Kansas State University researchers have helped create a genetic blueprint for many of the traits found in the most common type of wheat.

Bikram Gill and Sunish Sehgal were part of an international collaboration that sequenced most of the genes of common wheat, also known as bread wheat. Gill is the director of Kansas State’s Wheat Genetics Resource Center, and Sehgal is a research associate in plant pathology.

Their study appears in the Nov. 29 issue of the journal Nature.

Kansas State says researchers anticipate using the information to improve wheat genetically. The goal is to help growers meet the increasing demand for food and feed.

The research also could help scientists learn more about a chromosomal driving force in plant genome evolution.

Kansas Lottery players are getting excited about tonight’s record-breaking $550 million Powerball jackpot and ticket sales are climbing!

Total Powerball sales in Kansas have now reached $3.624 million, with several hours left for players to purchase tickets. The cut-off for purchasing tickets is 8:59 p.m., with the drawing being conducted at 9:59 p.m. Kansas time.

If a Kansas ticket were the single winning ticket in tonight’s drawing, and the ticket holder chose the cash lump sum, the winner would receive a check for approximately $252 million, after paying approximately $18 million in state taxes (5 percent) and $90 million in federal taxes (25 percent).

The jackpot isn’t the only prize up for grabs in tonight’s Powerball drawing. In addition to the record jackpot prize, hundreds of thousands of players will win secondary prizes at cash levels ranging from $4 to $1-million, or $12 to $2-million if the winning player has purchased the Power Play option.

While large jackpots generate excitement, the Kansas Lottery reminds players to play responsibly and not spend beyond their means. Players must be 18 years of age or older to purchase lottery tickets.

A Tennessee hunter featured in cable television shows admits he illegally killed a trophy deer in Kansas.

Fifty-year-old William “Spook” Spann of Dickson, Tenn., pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to killing the deer in Stafford County in 2007 and taking its antlers across state lines.

Federal prosecutors say Spann, who is featured on several cable television shows and hunting videos, killed the white-tail deer with an arrow on land owned by another person. His permit allowed him to hunt only on land that he owned.

Attorneys have agreed to recommend a sentence of three years of probation. His hunting privileges would be suspended in the U.S. for six months, and an additional six months in Kansas. The proposed sentence includes a $10,000 fine and restitution of $10,000 to Kansas.

A federal judge has granted an extension to groups trying to reach a financial settlement to clean up contamination at a former Air Force base in Salina.

Federal District Judge Carlos Murguia on Tuesday gave the groups until Feb. 15 to finalize the financial settlement for cleaning up the pollution at the former Schilling Air Force base. The deadline had been Tuesday.

Soil and groundwater at the base, which was closed in the mid-1960s, is contaminated with the toxic solvent TCE, or trichloroethylene.

Several Salina public entities, including the city of Salina and the Salina Airport Authority, filed a federal lawsuit in 2010, seeking a settlement to recoup the cost of cleaning up the pollution.

The parties reached a proposed deal earlier and are trying to finalize the details.

A Clinton, Missouri man was injured in a single vehicle rollover accident in Ellsworth County around 3:32 pm Tuesday.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, 19-year-old Brandon M. Boyd was westbound on I-70 when he lost control of the vehicle and entered the center median. The vehicle rolled one time coming to rest in the eastbound lane.

Boyd was transported to Ellsworth Medical Center with injuries. His condition was not immediately known.

A settlement agreement in a lawsuit brought by workers against the Creekstone Farms slaughterhouse in Arkansas City is awaiting approval by the federal judge overseeing the class action litigation.

U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren will decide whether to approve a settlement reached in August. A joint request by the parties that included details of the deal was filed earlier this month.

Workers alleged Creekstone wasn’t paying them for all the time they worked. Creekstone said it paid for all time worked, including overtime.

Under the proposed $195,000 settlement, about $110,000 would be split among the 144 class members. The amount paid each worker would be based on how often the employee worked during the three-year claim period.

Most of the rest of the settlement would go to workers’ attorneys.

Two leaders of the Kansas National Guard are in Armenia this week to help the former Soviet republic improve training of noncommissioned officers.

Lt. Col. Brent Salmans and Command Sgt. Maj. James Moberly are taking part in a workshop with members of Armenia’s Defense Ministry. The goal is to develop training and leadership programs for Armenia’s enlisted personnel as the nation transitions to a Western-style military.

Kansas has partnered with Armenia since 2003, exchanging delegations to share ideas and best practices for military and emergency management. The partnership is part of a National Guard Bureau program that pairs officials from participating states with developing nations to promote better relations.

Former Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas has checked himself into Walter Reed Army Medical Center for what his spokesman called a routine procedure.

Dole spokeswoman Marion Watkins says the 89-year-old Dole is “doing very well” and is expected to leave the hospital Wednesday.

Dole’s name drew mention as the Senate on Tuesday debated a U.N. treaty promoting equal rights for the disabled. Dole overcame disabling war wounds to forge a 36-year political career. In the early 1990s, he underwent successful surgery for prostate cancer and in 2001 he had surgery to treat an aneurysm.

Dole spent 10 months at Walter Reed in 2010 after suffering pneumonia following knee surgery.

He was the Republican nominee for president in 1996, losing to Bill Clinton.

Diving crews recovered the body of a southeast Kansas man in an old strip mining pit in a Pittsburg park.

Police Lt. Cris Hatcher says the body of 22-year-old Mateo V. Lorenzo of Pittsburg was recovered Monday in a mining pit at Wilderness Park.

A witness called police Saturday to say man had fallen into the pit. Crews from Pittsburg, Frontenac and Newton County searched the strip pits most of Sunday. The searchers found Lorenzo’s body Monday afternoon in about 14 feet of water.

The Pittsburg Morning Sun reports an autopsy will be conducted.

The pit where Lorenzo was found is one of at least four old pits in the park, which has more than four miles of biking and hiking trails on formerly mined land.

The official Christmas tree ornament for Kansas this year honors Washburn University’s 150th anniversary.

Gov. Sam Brownback and first lady Mary Brownback unveiled the state ornament Monday at the governor’s mansion in Topeka.

Twelve of the official ornaments will be sent to Washington D.C. to decorate the state’s tree, which is part of national Christmas tree display.

The ornament bears Washburn’s 150th anniversary logo, which shows the school’s mascot, the Ichabod. The state seal is on the back of the ornament.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the state will also send a dozen ornaments made of wheat to decorate the Kansas tree in Washington. The wheat ornaments were made by students at Quincy Elementary School in Topeka.