Kansas
After two-year hiatus, the only public pool in Kansas City, Kansas, reopens
![After two-year hiatus, the only public pool in Kansas City, Kansas, reopens After two-year hiatus, the only public pool in Kansas City, Kansas, reopens](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3c8ee71/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2048x1075%200%20236/resize/1200x630!/quality/90/?url=http://npr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com/88/a5/639737f84a208a2083d733f81832/img-8874.jpg)
Regardless of a barely chilly begin to the day, with temperatures within the low 70s, residents of northeast Kansas Metropolis, Kansas, flocked to Parkwood Pool for its opening day Saturday. The pool, which is the one public pool in Kansas Metropolis, Kansas, was closed in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus and a lifeguard scarcity.
Kenneth Williams introduced his two granddaughters to the grand re-opening Saturday. He stated he was born and raised in Wyandotte County and he has fond recollections of swimming at Parkwood Pool. Williams stated the pool is nice for the neighborhood and was sorely missed throughout its hiatus.
“With the pandemic and a bunch of issues happening, it’s time to have the youngsters some place to go. So I’m actually ecstatic and enthusiastic about it,” he stated.
Williams plans to carry his grandkids to the pool a few times per week.
Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga
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KCUR 89.3
Kansas state Sen. David Haley was additionally excited for the pool’s re-opening. He lives shut sufficient to Parkwood that he walked there Saturday. Haley stated he remembers when the pool was first constructed greater than 50 years in the past. He used to stroll by it typically, and when he was a child he fell into the opening that was being dug for the pool.
“I can say I used to be one of many first ones on this gap that’s now a pool. For actual, I couldn’t get out,” Haley stated, laughing. “I am going manner again with the Parkwood Pool.”
Haley stated he was glad younger folks in his neighborhood can have one thing to do in the summertime.
“Particularly to individuals who don’t have entry to personal swimming pools, it’s rewarding to see that Mayor [Tyrone] Garner and the Unified Authorities have delivered after the hiatus to have it open and have this stunning leisure, athletic and, frankly, social swimming pool out there to all of Kansas Metropolis,” he stated.
Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga
/
KCUR 89.3
Pauline Beggs, who lives down the road from Parkwood, stated she will probably be a frequent person of the pool this summer time. She has 5 grandchildren she babysits in the course of the day; earlier than she knew Parkwood was reopening, she anxious about the place to take them.
“, to go to a pool now we have to go manner out on the opposite facet or go to Overland Park or go to Missouri and that is so good for the youngsters,” stated Beggs.
To employees Parkwood, the Unified Authorities of Wyandotte County and Kansas Metropolis, Kansas, signed a one-year contract with Midwest Pool Administration to employees and handle the pool. Brandon Stortz, a Midwest Pool Administration district supervisor, stated lifeguards from different services had been reassigned to employees Parkwood.
“It’s been a problem, getting lifeguards, as it’s in every single place. We’ve been very lucky to get our swimming pools staffed,” he stated.
Stortz stated Midwest Pool Administration presents a lifeguard certification course which is free for individuals who work at swimming pools in Kansas Metropolis, Kansas, and Kansas Metropolis, Missouri, however $180 for folks lifeguarding in different municipalities. Stortz stated the corporate is continuous to rent and prepare potential lifeguards.
“We took on this contract a short while in the past and so as a result of we function so many different services, we had been capable of get employees from different services. That manner we are able to preserve Parkwood up and going, now and for the remainder of the summer time,” he stated.
Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga
/
KCUR 89.3
Whereas Saturday’s reopening was trigger for celebration, residents want swimmers had extra choices. Kansas Metropolis, Kansas, has greater than 150,000 residents, and Parkwood Pool is small. Beggs stated she needs to see higher entry to public swimming pools for everybody within the metropolis.
“They’ve obtained nice parks now however I believe they might use one other pool, as a result of we don’t have them,” she stated. “You look from right here to the Legends, there’s nothing. They used to have a method out that manner however they don’t anymore. So that is one thing beginning, I’m actually glad. Hopefully they’ll do extra for us.”
Williams agreed.
“Now, the inhabitants isn’t actually simply down right here within the metropolis; it’s in every single place and so yeah, we want two or three extra for certain,” stated Williams.
Parkwood’s common hours will probably be Tuesday–Saturday 12–6 p.m. and Sunday 2–6 p.m. The pool will probably be open on Memorial day 12–6 p.m. Admission is $1 per particular person.
