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🥎 Kansas Drops Pair of Games Saturday in Waco

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WACO, Texas – The Kansas softball workforce dropped each video games of its doubleheader in opposition to No. 21 Baylor Saturday at Getterman Stadium in Waco, Texas.

Kansas fell to 19-14 (1-2 Huge 12), whereas Baylor improves to 27-9 (2-4 Huge 12)

GAME ONE: #21 Baylor 3, Kansas 1

The second recreation of the collection noticed one other pitcher’s duel. Sophomore right-hander Katie Brooks obtained the beginning within the circle for Kansas. Brooks pitched all six innings, permitting three hits, two earned runs and 5 walks, whereas additionally putting out two batters in her 28 batters confronted. She fell to 4-3 on the season.

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Baylor obtained a run throughout within the backside of the primary, thanks to 2 walks and a double, giving the Bears a 1-0 lead early. They might add a run within the backside of the second. After Brooks walked the primary batter, one other batter obtained on from a catcher’s interference. A fielder’s selection put each runners in scoring place, and the Bears have been in a position to hit a deep sacrifice fly to heart, extending their result in 2-0.

The Jayhawks pieced collectively some baserunners within the high of the fifth. Freshman outfielder Aynslee Linduff reached first on an error and senior outfielder Peyton Renzi got here on to pinch run. Renzi stole second and superior to 3rd off of a throwing error by the catcher. Senior shortstop Haleigh Harper then hit a line drive proper again on the pitcher to attain Renzi and lower the Bears lead all the way down to 2-1.

Baylor responded to Kansas’ run within the backside half of the fifth. Brooks walked the primary batter of the inning and she or he superior to second from a groundout. Brooks hit the subsequent batter and compelled a groundout, placing each runners in scoring place. The runner from third scored on a wild pitch to increase Baylor’s result in 3-1.

Freshman Presley Limbaugh, sophomore Olivia Bruno and Harper all recorded a success, with Bruno recording the one double of the afternoon.

GAME TWO: #21 Baylor 4, Kansas 0

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In one other low scoring affair, Baylor was in a position to rating first within the backside of the second off of a double and a throwing error, taking a 1-0 lead into the third.

Junior left-hander Kasey Hamilton obtained her second begin of the collection, throwing three innings and permitting three walks, two earned runs and one hit. Hamilton fell to 7-5.

The Bears added two extra within the third after a pair of walks and two stolen bases. With runners on second and third, Baylor hit a sacrifice fly to proper, scoring a run and advancing a runner to 3rd. They added yet another run off of a wild pitch.

Freshman right-hander Lizzy Ludwig got here on at first of the fourth. Ludwig tossed two innings during which she allowed one run and three hits.

The Jayhawks held Baylor scoreless till the fifth. With bases loaded, Baylor hit a single by the center to attain a run and prolong their result in 4-0.

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Junior right-hander Addison Purvis entered the circle within the backside of the sixth and was in a position to get all three batters she confronted out.

With two outs within the high of the seventh, junior catcher Lyric Moore hit a double to right-center. After a stroll and hit by a pitch, the Jayhawks loaded the bases. KU was unable to push any runs throughout.

Moore and sophomore second baseman Sara Roszak every recorded a success within the contest.





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Kansas

New secretary of Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks worked for Missouri conservation

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New secretary of Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks worked for Missouri conservation


The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks has a new leader.

Gov. Laura Kelly appointed Chris Kennedy as the new KDWP secretary, effective Monday.

“I am honored that Governor Kelly has appointed me to serve the people of Kansas in this capacity,” Kennedy said in a statement via the governor’s office. “I am delighted that my more than 30 years of experience will further strengthen the KDWP’s mission to conserve and enhance the state’s wildlife and natural resources to be enjoyed by Kansans for generations to come.”

Kennedy is a Missouri native and grew up shooting, hunting, boating and fishing. He has worked for the Missouri Department of Conservation since 1996.

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Kennedy is replacing current KDWP secretary Brad Loveless.

“I’m grateful to Secretary Loveless for his steadfast commitment to the State of Kansas and our state’s natural resources over the past five years,” Kelly said in a statement. “I’m confident that Chris Kennedy is the steadfast leader needed to guide the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks in its next chapter.”

Loveless announced his retirement in October but stayed on the job until a new secretary was appointed. He will now officially retire in April after assisting with the transition.

Kennedy takes over in the middle of a legislative session where lawmakers have threatened the agency’s budget in retaliation for the prospect of regulations on deer baiting. Legislators have also advanced plans to abolish the current Wildlife and Parks Commission and create a new one that Republican politicians have more control over.

Kennedy’s work with alligator gar saw him become a guest on episodes of “Monster Fish” on the National Geographic Channel and “River Monsters” on Animal Planet.

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“Chris has proven himself a great leader of people with an exceptional understanding of fish, wildlife, and outdoor recreation issues,” Loveless said. “He’s very fortunate to be working with the professionals at Kansas Wildlife and Parks, and conversely, I know they will really appreciate and enjoy working with someone as capable and committed as Chris.”

Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.





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Kansas weighs investing millions in shelters after years of increased homeless populations

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Kansas weighs investing millions in shelters after years of increased homeless populations


On a single night in Kansas last year, there were about 2,636 homeless people living in the state, including about 400 in Shawnee County, according to the statewide Point in Time Count that likely undercounts the total number.

But there are less than a thousand shelter beds available statewide.

