We have a brand new updated website! Click here to check it out!

Category: Local

Kansas average gas price drops 4 cents to $2.15, 10th lowest in America

Posted on
June 2017 – Kansas motorists continue to enjoy falling gas prices since the Memorial Day holiday, with average pump prices across the state this week declining 4 cents to $2.15 per gallon. Kansas’ average gas price registers 10th lowest in the nation for the second week in a row.

Of the 10 regularly reported Kansas cities (see chart below), Wichita saw the largest decrease in average per gallon price, falling 10 cents in the past week to $2.09 and coming in as the 26th lowest metro area in America. All 10 Kansas cities are enjoying lower or flat gas prices compared with one week ago.

This week’s Kansas cities with the state’s gas price extremes are:
HIGH: St. Francis – $2.60
LOW: Chanute and Oxford – $1.98
National Summary
At $2.34, the national gas price is cheaper today than it was on this day one year ago. The same trend rings true at the pump in 27 states in the Southeast and Midwest – many seeing double-digit price drops. More so, in 46 states, consumers are paying, on average, three cents less at the pump than a week ago.
The national price drop is due to an unexpected buildup of crude oil last week combined with ongoing high gasoline production runs, an increase in gasoline stocks and a drop in gasoline demand. If refiners continue to produce record amounts of gasoline and oversupply the market, consumers will reap the benefit and see slight fluctuations in gasoline prices (+/- a few cents) in coming weeks. However, it is not likely that gas prices will drop much lower than this week’s prices.
Great Lakes and Central States Region Summary
Following four straight weeks of draws, gasoline inventory is on the rise in the Great Lakes and Central States. According to the EIA, inventory in the region had its biggest one-week increase since the end of January. Sitting at nearly 55 million bbl, inventory is almost 2 million bbl higher than this time last year.
The high inventory is leading to dropping gas prices both on the week and compared to one year ago today. This week, all states are seeing on average a four-cent decrease. As inventory grows and demand remains inconsistent, the cheaper gas prices are likely to hold throughout summer in the region.
Gas Price Trends in Select Kansas Cities
Today
Last Week
Last Month
Last
Year
Change Over Last Year
National
$2.34
$2.38
$2.34
$2.38
-2%
Kansas
$2.15
$2.19
$2.16
$2.20
-2%
Emporia
$2.16
$2.16
$2.16
$2.15
0%
Garden City
$2.10
$2.14
$2.20
$2.10
0%
Hays
$2.18
$2.22
$2.26
$2.13
2%
KCK
$2.19
$2.22
$2.20
$2.32
-6%
Lawrence
$2.22
$2.25
$2.25
$2.34
-5%
Manhattan
$2.15
$2.17
$2.14
$2.17
-1%
Pittsburg
$2.10
$2.12
$2.12
$2.08
1%
Salina
$2.19
$2.20
$2.02
$2.10
4%
Topeka
$2.15
$2.16
$2.16
$2.19
-2%
Wichita
$2.09
$2.19
$2.14
$2.15
-3%
Bordering states and rank in lowest gas prices around the country
State
Current Avg.
Rank Today
Last Week
Oklahoma
$2.05
2
3
Missouri
$2.13
8
7
Kansas
$2.15
10
10
Colorado
$2.34
31
28
Nebraska
$2.27
21
17
Oil Market Dynamics
The oil market appears to be off to a good start this week, with the price per barrel above $46. The increase comes after last week’s report from the EIA showed surprising numbers in gasoline demand and crude inventories. After setting a record for use during the run-up to Memorial Day weekend, demand tumbled down by approximately 505,000 barrels per day. Market watchers expected to see a post-Memorial Day slump; however, the market was surprised by a strong build in crude inventories – a large increase of 3.3 million barrels. This figure re-emphasized that the market continues to see a substantial glut in crude inventories, resulting in high production rates putting downward pressure on prices per barrel.
At the end of last week, Baker Hughes, Inc. released its latest rig count report, revealing eight oil rigs had been added for the week. The U.S. now has 741 active oil rigs, an impressive number considering global concerns about the oversupply of crude in the market causing prices to trend downward. As expected, the continued growth puts more oil in the pipeline for gasoline production. With refineries still processing a lot of gasoline – measured in EIA’s recent report at over 17.5 million barrels per day – and a drop in demand, gasoline stocks around the country are continuing to grow. Price drops at the pump reflect this trend, and as the summer driving season zooms ahead, U.S. drivers may see drops continue into July and August.

