Kansas Sports Hall of Fame leaving Boathouse
The Kansas Sports Hall of Fame is moving out of the Wichita Boathouse and looking for a new location.
The downtown Wichita building has hosted some of the state's most treasured sporting memorabilia since 2009. That's when the Hall of Fame began subleasing from the Koch-owned foundation, America3.
The building wore down, even as the Hall of Fame tried to keep the lights on with event bookings.
"When it rains, it pours — and it pours in that building, down onto the main floor," said Cali Estrada, a contractor who worked those events. "We have trash cans that will be set up. It is unfortunate when there are events during that because the event's pretty much ruined."
The city says the building needs $475,000 worth of repairs. America3 and the Hall of Fame say they don't have that money.
The Hall of Fame plans to be out of the building by October 31.
Public hearing on Wichita school district budget
Members of the public have a chance to weigh in on the Wichita school district’s proposed annual budget at the school board meeting Monday.
Wichita Public Schools’ annual budget is worth more than $1 billion.
The district plans to keep its mill levy rate flat this year, but rising home values mean it will still bring in more revenue. That will help offset rising costs and a loss of about $8 million in state funding due to enrollment declines.
People can sign up to give feedback on the budget at the school board meeting. It’s at 6 p.m. Monday at the Alvin Morris Administrative Center at Lincoln and Edgemoor.
The school board is also set to vote on the budget Monday.
Botanica wants to expand into city-owned park land
Botanica leaders are looking to lease a portion of Sim Park, which would nearly double the space available to the gardens.
The Wichita City Council will consider leasing the public land to Botanica for 30 years at a rate of $1 a year.
Last year Botanica applied for a $7.3 million state grant. It planned to use the money to develop greenhouses, new gardens and a water conservation exhibit on the park land between the golf course and the Arkansas River.
Botanica lost out on that grant. City officials say the proposed lease could help secure future grants.
WSU to host NASA symposium
NASA will bring an annual conference to Wichita State University this week.
The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Symposium will be from Tuesday through Thursday at the Hughes Metroplex. A livestream will also be available.
WSU said the event will feature some of the newest and boldest ideas in space exploration, including the latest updates from some of NASA’s research fellows.
Topics include exploration systems, human systems and architecture for extreme environments and imaging for deep space exploration.
Those who plan to attend are asked to register at NASA.gov.
Kansas drivers among most surveilled in U.S.
Kansas drivers are among the most surveilled in the United States, according to a national group tracking automated license plate readers.
Plate readers like Flock cameras create searchable databases that law enforcement agencies can use to track a vehicle's movements.
DeFlock is an organization that encourages the public to map the location of these cameras and challenge their use.
An analysis of public reports by DeFlock shows that Kansas is behind only Georgia when it comes to the number of plate readers per capita.
Current counts estimate there are six cameras for every 10,000 people living in Kansas.
Strong El Nino could bring wetter, warmer winter
A very strong El Nino effect could mean a wetter, warmer winter in parts of the Great Plains this year.
El Nino happens when warmer waters along the equator in the Pacific Ocean shift the jet stream.
Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska could be warmer and wetter than normal.
Gannon Rush, a climatologist at the High Plains Regional Climate Center, said that could help some farmers.
“I know winter wheat kind of had some rough years recently. And so having a wetter winter would actually be very beneficial for them and give them a chance to rebound,” Rush said.
On the other hand, he said, this fall could also be wetter than normal. And that could complicate things for farmers if it makes them delay their corn harvest.
Rush said the next few months will tell scientists more about what to expect from El Nino over the winter.
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