Kansas Awards $18.9M for 53 Airport Projects

United Kansas, Free State Party Merge to Court Moderates

Husband Charged With Murder in Death of PBS Kansas Engineer

KU Rankings Mixed as Global Scores Decline

13 Kansas Teams Advance to World KidWind Challenge

Kansas Awards $18.9M for 53 Airport Projects

TOPEKA, Kan. — Gov. Laura Kelly announced Tuesday that the state is awarding $18.9 million to fund 53 airport development projects across Kansas through the Kansas Airport Improvement Program. The program receives $15 million annually from the Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program, a bipartisan 10-year initiative, and Kelly said state funding combined with Federal Aviation Administration and local matches will yield $95 million in total improvements. The Kansas Department of Transportation's Division of Aviation received 105 applications seeking a combined $38.87 million and selected 53 projects, with emphasis on pavement maintenance, safety enhancements and air ambulance access. Awards range from a $1.6 million allocation to pave a runway at Greensburg Municipal Airport to $1.3 million for a new hangar and fuel tanks in Dodge City. The program introduced multi-year phased projects this year to help smaller communities tackle larger-scale improvements over time. KDOT Secretary Calvin Reed said prioritizing safety and preservation now will build a transportation network that serves all Kansans long-term.

Gov. Kelly announces nearly $19M for local airport infrastructure

State funding leverages federal and local matches for $95 million in total aviation improvements.

citizen journalGreg Loving

United Kansas, Free State Party Merge to Court Moderates

LAWRENCE, Kan. — The United Kansas Party and the Free State Party announced Tuesday they are merging to field candidates under the United Kansas name and draw support from voters dissatisfied with both major parties. Lawrence resident Scott Morgan, a former staffer for U.S. Sens. Bob Dole and Nancy Landon Kassebaum and a 2014 Republican candidate for Kansas secretary of state, will serve as executive director. United Kansas qualified as a recognized political party in 2024 and has been pursuing a court challenge to Kansas' 1901 ban on fusion voting, a case heard by the Kansas Court of Appeals in February. The party plans to focus first on the Kansas House, where a loss of five of 88 Republican seats would end the veto-proof majority, and it must submit at least one statewide candidate by June 1 to preserve its recognized status. Morgan said the party's guiding principles include rule of law, fiscal responsibility and electoral reform, with room for candidates across the state who share the broader vision rather than a strict platform.

Lawrence Journal-World · Sunflower State Journal

Husband Charged With Murder in Death of PBS Kansas Engineer

WICHITA, Kan. — PBS Kansas is mourning broadcast engineer Ivy Unruh, 25, who died Monday from a gunshot wound sustained Friday outside her northeast Wichita apartment. Sedgwick County court records show her estranged husband, 29-year-old Joshua Orlando, was charged Tuesday with intentional and premeditated first-degree murder and made his first court appearance that afternoon, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 5 and bond set at $1.5 million. Bel Aire police, Wichita police and Sedgwick County deputies responded around 8 a.m. Friday to a reported shooting at the Remington Apartments in the 7200 block of East 37th Street North, where officers found Unruh with a gunshot wound to her upper body and recovered a firearm at the scene. Police said the couple was married but separated and are treating the case as a domestic violence homicide. A GoFundMe page created for the family describes Unruh as a U.S. Marine veteran, and PBS Kansas President Victor Hogstrom said she was a dependable and valued member of the station's staff.

KAKE

KU Rankings Mixed as Global Scores Decline

LAWRENCE, Kan. — The University of Kansas has posted mixed results in recent national and international college rankings, with continued declines in global assessments even as its standing in U.S. News & World Report improved this year. In the QS World University Rankings, KU fell from #443 in 2024 to #452 in 2025 and to #465 in 2026, a three-year downward trend. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings moved KU from the 301–350 band in 2024 to the 351–400 band in 2025. In the most recent U.S. News Best Colleges edition, KU rose nine places to #143 among national universities and #74 among top public schools, after slipping one spot the prior year. Chancellor Doug Girod has said the university focuses on internal success metrics aligned with the Kansas Board of Regents strategic plan rather than year-to-year ranking changes, citing record enrollment and research funding growth from $337 million in 2017 to $611 million in 2024.

Kansas Reflector

13 Kansas Teams Advance to World KidWind Challenge

SALINA, Kan. — Thirteen Kansas student teams won state championships at the Kansas KidWind State Finals on April 11 and will advance to the World KidWind Challenge in Madison, Wisconsin, in May. The competition drew 35 teams from 25 schools competing in energy production, turbine design and general energy knowledge, with first- and second-place winners across age groups and generator categories qualifying for the global event. Advancing teams include students from Hutchinson, Shawnee, Seneca, Inman and Paola, with competitors in grades 4-12 from public, private and home schools who built their own functional wind turbines. The program is funded by a U.S. Department of Energy grant and organized by the Kansas Corporation Commission in partnership with K-State Engineering Extension, with an emphasis on STEM education and problem-solving skills. A record 106 teams competed in regional challenges this year before the state finals.

Kansas students secure spots in world wind energy competition

Thirteen teams won their divisions at the Kansas KidWind State Finals in Salina.

citizen journalGreg Loving

Sources

1. Lawrence Journal-World / Sunflower State Journal
2. KAKE
3. Kansas Reflector

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