Bird Walk Set for Saturday

Posted on
Chuck Otte

The monthly Milford Lake bird walk will be Saturday, June 17th at 8:00 a.m.

Participants will meet at the parking lot on the south end of Milford Lake
Dam, just across the highway from the Corps of Engineers Office. This
month´s walk will focus on summering and nesting species. The walks
usually last about two to three hours and involve moderate walking. If you have binoculars or a bird book please bring them. The next bird walk is tentatively scheduled for July 22, 2017. For more information contact Chuck Otte at  238-4161 or 238-8800.

Sundown Salute 2017 Parade, Freedom Run, Car Show – Registration information and links

Posted on

Sundown Salute is gearing up for the annual Fourth of July Sundown Salute parade. Entries are being accepted now.

This year’s theme is “100 Years and Danger Strong” in recognition of the 100th Anniversary of the First Infantry Division at Fort Riley, and their relationship with the Junction City community.

All entrants, even if you do not wish to be judged for the contest, in the parade must be decorated according to the parade theme or a similar patriotic theme. Prizes will be awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd places.

There is no entry fee for the parade. Entrants can download an entry form from: https://www.sundownsalute.org/information-lodging All entries must be returned to Sundown Salute P.O. Box 287, Junction City, KS 66441 or emailed to sundownsaluteparade@gmail.com. All questions concerning the parade should be directed to Tricia Verschage at 912-332-2465 or by email at sundownsaluteparade@gmail.com. THE ENTRY DEADLINE IS SUNDAY, JUNE 18TH.

—

In addition to the parade, registration is open for the Car, Truck and Bike Show on Saturday, July 1st. This event is hosted and sponsored by Central Kansas Ruff Ryders.

Registration is $20 and is from 8:00 am until 11:30 am on July 1st; judging will begin at 11:30 am. Trophy presentations will take place at 2:00 pm.

For more information, contact the Central Kansas Ruff Ryders at 785-375-5431.

—

The annual 10K and 5K Freedom Run will be held again this year on the morning of July 4th. Registration forms can be downloaded here: https://www.sundownsalute.org/information-lodging. Medals will be awarded to all participants, cash prizes and plaques will go to the top finishers.

For more information, contact Race Director Troy Vernon at 785-320-6363.

43rd Annual Kansas Bicycle Tour

Posted on

NEWS RELEASE

The 43rd year of the longest-running bicycling event in Kansas history-a 522-mile ride across the State-begins on Saturday, June 10, 2017. BIKING ACROSS KANSAS is an eight-day tour originating at the Kansas-Colorado line with a route of approximately 800 bicyclists, including support staff.

The bicyclists will start at the Kansas-Colorado line west of Tribune and make overnight stops in Dighton, WaKeeney, Plainville, Lincoln, Chapman, Rossville, and Tonganoxie.

Saturday, June 17, bicyclists will be greeted with fanfare on Delaware Street as they cycle through downtown, Historic Leavenworth. (Spectators welcome.) Bicyclists will then make their way to the banks of the Missouri River and celebrate the end of the ride together at the Riverfront Community Center.

BAK is also routed through: Scott City, Ness City, Hill City, Lucas, Abilene, Junction City, Manhattan, Ozawkie, Oskaloosa, and many more Kansas towns.

“The 2017 route offers BAK bicyclists a memorable tour of quintessential Kansas landscapes. Starting in the High Plains of Western Kansas, participants will enjoy easy pedaling along K-18 through the green valleys of the Saline and Smoky Hill rivers, the rolling Flint Hills and the scenic byways leading to the Missouri River at Leavenworth. Some of the highlights include the Garden of Eden in Lucas, the Eisenhower museum in Abilene and the Flint Hills Discovery Center in Manhattan,” said David Rohr, Chairman of Biking Across Kansas, Inc.

