Kansas

Jackie Robinson statue is rebuilt in bronze in Colorado after theft from Kansas park

Published

6 months ago

May 25, 2024

Jackie Robinson statue is rebuilt in bronze in Colorado after theft from Kansas park

As he coats a mold of Jackie Robinson with wax, metalsmith Alex Haines reflects on the extra importance of a project that will soon give the city of Wichita, Kansas, a replacement bronze statue of the baseball icon after thieves brazenly destroyed the original.

“Many sculptures come through here,” said Haines at the Art Castings studio in Loveland, Colorado, where the original statue was cast. “Some are a little bit more important than others. And this is definitely one of them.”

It all started in January, when thieves cut the original statue off at its ankles, leaving only Robinson’s cleats behind at McAdams Park in Wichita.

About 600 children play there in a youth baseball league called League 42.

It is named after Robinson’s uniform number with the Brooklyn Dodgers, with whom he broke the major league’s color barrier in 1947.

The news spread wide, and a national outpouring of donations followed that enabled Wichita to quickly reorder a replacement.

“There’s been a lot of serendipity when it comes to League 42 throughout our entire existence,” said Bob Lutz, who is executive director of the Little League nonprofit that commissioned the statue.

“It’s almost like there’s somebody watching out for us. And certainly, in this regard, we feel like … there was a guardian angel making sure that we could do this statue again.”

As news spread of the theft, the nonprofit was flooded with an estimated $450,000 to $500,000 in donations.

That includes a $100,000 gift from Major League Baseball, which will cover the statue’s $45,000 replacement cost and other improvements, including landscaping and adding decorative bollards that will keep people from driving too close to the statue.

The rest of the money raised will go toward enhancing some of the nonprofit’s programming and facilities.

Last year, the group opened the Leslie Rudd Learning Center, which includes an indoor baseball facility and a learning lab.

There might even be enough money to add artificial turf and more lighting, Lutz said.

Another blessing for Lutz is that the replacement will look exactly like the original, which was created by his friend, the artist John Parsons, before his death in 2022 at the age of 67.

That is possible because the original mold was still viable.

“If that wasn’t the case, I don’t know that I would feel as good about all this as I do,” Lutz said.

It looked dire five days after the theft, when fire crews found burned remnants of his statue while responding to a trash can fire at another park about 7 miles away from the scene of the theft.

One man has pleaded guilty, and the investigation continues into a crime that police have said was motivated not by racial animus but by plans to sell the bronze for scrap.

It was a stupid plan, said Tony Workman, owner of Art Castings of Colorado. The town where the business is located, around 50 miles north of Denver, is well known for its abundance of sculptors and artists.

“The problem is you can’t get a fire in a dumpster hot enough to melt metal,” Workman said. “All you’re gonna do is burn the sculpture. So you’re still going to be able to tell what it was.”

Beyond rebuilding the statue, the severed bronze cleats from the original statue found a new home last month at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.

It is a fitting location. Robinson played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues before joining the Brooklyn Dodgers, paving the way for generations of Black American ballplayers.

He is considered not only a sports legend but also a civil rights icon. Robinson died in 1972.

“The outpouring of support that folks have gotten as a result of this, it reminds us that light indeed does come out of darkness,” said Bob Kendrick, the president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

At the museum, the cleats are part of a display that also includes a gunfire-riddled plaque that had been erected outside Robinson’s birthplace near Cairo, Georgia.

“It renews our spirt and belief in people because sometimes people will do despicable things, and it makes you want to give up on people,” Kendrick said.

“But you know you can’t give up on people, even though sometimes you want to.”

On a recent morning, Emilio Estevez, a financial services worker from Miami, stopped to look at the cleats. He described Robinson as an inspiration — both because of this athleticism and his ability to put up with jeers while integrating the sport.

“We can all learn from that,” he said.

And the thieves couldn’t take that away, Estevez said.

“He’s still in all our minds. He’s still very present, like here in the museum, very prevalent,” he said.

