene images depicting minors in bondage and bestiality. Vandergriff appeared to utilize a hidden camera to record images of minors.
According to court documents, law enforcement officers downloaded a total of at least 1,821 video and image files of child pornography, some of which was particularly graphic, on seven separate occasions from Vandergriff’s computer during their investigation from Sept. 17, 2014, to Feb. 26, 2015.
It’s not often that Hays hosts a musical group whose concerts – by law – must be free and open to the public.
That is the case with the 35th Infantry Division Army Band, based out of Olathe, Kansas.
Sergeant First Class Nathan Fabrizius, a Fort Hays State University graduate, schedules performances for the group. “I’ve been trying to get them out to Hays for a while,” said Fabrizius, who plays piano for the group’s jazz combo and trombone for its concert band.
The 35th Infantry Division Army Band, established in 1922, is a unit of the Kansas Army National Guard and is made up of 37 citizen soldiers. Members from Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska meet one weekend a month to practice and 2 weeks in the summer.
While the band performs at community events and military ceremonies throughout the year, summer is their primary touring season.
The unit divides into smaller groups including a rock band, two brass quintets, a woodwind quintet, a small brass band, and a jazz combo. The band’s main group is its concert band which plays concert music, pop, classical, and big band selections.
The band will perform multiple free concerts in Hays, with the largest being the concert band performance at 7 p.m. Monday, July 16, at Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center on the FHSU campus.
The full schedule is as follows:
Bullseye Brass Quintet
July 16, Noon
Hays Public Library, Schmidt Gallery
Concert Band
July 16, 7 p.m.
Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center
Jazz Combo
July 17, Noon
Hays Public Library, Schmidt Gallery
Heartland Brass Quintet & Prairie Winds Quintet
July 18, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.
Historic Fort Hays Site
Hard to Handle: Military Rock Concert
July 19, Noon
Hays Public Library, Schmidt Gallery
Events at the Hays Public Library will include free lunch for the first 30 guests.
For more information on the 35th Infantry Division Army Band performances, call or text Nathan Fabrizius at (913) 634-4356.