Participants range in age from nine to 90 years old and represent multi-generational families. Many riders will be from Kansas, but entries will also represent 30 states, including as far away as Vermont, Pennsylvania, Florida, Arizona, Washington, and California.

Participants will enjoy the state’s favorable June cycling. Highlights off the bike include the generous hospitality of Kansas towns-homemade food, historic and novel points of interest, live musical entertainment, and much more. In Tribune, Marci Penner and WenDee Rowe, co-authors of Kansas Guidebook 2 for Explorers will share about attractions and towns on the route. In WaKeeney, Ken Spurgeon will join riders for a showing of his Home on the Range docudrama. The public is welcome for both special events in Tribune and WaKeeney.

The main goals of Biking Across Kansas are to promote wellness through bicycling, celebrate Kansas history and the beauty of its landscape, and enjoy the warm hospitality of its towns and people. For more information on Biking Across Kansas 2017 or to register, visit www.bak.org.

About Biking Across Kansas. Biking Across Kansas (BAK) is an annual, eight-day, bicycle tour across the state of Kansas. BAK promotes health and wellness through bicycling, the history and beauty of the Kansas landscape, and the warm hospitality of the Kansas towns and people. BAK started in 1975 with fewer than 100 hundred riders. Forty-three years later the tour is now capped at 850 participants.

Lifeguards at the lake? – Game Warden and Corps of Engineers Project Manager offer insight

Posted on
( Photo courtesy of Geary County Sheriff’s Department )

In lieu of the drowning death of 23 year old Xavier Joseph Harden on Sunday, many questions surrounding water safety, and specifically lifeguards at the lake are surfacing.

Milford Lake, the largest in Kansas, is not policed by lifeguards – a practice common in many lakes/reservoirs; instead, lake goers are urged to utilize water safety practices and wear life vests.

Jesse Gehrt, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Geary and Wabaunsee County Game Warden, said that it’s not feasible to staff lifeguards on the lake.

“As big as that lake is at Milford, there’s just too much area to cover; some of the beach areas, they do have a concentration of people and [lifeguards] might work there, but then you’ve got to come up with staffing and you’re dealing with weather and what not,” said Gehrt. “I don’t really think that it’s going to be too feasible…in reality, it’s just too big of a setting to have something like that.”

Bill Whitworth, Corps of Engineers at Milford Lake, echoed similar sentiments.

“It’s an issue of practicality – people can swim anywhere in the lake, drownings can occur anywhere in the lake,” said Whitworth. “We offer access to recreation, but we don’t really play an active role in recreation itself; so hiring lifeguards may seem like a good idea, but it’s not practical…we rely on people to kind of monitor themselves and we encourage life vests at all times.”

Gehrt said that life vests can be purchased from Walmart, or similar stores for as little as $10; officials at the lake do not provide life jacket rentals.

“The biggest thing that people can take away from the incident we had yesterday is if you’re going to be in or on or around any type of boat, or tube or craft or anything – life jacket wear is just very imperative,” said Gehrt. “Most of these drownings that you see across the state, we actually had three over the weekend in Northeast Kansas, more than likely if the person was either wearing or right next to a life jacket then a life would have been saved.”

Harden, the victim in the drowning at Milford Lake, was a soldier stationed at Fort Riley. An autopsy has been scheduled; the incident is still under investigation.

The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism offered these water safety tips; they are more boater specific, but can be applied to anyone visiting a lake this Summer:

  • Wear a life jacket.
  • Designate a “water watcher”.
  • Learn CPR.
  • Learn how to safely help someone in distress.
  • Adhere to a no drinking policy while boating.
  • Allow only those who have completed boater education to operate the vessel.
  • Know the rules of the water.
  • Educate yourself and your children about swimming safely.
  • Keep warm.
  • Make sure your boat has all the required equipment and is thoroughly tested before hitting the water.