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Kansas

How to watch Iowa State basketball vs. Kansas City: TV channel, live stream

Published

7 hours ago

November 8, 2024

Press Room

How to watch Iowa State basketball vs. Kansas City: TV channel, live stream

For now, the competition will remain the same for the Iowa State men’s basketball team. After rolling through Mississippi Valley State in their season opener, the Cyclones now prepare for Kansas City on Monday night in Ames from Hilton Coliseum.

It was a complete team effort by Iowa State, as the defense held Mississippi Valley State down throughout as the offense worked out some kinks. Led by Tamin Lipsey, who was an honorable mention All-American last year, expectations around the program are high.

Lipsey scored 16 points on 5 of 7 shooting, dishing out four assists with three steals and two blocked shots in just 24 minutes of game action. Keshon Gilbert, Josh Jefferson and Milan Momcilovic joined him in double figures.

The Roos have a pair of games under their belts, including a 91-68 victory in their opener over Hannibal-LaGrange. They went 16-16 a year ago and finished 10-6 in the Summit League, earning a runner-up finish thanks to a season-ending six-game win streak.

Here are details on how to watch Iowa State’s contest vs. Kansas City on Monday, Nov. 11:

Who: Kansas City at Iowa State in men’s basketball action

When: 7 p.m. CT | Monday, November 11

Where: Hilton Coliseum | Ames, Iowa

Live Stream: Stream Kansas City at Iowa State live on fuboTV (Start your free trial)

TV Channel: ESPN+

Our Prediction: Iowa State 78, Kansas City 55

Live Updates, Highlights: Follow the game on Iowa State on SI for live updates, in-game analysis and big-play highlights throughout Monday’s matchup.

* Lipsey among those named to preseason watch list

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Army’s long-range assault aircraft fuselages to be built in Kansas

Published

15 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Press Room

Army’s long-range assault aircraft fuselages to be built in Kansas

Bell Textron will build the U.S. Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft, or FLRAA, fuselages in Wichita, Kansas, the company announced this week.

The company won the Army’s bid to build FLRAA in late 2022 following a competition in which it and a Sikorsky-Boeing team flew technology demonstrators for several years to evaluate aircraft capabilities and drive out risk to a future program of record.

Bell will use an existing facility near Textron Aviation Defense and plans to start work there “in the next several months,” according to a statement.

The company will also conduct supporting work at several of its advanced manufacturing facilities in Texas, like its Advanced Composite Center in Fort Worth. Final assembly will take place in Amarillo.

The Army’s FLRAA program moved out of technology development and into the critical engineering and manufacturing development phase in August.

The FLRAA program is estimated to be worth approximately $70 billion across its lifespan, including foreign military sales, and is set to replace roughly 2,000 Black Hawk utility helicopters.

The future advanced tiltrotor will not serve as a one-for-one replacement for existing aircraft, but it is expected around 2030 to take over the roles of the Black Hawk, long the Army’s workhorse.

The FLRAA program’s initial unit has already been delayed by one year due to protests by Sikorsky’s parent company, Lockheed Martin, over the service’s choice of Textron Bell’s advanced tiltrotor design. Sikorsky and Boeing’s design featured coaxial rotor blades.

The Government Accountability Office rejected Lockheed’s protest in April 2023.

The Army will now equip the first unit with the capability in fiscal 2031. A limited user test is expected sometime in FY27 to FY28.

The contract award in 2022 includes nine options — entering the engineering and manufacturing development phase means the Army will exercise the first option, under which Bell will deliver detailed aircraft design and build six prototypes.

The first aircraft in this phase is expected to fly in 2026, with low-rate initial production slated to begin in 2028.

“As Bell prepares for the next stage of FLRAA’s engineering and manufacturing development phase, we are committed to investing in advanced manufacturing to ensure we deliver exceptional performance at an affordable cost to our customer, Lisa Atherton, Bell’s president and CEO, said in the statement.

“Textron has a rich history with the state of Kansas as well as the city of Wichita,” she said, “and we are proud to deepen that relationship as we establish this new facility.”

Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.

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No. 17 Iowa State faces Kansas at Arrowhead Stadium as Cyclones try to bounce back from first loss

Published

24 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Press Room

No. 17 Iowa State faces Kansas at Arrowhead Stadium as Cyclones try to bounce back from first loss

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The first message that made its way through the Iowa State locker room after Texas Tech ended its perfect start to the season, scoring in the final seconds last weekend to spring the upset and spoil homecoming for the Cyclones, was that nothing had changed.

