Salina

• Rolling Hills Zoo has broken ground on Tiger Falls, a $3.5 million exhibit that will house Amur tigers, snow leopards, and red pandas. The 70,000-square-foot attraction honors longtime leader Kathy Tolbert and is scheduled to open in spring 2027. →
• KDOT will install $100,000 worth of electric vehicle charging stations at Rolling Hills Zoo between April and July 2026. Construction will occur in the parking lot with minimal disruption to traffic. →
• The city is seeking 1,500 responses for an online community survey designed to shape arts and cultural programming for the next decade. →
• Market data revealed local residents participate in painting and sculpting at rates higher than the national average, which will influence future interactive community programming. →
• Salina police arrested Christopher J. Williams for allegedly kidnapping an acquaintance, physically preventing her from leaving his vehicle, and harassing her with dozens of phone calls. The 22-year-old faces charges including aggravated kidnapping, domestic battery, and aggravated robbery. →
• Salina police are seeking tips after a burglar broke into the Voo bar and caused $5,000 in damage to steal cash and a laptop. Anyone with information on the incident is urged to contact Crimestoppers for a potential reward. →
• Salina Central improved to 11-1 after dominating city rival Salina South in a doubleheader sweep featuring 10-0 and 7-0 shutouts. Starters Bodie Rodriguez and Grayton Gross anchored the wins from the mound, while the Mustangs’ offense fueled the rout with 21 total hits and three home runs. →
• Southeast of Saline softball improved to 9-1 after sweeping state-qualifier Chapman, anchored by pitcher Karlee Zurfluh’s third consecutive no-hitter. Zurfluh remains undefeated on the season and has yet to allow an earned run through six starts. →
• Southeast of Saline swept Chapman in dramatic fashion, clinching game one with an extra-inning walk-off triple before erasing a six-run deficit to run-rule the Irish in game two. The double-header sweep improves the Trojans to a 10-2 record while dropping Chapman to 4-7. →
• It’s going to be a beautiful sunny day with a high near 80, though expect a bit of a breeze as south winds could gust up to 29 mph.

🌾 Kansas

• Kansas's first 3D-printed home in Topeka has completed its wall construction, with the two-bedroom structure costing about $170 per square foot compared to $225 or more for traditional builds and expected to be move-in ready by June. →

• Connie Palacioz, a 101-year-old World War II-era "Rosie the Riveter" who helped build B-29 Superfortresses in Wichita and later volunteered on the B-29 DOC restoration project, died Sunday. →

• Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg rallied Kansas Democrats at Century II in Wichita on Friday, urging the party to pay closer attention to Kansas voters ahead of the 2026 midterms. →

• A Legislative Post Audit review found that an estimated $700,000 to $1.2 million in federal SNAP benefits may have been paid to recipients living outside Kansas during fiscal years 2023 and 2024, less than 1% of state spending. →

• The U.S. Department of Education determined Friday that four Kansas school districts — Kansas City, Olathe, Shawnee Mission and Topeka — violated Title IX and FERPA through their gender-inclusive policies and threatened to terminate federal funding if agreements are not reached. →

🇺🇸 US

• U.S. manufacturing production rose 2.3% since January 2025 despite losing 100,000 factory jobs, driven by AI infrastructure demand that has fueled 16 consecutive quarters of capacity expansion—the longest sustained growth streak in nearly two decades. →

• Users who deactivated Facebook or Instagram for six weeks before the 2020 election reported measurable improvements in happiness, depression and anxiety compared with those who stayed on the platforms, according to a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper. →

• Florida's population boom is reversing as working-age residents leave for more affordable states while the influx of newcomers slows, threatening an economy dependent on continued growth and real-estate development. →

• Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket successfully reused and re-landed its first stage Sunday but failed to deliver AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7 satellite to its intended orbit, forcing the spacecraft to be de-orbited. →

• U.S. forces fired on and boarded the Iranian-flagged cargo ship Touska after it violated the American blockade of Iran, marking the first use of force since the blockade took effect. →

Weather

APRIL 20 2010: DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION TRIGGERS MASSIVE GULF OIL SPILL

An offshore drilling rig operated for BP exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and injuring 17 others. The blowout unleashed roughly 4.9 million barrels of crude oil, causing the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history and long-term damage to Gulf coast ecosystems and economies.

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