The largest free Independence Day celebration in the state of Kansas is quickly approaching.

Sundown Salute 2016 will be from June 30th through July 4th with an impressive run down of daily events.

This is a preview of some of the Sundown Salute 2016 events, for a full listing visit www.sundownsalute.org:

• Thursday, June 30:  6:00 pm- Hot Dog Feed at 6th and Jefferson (free for the first 500 people); Ottaway Carnival opens at 6th and Jefferson; 8:15 pm – “Among the Thirsty” performs on the Heritage Park main stage
• Friday, July 1: 12:00pm – HyRyz the Robot (9ft tall, interactive robot) in Heritage Park; 2:30pm – Keith Leff, magician at Heritage Park Bandstand; 6:30pm – Phil Vandel Band; 7:45pm- Funk Syndicate; 9:00pm – Boogie Wonderland on the Heritage Park main stage
• Saturday, July 2:  8:00 am – Car Show at 6th and Washington; 11:00 am – Kids Zone at 5th and Jefferson; 12:45 pm – Old Abilene Town Gun Fighters in Heritage Park; 5:30 pm- Battle of the Bands at Heritage Park Bandstand; 9:00 pm – Thunderhead at the Heritage Park Main Stage
• Sunday, July 3: 12:45pm – Craig Wright, Bicycle Stunt Show at 6th and Washington; 6:00pm – 1st Infantry Division Rock Band at Heritage Park Main stage; 9:00pm – Bret Michaels on the Heritage Park Main stage
• Monday, July 4:  7:00am – Coors Freedom Run 5K and 10K at 5th and Washington; 8:30 am – One Mile Fun Run at 5th and Jefferson; 10:00 am – Parade “Remebering Old Glory” on 6th Street Sponsored by Cox Communications; 12:00pm – Russ Leno Master Watermelon Carver at Heritage Park; 12:00pm – Veterans Ceremony at Heritage Park; 6:30 pm- KC Royals Baseball ticket raaffel drawing sponsored by Kiwanis South at the Heritage Park main stage; 8:45 pm- Hells Bells (the tribute to AC/DC) at the Heritage Park main stage; 10:15 pm – Fireworks Extravaganza

The Geary Community Hospital Breakfast and Open House co-hosted with the Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce will be held on Thursday, June 23rd.

The Thursday morning breakfast will be at 7:30 am at the Geary Community Hospital Martha K. Hoover Women’s Center Conference Room.

This event will feature a firsthand look at the recent upgrades to the Geary Community Hospital Medical Arts I Building.

Four faculty members from Kansas State University have received Oz to Oz Fellowship Awards  to conduct research in Australia.

“The Oz to Oz exchanges are an important program within the internalization theme of the K-State 2025 strategic plan,” said Dorothy Dean, administrative assistant to the dean for the College of Agriculture.  “Developing unique study abroad trips that are of interest to our students and building sustainable collaborative effforts with Charles Darwin University and the Government of Northeren Territories are important for the success of K-State’s Australia Initiative.”

Each award includes a $5000 grant.

Fellowship recipients include Arthur Durband, associate profesor of sociology, anthropology, and social work; Dorothy Durband, professor and director of the School of Family Studies and Human Services; Dunja Peric, associate professor of civil engineering; and Jennifer Vellenga, associate professor of theatre.

DAVIESS COUNTY, MO – A Manhattan teen was injured in an accident just after 6p.m. on Thursday in Daviess County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Volkswagen driven by Christiana K. Blundell, 18, Manhattan, was northbound on Missouri 13 three miles south of Gallatin.

The driver lost control off the vehicle. It ran off the right side of the road. The driver overcorrected and the vehicle traveled off the right side of the road again and rolled down an embankment.

A private vehicle transported Blundell to Liberty Hospital. She was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the MHP.

TOPEKA -The Kansas Board of Regents announced in a media release on  Thursday they are accepting applications and nominations for the position of President at Kansas State University.

