Wichita water is safe, some must still wait to drink it
The boil water advisory is over for Wichita and parts of Andover after 36 hours of water restrictions.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced yesterday afternoon that none of the 195 samples collected from the city water system showed signs of contamination.
The boil water advisory remains in place for the city's wholesale customers in communities like Rose Hill, Park City, Benton, Derby, Valley Center, Bel Aire, and Kechi.
Wichita public works and utilities director Gary Janzen says those communities now need to collect samples of their own water systems, “Once those are in, it's up to KDHE then that they're hoping and estimating that probably this time tomorrow, more or less, that could be lifted for the other communities."
The samples need 24 hours of incubation before the state can rule on the advisory for those areas.
Enrollment headcount
Wichita Public Schools is urging parents to get their kids to school on Monday.
That is the day the state will conduct its annual headcount at districts across Kansas. Those counts help determine how much state funding each district receives.
Kelly Bielefeld is superintendent of Wichita Public Schools and has this comment, “For every student who is absent on Monday, and doesn’t fall under a special exemption, we lose funding for those students. So it’s important for everyone to be in school on Monday.”
Many school districts across the U.S., including Wichita, are seeing fewer students enroll each year due to declining birth rates.
Kansas lawmakers are also in the process of crafting a new state funding formula. The current one expires next year.
New school board member appointment
The Wichita Board of Education selected a new member today as a bond referendum approaches this fall.
The board chose Brock Booker to represent District Three. The district contains East High and Curtis and Mead Middle Schools.
He is a digital marketing college student and community volunteer. That includes working with the One Heart Project, helping at-risk students through mentoring.
Booker supports approving the $615 million bond, because he says it will bring needed improvements to facilities.
He says passing the bond is important to preparing students for their careers, “We expect many students coming into downtown with the biomedical campus, and many students probably from 259 that are looking at health careers and things around that nature.”
Booker replaces Ngoc Vuong who resigned this summer. He will serve the remainder of the term until December 2027.
Rural health transformation
Fourteen healthcare organizations and hospitals throughout Kansas are receiving grants to immediately implement technologies to improve care.
The grants are through the Rural Health Transformation Program. For one hospital system, Common Spirit Kansas, the grant will be used to improve technology. That includes advanced CT scanning machines, portable x-rays, and improved surgical rooms.
Jason Justus the hospital’s president, said those types of updates are needed most in more rural areas, “Southwest Kansas, and that's really consisting of 20 different counties. have a lot of challenges. There's obviously geographic isolation, there's workforce scarcity, there's aging infrastructure and technology that's in healthcare and in other industries.”
The grants are part of last year’s Big Beautiful Bill and are partially intended to help prepare facilities for coming cuts to Medicaid.
McConnell suicide awareness month
McConnell Air Force Base is looking to raise awareness among service members during Suicide Prevention Month.
The series of events looks to foster connections and promote mental wellness.
In 2024, 471 U.S. service members died by suicide, down 11% from the previous year.
But officials say more can be done. That starts by breaking down mental health stigmas and doing outreach.
Base spokesperson John Van Winkle says service members face unique challenges, “We also have a number of stressors we put on people, moving them into a high operations tempo, moving them around the country, around the world. So we want to make sure we take care of our people.”
Events include today’s Love on a Leash with therapy dogs and refreshments.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, call the national crisis line at 988.
Suitcase murder mystery solved
The Wichita Police say a 67-year-old woman who was reported missing Wednesday is the victim in a shocking incident at a south Wichita fire station.
Firefighters at the south Hydraulic station called police at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. They reported that 2 people approached the station with a suitcase and said a body was inside.
Police found a deceased woman when they opened the suitcase. Fingerprinting confirmed the woman is Lorretta Moody. Moody's family reported her missing earlier that day.
The department is classifying the incident as a homicide and interviewing the two people who approached the station. Police say there's no current threat to public safety.
Open Streets coming Sunday
Open Streets I-C-T is returning to Downtown Wichita this Sunday.
The annual event is meant to help people stay active and socialize with their neighbors. Over two miles of Douglas Avenue will be closed and will feature live music, food vendors and family activities.
Activity stations will be located at Naftzger Park, Kennedy Plaza and East High School. Douglas will be closed to traffic from Waco to Grove streets beginning at 10 a.m. Events will start at noon.
More information is at Wichita.gov.
Pollinator Party Saturday
The Great Plains Nature Center will host an event Saturday to celebrate bees, butterflies and other native pollinators.
The annual Pollinator Party is 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Chisholm Creek Park. It is designed for all ages and open to the public.
The event will feature games, crafts, guided walks through the Quail Trail and a Monarch tagging demonstration.
More information is on the Nature Center's website at GPNC.org.
New dance and theater building at WSU
Wichita State University plans to build a new dance and theater building. The Kansas Board of Regents approved WSU’s request to build the 58,000 square-foot facility just south of the Duerksen Fine Arts Center.
The 3-story building will consolidate the School of Performing Arts’ dance, theater and acting programs, along with faculty offices and student support spaces.
The $46 million project would include a 180-seat black box theater, dance studios, costume and design laboratories and performance spaces.
WSU plans to fund the project privately. It’s estimated to be finished by August 2029.
State teaching grant
The state of Kansas will receive a federal grant to help bolster its teacher workforce.
The state will receive $8.4 million dollars over three years as part of the federal Teacher and School Leader Incentive program.
Education officials say the money will strengthen educator pipelines with apprenticeships designed to recruit, develop, and retain more teachers.
The state plans to establish clear career pathways within the education field, expand its teacher apprenticeship program and prioritize high-need schools.
Ulrich museum interim
Wichita State has named an interim director for the Ulrich Museum of Art. Marie Bukowski is the dean of the College of Fine Arts. The university named her interim director while it searches for a permanent one.
Former director Vivian Zavataro left the museum this month to become executive and artistic director at the Riverside Art and The Cheech Museum in California.
The university says it selected Bukowski due to her more than 10 years of leadership experience in the arts within higher education. She also has museum and gallery experience in both university and public settings.
Water plan rejected for western parts
A water management district in southwest Kansas took a big step in conservation by submitting its first water saving plan, but the state has rejected the proposal.
Western Kansas relies on the Ogallala Aquifer, which in some places only has 50 years or less of water remaining at current rates of use.
Southwest Kansas, the district with the largest water declines, devised a plan to reduce pumping in 5 year increments to stabilize the aquifer.
Trevor Ahring, the civil engineer for Groundwater Management District 3, says they received a letter of rejection because their plan’s timeline exceeds 20 years in some places, “That 20-year timeline doesn't exist anywhere in statute, rule, or regulation. Doesn't exist in any planning document that we're aware of.”
State officials say the law requires the district to reasonably address the water crisis, and they felt the plan was too slow.