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Kansas
Kansas State players of the game vs UT-Martin
![Kansas State players of the game vs UT-Martin Kansas State players of the game vs UT-Martin](https://on3static.com/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2024/08/31201911/Tobi-UTM-1-1.jpeg)
Kansas State offensive MVP: DJ Giddens
It was another nice and easy day at the office for Kansas State running back DJ Giddens.
The Junction City running back went over 100 yards for the fifth consecutive game. His five game streak of going over the century mark is tied for fourth in K-State school history. Giddens finished the game with 124 rushing yards and added six receiving yards.
Dylan Edwards provided a nice spark for the Wildcat offense in his first game after transferring from Colorado. Edwards scored multiple times in the contest Saturday night with one on the ground and a receiving touchdown.
In the first home start for Avery Johnson, there were some ups and downs.
However, Johnson still finished with two touchdowns through the air and added some nice runs as well. Jayce Brown was a major bright spot receiving as well with 71 receiving yards. The true sophomore led Kansas State in receiving and had the most receptions with five.
Defensive MVP: Tobi Osunsanmi
For defense there was a few different options for MVP. I really wrestled back and forth between two.
Ultimately, I decided on Tobi Osunsanmi. The Wichita native was a man possessed in his snaps. He showed his elite burst and was able to get to the quarterback at a very high clip. Osunsanmi finished the game with 1.5 sacks (2.5 if he completes one instead of letting the quarterback escape).
He also added another quarterback hit to go along with the sacks.
Desmond Purnell was also flying around the field Saturday evening. He led K-State in tackles with seven and was tied for first in tackles for a loss with 1.5.
K-State special teams MVP: Ty Bowman
Anytime you can create a touchdown on special teams, it is an easy choice for special teams MVP. Ty Bowman blocked his second career punt in the season opener versus UT-Martin. The beneficiary of Bowman blocking the punt was Colby McCalister who returned the ball one yard for a touchdown.
Chris Tennant was also perfect on all of his kicks. Tennant knocked in a 45 and 43-yard field goal and was perfect on all of his extra points.
Kansas
Tulane Football’s Path to Victory Must Exploit Inexperienced Kansas State
![Tulane Football’s Path to Victory Must Exploit Inexperienced Kansas State Tulane Football’s Path to Victory Must Exploit Inexperienced Kansas State](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4096,h_2304,x_0,y_268/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/tulane_green_wave_on_si/01j6mvw0vcfqn9xhqdjr.jpg)
The stage is set for Tulane football’s highly anticipated Week 2 matchup against the Kansas State Wildcats as they seek to become contenders on a national stage.
Intriguingly, the Green Wave and the Wildcats have some parallels on offense. Kansas State kicks off the season Saturday against FCS opponent UT-Martin, much like Tulane opened against Southeastern Louisiana.
Sophomore quarterback Avery Johnson will make his first regular season start, much like redshirt freshman Darian Mensah led Tulane to their 52-0 victory Thursday night. Johnson did appear in eight games as a true freshman and started for the team in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, beating North Carolina State.
However, he did so behind an offensive line that looks nothing like the one that will take the field next Saturday at Yulman Stadium. The Wildcats must replace four of five starters, including third-round draft pick Cooper Beebe. Just as Tulane had to find Vincent Murphy to take over for Sincere Haynesworth.
Though the group of returners isn’t exactly inexperienced, they don’t have any time playing together in concert. The lone starter remaining is right guard Hadley Panzer, who likely is starting this season at left guard. Presumed starting left tackle Easton Kilty is making his first FBS start.
It helps that Kansas State’s offensive line coach, Conor Riley, was promoted to coordinator. He has pieces to work with that have credible game snaps. The challenge is whether they can come together as a unit.
While Avery Johnson has more experience than Darian Mensah, Mensah benefits from a much more stable offensive line. Tulane returned both starting guards and right tackle and brought in key transfers to fill the remaining holes. In their season debut, they gave Mensah time in the pocket, but the run blocking left much to be desired.
Tulane brought in transfers on the defensive line to bolster their pass rush. They got to the quarterback twice with two sacks last Thursday, but the Bandit role was a point of concern. Their three-man front is spaced to spread out their top playmakers, Adin Huntington at defensive end and Patrick Jenkins at tackle.
With Huntington to the field and Jenkins to the boundary, it forces defenses to either focus attention on one side of the line or just shut down the best two players. That awards a lot of one-on-one opportunities for the rusher at Bandit. The players who rotated in the first game didn’t make much of a case.
Terrell Allen didn’t make any standout plays, nor did Matthew Fobbs-White, though the latter showed some disruptive abilities off the line of scrimmage. Frankly, Shi’Keem Laister was the most productive in a packaged role. Laister had a hurry and forced Southeastern to throw quickly, leading to incompletions on the drive.