The Board seeks a proven leader who understands the unique mission of a land grant institution and promotes the value of the entire range of academic programs and degrees within the university. Among the attributes sought are intellectual achievement; impeccable integrity; successful leadership in a complex university and research environment; transparency and communication; appreciation for the full array of all the university’s academic offerings; innovation; entrepreneurship; well-developed management skills; excellence in human relations; fundraising success; experience in international and online education; and creative problem solving.

Founded in 1863, Kansas State University is the nation’s first operational land-grant institution and is internationally recognized for excellence in research, scholarly, creative activities, discovery; undergraduate and graduate education; extension and outreach. The university has seen many recent successes, including the fourth consecutive year of $100 million-plus fundraising, and ranks second in the nation among top universities for which to work. More than 24,700 students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries pursue degrees in the university’s nine academic colleges.

“I’d like to thank all the individuals who have contributed to the Presidential Position Profile, representing the main campus in Manhattan, the Polytechnic Campus in Salina, the Olathe Campus and the Global Campus, as well as so many other important stakeholders from the wider K-State community” stated Regent Dennis Mullin, chair of the Presidential Search Committee. “We have already spent lot of time laying the groundwork for a large pool of candidates,” he continued, “and I’m looking forward to seeing what applications and nominations are submitted.”

The search is being assisted by John B. Hicks and Ann Die Hasselmo, Senior Consultants, Academic Search, Inc. Application materials must be electronically submitted to: K-StatePresident@academic-search.com. To assure best consideration, applications should be received by September 26, 2016. All applications will remain confidential. Following interviews with the Presidential Search Committee, the Kansas Board of Regents will conduct interviews and make the final selection. While not a requirement for the position, the new President is expected to assume office in early calendar year 2017.

The consultants may be contacted at John.Hicks@academic-search.com or 205-345-7221 and
Ann.Hasselmo@academic-search.com or 202-276-8654.

The Kansas Cowboy Poetry Contest was last weekend. For the past two years, out-of-staters claimed the trophy buckle, but this year Kansans reclaimed their glory.

The competitors were those whom finished in the top three at tone of the three regional qualifiers. The state finals were held at the Flint Hills Discovery Center of Manhattan.

Jerry Jones of Salina and Carl Stueve of Olpe claimed the top prizes in serious and humorous poem categories.

The final results in the Serious poem category:

• 1st:  Jerry Jones, Salina
• 2nd:  Dana Moodie, Neodesha
• 3rd:  Betty Burlingham, Manhattan

The final results in the Humorous poem category:

• 1st: Carl Stueve, Olpe
• 2nd:  Danny McCurry, Springfield, MO
• 3rd: Dwight Burgess, Wamego

The Kansas state champions, Jones and Stueve, received the coveted Governor’s Buckle, the Saddlejack Bradrick Award, discounts and gift certificates from leading western wear stores, two tickets to the Symphony in the Flint Hills, and the opportunity to present their poems at the story circle following the symphony.

The state winners will compete at the National Cowboy Poetry Rodeo in Abilene.

Cancer research at Kansas State University receives a boost from the university’s Johnson Cancer Research Center through the help of private donors.

With the funds that are raised through private donations, the cancer research center provides Kansas State University faculty and students hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in competitive awards to support innovative cancer research, equipment purchases, and  mentoring of student researchers amongst other things.

“We are grateful to our many allies helping us conquer cancer, and pleased to redistribute their gifts to our most promising faculty and student researchers,” said Rob Denell, Johnson Cancer Research Center director and University distinguished professor of biology.

In the 2016 fiscal year, the cancer research center’s awards totaled $742,145; the Innovative Research Award program, the center’s largest, provided $496,788 to faculty for studies into things such as anti-cancer properties of flavonoids, toxicity of a leukemia drug, self-management of ovarian cancer using a smartphone-based 3-D chip, and characterization of the Kibra tumor suppressor protein.

Kansas State University’s Johnson Cancer Research Center currently has 100 affiliated faculty researches conducting multidisciplinary cancer research in 18 departments of five colleges.