Kansas

Monarchs To Flutter Through Kansas, Catch Them While You Can

By • Apr 15, 2019
Jim Lovett / Monarch Watch

The annual spring migration of monarch butterflies from Mexico northward could reach Kansas in the next few weeks.

The monarchs are important pollinators across the U.S. but have seen large declines in their numbers due to habitat loss and climate change.

Kansas Rains Are Shifting From Summer To Spring

By • May 29, 2018
Brian Grimmett

New research shows that Kansas is slowly seeing a shift in when it gets its rainfall during the year.

Depending on the region, Kansas typically receives between 35 percent and 41 percent of its annual precipitation during the summer months of June, July and August. But during the past 100 years, that trend is slowly shifting toward the spring.

Kansas Ranks Below Average For Health Security Preparedness

By • Apr 19, 2018
U.S. Map of rankings for National Health Security Preparedness Index

Kansas has once again scored below the national average in the latest National Health Security Preparedness Index.

The index is an effort to measure a state’s ability to prepare for and respond to emergencies that pose health risks. That’s anything from extreme weather events like tornadoes to an outbreak of a deadly disease or virus. On a scale of 10, Kansas scored a 6.9. The national average is 7.1.

“The good news is that it’s been improving over time,” project director Glen Mays said.

Winter Wheat Could Suffer As Drought Increases In Kansas

By • Jan 16, 2018
AgriLife Today, flickr Creative Commons

The latest drought report shows that all of Kansas is drying out, with the southern parts of the state now being considered in extreme drought.

But what impact could this weather pattern have if it sticks around?

More than 50 percent of the state is currently seeing drought conditions, up from only 1.5 percent three months ago. And assistant state climatologist Mary Knapp says the outlook for the next three months isn't much better.

Report: Kansas Population Increases By .3 Percent To 2.9M

By • Oct 8, 2015

New health statistics show that the Kansas' population has nudged up slightly to 2.9 million.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has reported a 0.3 percent population increase from 2013 to 2014. The report released this week shows that three counties in the Manhattan and Fort Riley area had the largest relative increases in population from 2010 to 2014. Geary County's population increased to 7.4 percent, Pottawatomie County's to 6.5 percent and Riley County's to 5.7 percent.

Archaeologists From Across US Searching For Kansas Artifacts

By • Jun 4, 2015

ARKANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Archaeologists from across the U.S. are in south-central Kansas this week searching for artifacts that would confirm a five-mile stretch once was home to a Native American tribe of 20,000 people.

KAKE-TV reports volunteers have found small pieces of tools and pottery in a dusty Arkansas City field that are believed to be from a settlement discovered by Spanish explorer Juan De Onate in 1601.

An Alternate History For Kansas Day

By • Jan 28, 2014
Wikimedia Commons

One nice thing about teaching Kansas history is that it is easy to draw a state map: just create a rectangle with one corner nibbled off.

This map could have been very different, however.

Our story begins in 1854, with the creation of the massive Territory of Kansas that extended from Missouri to the Continental Divide. With Utah on its western border, territorial Kansas included both Pike’s Peak and Bent’s Fort.

Kansas Says Gay Couples Must File Taxes As Singles

By Associated Press • Oct 7, 2013

Kansas says same-sex couples must file their state income tax returns as if each person were single - even if they filed as married on their federal returns.

The state revenue department issued the guidance Friday. It plans to provide a worksheet in its instruction booklet for calculating income, deductions and other data.

The agency says the approach adheres to the Kansas Constitution's definition of marriage. It contends the recent U.S. Supreme Court case upheld the rights of states to define and regulate marriage.

Richard Crowson: Kansas Tourism

By • Sep 13, 2013

In 2012 the state of Kansas ranked in the bottom five for tourism, to no one’s surprise hereabouts.

Kansas Coal Miner Featured On New USPS Stamp

By • Aug 10, 2013
Kansas Historical Society

Thursday the U.S. Postal Service released a stamp featuring a photo of a coal miner from the Kansas Historical Society’s collections.

The 12-stamp series "Made in America: Building a Nation" honors industrial-era workers just in time for labor day. The vintage, grayscale photos of the series portray men and women of the era at work.

Photographer Lewis Hine took 11 of the photos used in the collection.

The photo of the coal miner from the ‘40s or ‘50s was donated to the society in 1966 by the Kansas Department of Economic Development. It depicts the unidentified miner at work with a handpick and lantern.

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