Tulane doesn’t need the Bandit to be the hero, but they need a player to step up and credibly command attention to open up lanes for Huntington, who only recorded one hurry in his debut for the team.
Importantly, the team likely didn’t show their cards on the ways they might get to the quarterback. It might come from the second level. Linebacker Sam Howard had more pressure snaps than Fobbs-White and Allen, and he recorded a hurry and beat his blocker on another.
Could Tulane rely on blitzing and utilizing defensive backs and linebackers as rushers? Not all season. But creativity and confusion might just be enough to rattle the Wildcats as both teams race to figure out what the other is made of with merely one game of film.
The secondary came together as Tulane’s season opener went on, and should be a point of strength, but the best coverage is a pass rush. Especially with an opponent that has similar turnover and areas to exploit. For the Green Wave to pull off a victory on Sept. 7, the key lies in the lane to the quarterback.
Kansas
Lawmakers plan brazen power grab, pushing aside Kansas voters and Gov. Laura Kelly • Kansas Reflector
![Lawmakers plan brazen power grab, pushing aside Kansas voters and Gov. Laura Kelly • Kansas Reflector Lawmakers plan brazen power grab, pushing aside Kansas voters and Gov. Laura Kelly • Kansas Reflector](https://kansasreflector.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/P6170288.jpg)
Let’s be clear about what Kansas Republican legislative leaders are doing with their planned overhaul of budgeting: They are launching a personal and political power grab against Gov. Laura Kelly.
They have never accepted or respected her mandate. Despite Kelly winning a second term and having two years left to go, they have continually attempted to usurp the executive branch’s authority. They have tried a constitutional amendment and prohibiting her ability to negotiate Medicaid contracts. Now they’re going after her yearly state budget proposal.
Usually, the Legislature begins its yearly budget process with a proposal from the governor. Her office submits it when lawmakers arrive for the annual session, in January. Now an interim committee wants to start the process earlier, as soon as October of the previous year.
In this new process, the governor’s budget would be a suggestion, not a starting point.
And never mind that it’s a direct attack on Kelly. House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, assured the audience that these changes had nothing to do with the governor.
“This process has nothing to do with the governor,” he said at the meeting earlier this month, according to Kansas Reflector reporter Tim Carpenter. “If you’re going to focus on the governor, probably not the wisest thing to do, because this process has happened over time with many, many different governors.”
He was contradicted by Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, who let the proverbial cat out of the figurative bag.
“You’ll have a Republican governor, for example, or somebody you trust, and you trust the administration to build the budgets, and then you kind of rubber stamp stuff,” Masterson said. “And, then, you switch, and you have (the) opposition party and then there’s all that same power.”
Oh. So it’s like that, then.
All of this might seem like so much partisan mud wrestling, except for the fact that the leaders have also decided to do an end run around Kansas voters.
Did you notice that the proposed new process could start as early as October? While details at the hearing were scarce, leaders appeared to suggest that they would start working on budget without knowing whether they would be elected. What happens if all the folks on the budget committee are voted out of office? Who takes the lead then?
Once again, we see Kansas legislative leaders trying to concentrate power. They don’t want the governor to even have the first say in the budgeting process, and they apparently don’t trust the rest of their colleagues. You know, all the people who drive to Topeka in January to actually make laws.
Sen. Carolyn McGinn, a Sedgwick Republican, raised concerns that these changes would also limit the ability of constituents to speak about budget priorities.
McGinn might have decided to retire, but she has a point. Leaders apparently don’t even trust their constituents when it comes to spending.
In there interest of fairness, I should note that the reform committee considered several worthwhile proposals. Rep. Troy Waymaster, R-Bunker Hill, discussed ending lawmakers’ de facto three-day work week. Yes, they usually take Mondays and Fridays off, at times slowing progress to a crawl. The panel also targeted budget earmarks for favored programs that don’t go through a regular committee process.
In the interest of perspective, however, I’m not falling over myself with gratitude. It’s obvious that legislators should work throughout the week, and it’s obvious they shouldn’t be larding up the budget with unvetted spending.
It’s like going through life without running over someone with your car. I mean, I’m glad that you didn’t, but surely you don’t deserve a plaque.
Lawmakers might still be able to make worthwhile changes to the budgeting process. They could start with increasing transparency, which Carpenter noted wasn’t discussed by members of either party. But until they stop jostling for partisan advantage and making themselves look foolish, don’t expect much.
Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
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