Launch a Business program gives public a chance to vote on its favorite startup

Posted on

MANHATTAN — The 11 business startups in Kansas State University’s Launch a Business program will be competing for prizes, including crowd favorite, at the program’s Launch Party. The event will be 5 p.m. Thursday, June 29, in the Business Building atrium.

The Launch Party gives attendees the chance to learn more about the high-potential Kansas-based startups that have been taking part in the Launch a Business program. The party is open to the public, as well as alumni and supporters of the university and the regional startup community, but attendees must RSVP online at k-state.edu/lab to attend. Voting chips to help select the crowd favorite business award will be available for a $5 donation. A panel of judges will be on hand to determine the program’s grand prizewinners.

“It has been a pleasure to work with these passionate entrepreneurs and their inspiring concepts. Each will leave with new knowledge and connections to help them succeed in their venture,” said Chad Jackson, director of the Center for the Advancement of Entrepreneurship in the College of Business Administration. “We couldn’t be happier with the outpouring of support from our alumni and friends for these entrepreneurs and this program.”

The Launch a Business program is sponsored by KS State Bank and the Center for the Advancement of Entrepreneurship. The program has provided the startups with much-needed resources, including faculty-led courses, hands-on student research teams and access to the university’s world-class alumni mentor network.

The following 11 startups are taking part in the 2017 Launch a Business program: Rev-E3, Beloit; Double L Manufacturing, Clay Center; Flint Hills Lavender Farm, Council Grove; Heartland Heritage, Derby; Bridges,Manhattan; Pinnacle Performance, Manhattan; Pip’s Bake Shoppe, Manhattan; Precision Microwave, Manhattan; Embruon, Salina; MperVus, Shawnee; and Print3 Technologies, Shawnee.

More information on the Launch a Business program and the entrepreneurs is available at k-state.edu/lab.

Boots, Chaps and Cowboy Hats Raises More than $18,000

Posted on

The 15th annual country and western fundraiser for the Geary Community Healthcare Foundation, “Boots, Chaps and Cowboy Hats,” raised $18,276.11.

The event was held Friday night at Bob and Lynn Small’s big red country barn.

All proceeds from Boots, Chaps and Cowboy Hats will support Children’s Mercy Clinics at Geary Community Hospital.

One hundred and forty guests enjoyed a BBQ meal prepared by Cox Brothers BBQ and a frozen desert bar by FroYo Junction.

The silent auction raised $3,300 and the live auction raised $4,250, with a Sunset Cruise on Milford Lake for eight donated by Tim Date of Milford Lake Marina; a Mexican Fiesta Dinner for six donated by Rex and Jolana Matney; a two-day turkey hunt donated by Brad Roether – Grandpa Boone’s Cabins and Outfitters; BBQ ribs and pulled pork for 20 to 30 people donated by Good Wood BBQ – Lance Custer, Ken Dillon and Kenny Ziegler; and a baby bed bench created and donated by Craig Paxton. After dinner, guests danced to music by Nashville recording artist, Rusty Rierson.

Bob and Lynn Small have hosted Boots, Chaps and Cowboy Hats for six years. To express appreciation for their generosity, the Geary Community Healthcare Foundation presented them with a plaque, a decorative branding iron — BCCH with a cowboy hat, and a wall hanging of the brand to display in their big red country barn.

Commenting on the event, Executive Director, Jolana Montgomery – Matney said, “It was particularly special to have six representatives from Children’s Mercy attend the event. A special thanks to them and all the supporters of Boots, Chaps and Cowboy Hats.

 

Millenium Bank Announces 10th Anniversary Extravaganza

Posted on

Millennium Bank will show their appreciation to the Junction City community for their support over the past 10 years when host their 10th anniversary extravaganza Saturday ( June 17 ) in Playground Park.

Activities are scheduled from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the park, which is located by the Municipal Swimming Pool.

In addition to the celebration, the Bank will make a contribution to the “Quality Play for All” committee. That committee has plans for future upgrades to Playground Park and Skate Park on Grant Avenue.

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File