(MANHATTAN, KS – June 10, 2019) The High Water Advisory has been lifted for areas downstream of Tuttle Creek Lake along the Big Blue and Kansas Rivers effective immediately.  Releases at Tuttle Creek Dam have been reduced to 12,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) as of June 10. The US Army Corps of Engineers anticipates that the Tuttle Creek Lake level will continue to fall and release rates will likely be lowered to 3,000 cfs by the end of this week. These release amounts are not expected to cause any flooding downstream.

“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Pat Collins, Emergency Manager for Riley County said. “Any large amount of rain can impact the Tuttle Creek Lake level. We encourage people to stay alert and aware.”

Collins said 1128 feet is the “critical trigger” for implementing emergency preparedness and precautionary measures. Officials in Riley County, Pottawatomie County, and the US Army Corps of Engineers will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Scattered showers and storms are expected in the area over the next several days. The weather pattern later in the week and into the weekend indicates that up to two inches of rainfall is possible.  The threat of flash flooding in Downtown Manhattan also decreases as river levels decline and space becomes available for water to move through the storm sewer system. However, large amounts of rainfall can always cause flash flooding, and the potential for flooding of the Big Blue River, Kansas River, Downtown Manhattan, and Wildcat Creek still exits.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Laura Kelly is seeking a major presidential declaration for public assistance for 63 Kansas counties recovering from record rainfall and severe weather.

The declaration would cover damage from record rains and numerous tornadoes beginning April 28 through May. The Public Assistance program helps pay for restoration of public infrastructure and other damage caused by the severe weather.

The request filed Monday follows one Kelly sent in May seeking a federal disaster declaration. That provides federal money for shelter management, water rescues, human services support and other needs.

The following counties are listed in Monday’s request:

Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Barber, Barton, Bourbon, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Clark, Clay, Cloud, Coffey, Comanche, Cowley, Crawford, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Edwards, Elk, Ellsworth, Ford, Franklin, Geary, Gray, Greenwood, Harper, Harvey, Hodgeman, Jefferson, Kingman, Leavenworth, Lincoln, Linn, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, McPherson, Meade, Montgomery, Morris, Nemaha, Neosho, Norton, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Phillips, Pottawatomie, Pratt, Reno, Rice, Riley, Rush, Russell, Saline, Sumner, Wabaunsee, Washington, Wilson, and Woodson.

The lineup for the 2019-2020 McCain Performance Series at Kansas State University has been unveiled.

UYpcoming attractions will include comedy kings Steve Martin, Martin Short and Ken Jeong; recording greats Travis Tritt, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Bobby McFerrin and Kool & The Gang; and Broadway hits “XRENT,” Finding Neveraland,” “The Color Purple” and “Beautiful – The Carole King Musical.” There will also be classic literature with stage versions of “1984,” “The Odyssey” and the children’s book “Ann of Green Gables” as a ballet.

Holiday time will include special celebrations with the Oak Ridge Boys Christmas Tour and Jane Lynch from “XGlee” and Kate Flannery – Meridith from “The Office” with “A Swinging Little Christmas.” The McCain series will also offer shows kids will enjoy including the prehistoric smash “Dinosaur World Live!” an the wizardry of “Puff The Magic Dragon.”

Season tickets are on sale, with discounts available for those who subscribe to seven or more events. Single tickets will be available starting Monday, August 5. To get priority seating join the Friends of McCain with a season ticket order of seven or more events by Friday, June 28.

Tickets can be purchased at the McCain Auditorium box office or by calling 785-532-6428.

By Martin Hawver

There’s a change, or maybe just the appearance of a change, coming to the Kanas Legislature…maybe…

The change? Suddenly this year what appears to be interest in the future of rural Kansas, those small cities and towns that bigger-city folks might regard as living near the exit ramps of four-lane highways or maybe those towns where the paved streets are in their small downtowns, and most people live on gravel roads.

Those are the towns, in the majority of the land area of the state, where a school bus ride might take 40 minutes, and where even on a clear day, there isn’t a Kwik Shop or a liquor store in sight.

Those are the areas where there isn’t much representation in the Statehouse because the populations are so small that a House district can span a half-dozen counties, and a Senate district even more.

In recent years when rural populations have shrunk and the county courthouse is the center of government for many, their issues often have been overlooked. Oh, the urban-dominated Legislature might OK an exit ramp now and again to show interest or may name a bridge after a local leader, but it was mostly pandering.

And at every reapportionment—and there’s one coming up in 2022—the political power of those rural areas is diminished. More farm kids are growing up to go be computer experts, not farmers.

Well, there’s an indication, and we won’t know for sure for a session or two, that there is more interest in keeping rural areas economically strong, and that Kansans in those areas get the same level of service that the cities offer.

This interest started with the Kansas House, which created a Rural Revitalization Committee. Yes, a whole committee, chaired by Rep. Don Hineman, R-Dighton, out in Lane County, who lost his bid to be House Majority Leader, but showed enough strength that he could put forward a committee that will help people back home.

And Gov. Laura Kelly and her Lieutenant Governor Lynn Rogers, of Wichita, have created the Office of Rural Prosperity, and got $2 million to get it up and running and taking the pulse of rural areas of the state.

That initiative, run out of Rogers’ Statehouse office, is taking a tour of a dozen small cities this summer to see what rural areas need. While city folks have a choice of Internet providers, there aren’t many options in rural Kansas. That means that broadband internet service needs to be expanded in areas where it is going to take some state guidance and assistance and who knows what else to equalize access. It’s not just so rural Kansans can watch Netflix. It’s so they can watch what their government does, their kids can get access to programs that small rural school districts can’t staff, they can get health-care services from experts in areas where doctors are few and miles apart.

The Rural Prosperity office will be on the ground to see just what is needed in rural areas to provide housing, economic development, tourism, and the infrastructure that city folks and their representatives have access to.

It’s a change in atmosphere in the Statehouse, or at least the appearance of a chance in atmosphere, that holds promise. But just how that reach-out from the cities to rural Kansas works isn’t going to be easy.  The cultures are different, the access to nearly everything is different.

Convincing city folk the importance to the state of those rural areas is going to be complicated.

Let’s hope that it works…

Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at www.hawvernews.com

RILEY COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating the theft of electronics from Best Buy in Manhattan in the 300 Block of Tuttle Creek Boulevard.

Authorities want to speak to two individuals seen on security cameras and are asking the public to help identify them. according to a social media report from the Riley County Police Department.

If you have any information, do not attempt to apprehend the suspects, contact RCPD: (785) 537-2112 or Crime Stoppers: (785) 539-7777. Submit a tip: https://bit.ly/2wJ15Db 

The Geary County Fish & Game Association will conduct their monthly meeting beginning at 7 p.m. Monday at Sportsman’s Acres.

The program for the evening will include Tyson Seirer, Director of Field Operations at Ringneck Ranch near Tipton talking about “Long Range Shooting.” He helps operate the Ranch’s newly developed ranges which feature targets from 100 to 1,300 yards. They also offer an Extreme Long Range experience with target distances out to 2,000 yards.  Long Range Shooting training classes are also available.

Seirer will discsuss the range setup, long range guns and other equipment, and procedures for hitting targets in the next county.