“Hey,” Cyclones linebacker Kooper Ebel recalled his team saying, “all of our dreams, all our aspirations are still right in line.”

They will be if the No. 17 Cyclones (7-1, 4-1 Big 12, No. 17 CFP) can get back on track Saturday against Kansas.

Iowa State is only a game behind unbeaten BYU in the conference and tied with Colorado, neither of which Matt Campbell’s team would play until a potential Big 12 title showdown. But the top of the standings are a jumbled mess, and another slip-up against the desperate Jayhawks (2-6, 1-4) in their matchup at Arrowhead Stadium could be a crippling blow to not only the Cyclones’ title aspirations but also their hopes of landing in the College Football Playoff.

“I would say there’s definitely a sense of urgency, like there has been all season, but even more prominent here at practice,” Ebel said. “There was a sense of urgency to row and get better. At times, we’re just inches off, and those inches really matter, and they showed up last Saturday. We’re honing in on those details — those little details.”

The Jayhawks, who had last week off, are just as in need of a win as the Cyclones. They have lost their six games by a combined 30 points, the latest the most gut-wrenching yet: a loss to rival Kansas State on a field goal in the closing minutes.

Now, the Jayhawks need to win out just to reach a third straight bowl game. They not only face the Cyclones, they also have games against No. 9 BYU and No. 21 Colorado in successive weeks.

Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht (3) escapes the reach of Texas Tech defensive back Brenden Jordan (7) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. Credit: AP/Bryon Houlgrave

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of this football team, of how they’ve stuck together, through frustration and disappointment,” Kansas coach Lance Leipold said. “They continue to work hard and be coachable. They continue to see the margin is very small and own it, that we haven’t made the plays at the right opportunities. … But at the same time, they continue to work hard and see that winning football is not far from our grasp.”

Bye, bye, bye

The Jayhawks have won four straight when they have at least an extra week to prepare, dating to the 2022 season, and a couple of them have been notable. They beat No. 18 Oklahoma State two years ago and No. 6 Oklahoma last season.

“Obviously we’ve had decent success off of it,” Leipold said, “and hopefully it can repeat itself.”

Strange surroundings

The Jayhawks won the first meeting of the schools 11-6 on Oct. 15, 1898, and the teams have played 103 times — with six ties — over the years. But this will be the first time they play anywhere other than Ames, Iowa, or Lawrence, Kansas, instead meeting at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, while the Jayhawks renovate their campus stadium.

Iowa State defensive back Malik Vernon (7) knocks a pass... — Iowa State defensive back Malik Vernon (7) knocks a pass away from Texas Tech wide receiver Josh Kelly, right, during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. Credit: AP/Bryon Houlgrave

“It will be really cool just to be able to play in a stadium like that,” said Iowa State wide receiver Jaylin Noel, who grew up across the state line in Kansas City, Kansas, and was a standout at Park Hill High School. “I grew up going to games there and watching my favorite team there so, yeah, it’ll be pretty cool.”

Record watch

Kansas running back Devin Neal needs seven yards rushing to break June Henley’s school record of 3,841, which he set from 1993-96. The native of Lawrence, Kansas, also needs just one TD run to break Henley’s record of 41.

“We all know in this room what kind of person he is, his contributions off the field,” Leipold said. “What I’ll always remember is the guy who walks in the building every day and you know, from where he was as a freshman to where he is now as a confident young adult is probably impresses me most.”

Better starts

Iowa State’s defense has struggled on the opening possession in each of its last four games. Texas Tech, UCF and West Virginia each drove 75 yards for a touchdown while Baylor needed to go just 59 yards for a score.

“Sometimes I think a little bit of it is we know who we are, our base defense, and some people scheme us up pretty well early in the game and we have to make some adjustments,” Campbell said. “What’s most impressive is when maybe it hasn’t gone well right away is our kids’ ability to hang in there, reverse the tide and give ourselves a best chance.”

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