Ascha Lee

The Wichita Public Library’s annual Summer Reading Program is beginning a month early this year to give children and teens a way to continue learning at home. 

“We know that they need some sort of extracurricular activity to keep their minds busy, so we decided to start our Summer Reading Program early this year to accommodate that,” said Sean Jones, communications specialist at the library. “We just want them to have other options for recreational activities.”

The United Way of the Plains’ 211 helpline is receiving about a call per minute in Sedgwick County due to the coronavirus. 

“When we started doing screening for COVID-19 testing for the Sedgwick County Health Department, we got up to over 500 calls per day,” said Delane Butler, vice president of marketing for United Way. “That’s when we started getting up to a call per minute.”

Alex Ferenc was shocked when his phone lit up one night with a notification that he had 24 hours to leave Kedougou, Senegal, where he was serving in the Peace Corps.

Ferenc, who was 17 months into a two-year commitment, had to start saying his goodbyes early.

“It was unreal,” said Ferenc, a Wichita State University alumnus. “It felt like I was walking through a dream.

If people can’t gather, live music events can’t happen.

Nearly all concerts and music festivals for the next few months have been called off due to the coronavirus outbreak, which has shaken the entertainment industry.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has extended deadlines indefinitely for driver’s license and vehicle registration renewals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new executive order was signed into place earlier this month. It says Kansans will have 60 days after the State of Disaster is lifted to get their registrations and licenses renewed. 

Drivers will not be charged late fees or interest on expired vehicle registrations if they do not renew within the month they normally would.

Safety net health care clinics around Wichita are adapting to the growing public concern over COVID-19.

J.V. Johnston, executive director of Guadalupe Clinic, said the unease can be difficult to mitigate.

“We have patients that are in panic mode,” Johnston said. “They have the flu or strep throat, and they think they have COVID-19. And they’re scared.”

The Sedgwick County Health Department is collecting medical materials for a drive-thru clinic to test people for COVID-19. 

Hundreds of demonstrators braved the cold Saturday afternoon for the third annual Wichita Women’s March and rally downtown.

The theme of the gathering was “Claim Your Voice.” A variety of issues were addressed at the event, including domestic violence, immigration rights, police brutality and equal representation in government.

Demolition of the old Mid-Continent Airport terminal will begin later this month.

The new terminal at Wichita’s Eisenhower National Airport was completed almost four years ago, in June 2015. Since then, the old terminal has been waiting to be torn down.

Valerie Wise, air service and business development manager at Eisenhower, said it’s because they had to get everything out of the old terminal first.