The House Committee on Welfare Reform is tasked with finding ways to address the growing homeless population in the state, which reached the highest levels it has seen since 2014 after six consecutive years of rising homeless populations.

The committee heard a bill, House Bill 2723, which would establish a $40 million grant fund that would go to communities around the state that create a plan to create more shelter beds. Grants would only go to cities that do the following:

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  • Provide the same amount of money they receive.
  • Submit a building plan to create or improve a shelter.
  • Collect data on the populations the shelter serves.
  • Enforce laws criminalizing vagrancy and public camping.
  • Prioritize Kansas residents who’ve lived in the state for more than eight months.
  • Provide “wraparound” housing service.

Those wraparound services aren’t defined in the bill, which several legislators and advocates raised concern about. But legislators got a better sense of what those services include at a March 14 briefing from homeless service providers and cities seeking to expand their services.

Shelters, services and statutes

Of the 2,636 homeless people identified in the latest Point in Time Count, 943 resided in rural areas. Several legislators on the reform committee raised concerns about equitably distributing funds to address both categories of homelessness. McPherson Housing Coalition runs a non-congregate shelter in the 14,000-population town, hosting up to 10 families in separated tiny homes.

To get the shelter up and running cost around $1 million, said MHC’s executive director Chris Goodson. The most important part, though, is the social services included to help get families back on their feet.

“You can build affordable housing, but if you don’t offer social services of some sort to help families work through those roadblocks, it’s not going to work,” Goodson said.

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City officials from Wichita presented their idea of addressing homelessness in a much larger City. Their proposal is to refurbish Riverside Hospital into a complex that includes a congregate shelter, where people share rooms for an overnight stay, as well as solo non-congregate rooms, low-income housing, space for homeless services, dining rooms and classrooms.

“The more that we can bring under one roof,” said Troy Anderson, Wichita’s assistant city manager. “There are efficiencies of scale, there are efficiencies in trying to achieve that functional net zero because there’s not a lack or a confusion of trying to connect one resource to another.”

The “functional net zero” of homelessness is effectively getting more people out of homelessness than are becoming homeless. Anderson said if they can consistently graduate people toward housing stability, it’d eventually mean that the homeless population is almost entirely temporarily displaced people, rather than chronic homelessness, which accounts for about 25% of Kansas’s homeless population.

Wichita has the largest homeless population in the state, and its proposal may have the highest price tag. The city said it would likely be asking for $20 million, half of the total grant money available in HB 2723, to construct the complex.

Advocates from all over the state spoke to the committee, from Liberal to Wyandotte County. Though smaller communities will need less money for their projects than larger communities, their less resourced local governments may have additional barriers to proposing than more heavily staffed urban areas.

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Committee-members considered earmarking a certain amount for more sparsely populated areas or allowing cities to bolster their applications with donations from nonprofits.

Is the bill enough to address homelessness in Kansas?

Some homeless service providers had quibbles with the bill, including the provisions on enforcing vagrancy laws, that the data collection doesn’t feed into other reports, that nonprofits should be able to apply for funds and including a severability clause that would ensure the program continues if parts of the legislation are struck down in court.

One conferee, though, sharply differed from the others in their rejection rejection of “housing-first” policies that offer transitional housing, pointing to increases in homeless populations in areas that adopted a housing-first approach.

“Obviously homelessness and there’s many factors, but we believe housing first is making the problem worse, it focuses dollars away from shelter and toward permanent supportive housing,” said Andrew Wiems, of Cicero Action, a group that last year advocated for legislation that would criminalize public homelessness.

House Bill 2723 had its hearing on March 5 and isn’t scheduled for debate on the House floor, but if passed could significantly impact the scope of homeless services in the state.

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“From the conversations I’ve had with prospective bidders, communities that are considering applying for the funds, I feel like the $40 million, with the one-for-one match which would be $80 million, I think would be sufficient to address the chronically homeless population that we’re looking to target with our funds,” said Andrew Brown, deputy secretary for programs of the Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services.



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Tree quarantine: State stepping in to stop spread of Bradford pears

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Tree quarantine: State stepping in to stop spread of Bradford pears


WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – You see them pop up all over Kansas this time of year. While they’re popular for beautification, the Callery, “Bradford” pear trees are an invasive species that can choke out plants that grow naturally in Kansas. The Kansas Department of Agriculture is stepping in to protect native plants with a tree quarantine to stop the spread.

“We are trying to reduce the amount of spread and further infestation by creating a quarantine,” said Kansas Department of Agriculture Noxious Weed Specialist Scott Marsh.

The quarantine will start in 2027. That process will involve prohibiting people from moving the trees around or into Kansas.

“Nobody is required to cut down these trees that they already have growing in their yards or landscape, but we do highly recommend that they do,” Marsh said.

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He said most tree nurseries already do not sell Callery pears anymore and by 2027, no nursery in Kansas should have them for sale. The reason for the quarantine: The trees are invasive.

“It can change our habitat in quite a few ways either by displacing some of our more desirable trees or by shading areas where other sun-loving perennials and grasses might want to grow,” K-State Sedgwick County Extension Office Horticulture Agent Matthew McKernan explained.

McKernan said it’s important to protect native plants because they keep the rest of the habitat alive.

“It’s important that we try to maintain and protect some of that biodiversity in our plant material in order to support greater biodiversity in animals and insects especially,” he said.

Marsh said there is potential for a Callery pear buyback program to start in Sedgwick County, similar to programs in Shawnee and Johnson counties in which native trees replace the invasive species when the pear trees are cut down.

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