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Kansas NASA scientist plays major role in DART mission

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Kansas NASA scientist plays major role in DART mission


WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – NASA efficiently crashed their dart rocket into an asteroid Monday to additional analysis redirecting outer house threats. One of many key gamers in serving to make NASA’s DART mission profitable is Lindley Johnson, NASA’s planetary protection officer from Kansas.

Lead planetary protection officer Lindley Johnson says his childhood in Wilsey, Kansas is what began his fascination with house.

“Rising up in rural Kansas, below these clear skies all the celebrities began me on my course in astronomy,” stated Johnson.

Earlier than NASA, he was within the ROTC program at KU the place he studied astronomy. Then he went on to hitch the USA Air Pressure and served for 23 years. Shortly after, he joined NASA in 2003 the place he has led the DART mission for the final 10 years.

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He says the early check outcomes have been one thing he’ll always remember.

It’s one of many higher Mondays I’ve had in my lifetime,” stated Johnson.

Photos from telescopes around the globe present the dart rocket’s preliminary affect on the asteroid. Johnson says they’re nonetheless trying to find unknown asteroids that would pose as potential threats to earth. Even earlier than the ultimate outcomes from the dart have been launched, the planetary protection staff is already engaged on their subsequent mission.

“We solely know of 41% of the asteroid inhabitants close to us. We discovered about 30,000 asteroids of all sizes,” stated Johnson. “We’re engaged on constructing a space-based telescope particularly designed to search out the remainder of this inhabitants in order that we all know the place all of them are.”

The Kansas scientist hopes this analysis will assist save the earth if the worst have been ever to occur. He says though the primary section of the dart mission was a hit, it will likely be at the least a month till remaining knowledge is collected.

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Obituary for Kenneth Lee Nightengale at Swaim Funeral Chapel of Montezuma

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Obituary for Kenneth Lee Nightengale at Swaim Funeral Chapel of Montezuma


Kenneth Lee Nightengale came into this world on March 4, 1937, to the home of Vernon and Leah Nichols Nightengale in Kiowa County, Greensburg, Kansas. He peacefully slipped away at Bethel Home in Montezuma on May 12, 2025, with a clear testimony just reaching the age of eighty- eight years.



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Kansas State men’s golf clinging to final NCAA regional qualifying spot for nationals

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Kansas State men’s golf clinging to final NCAA regional qualifying spot for nationals


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The Kansas State men’s golf team remains on track to qualify for its first NCAA Championship, but with zero margin for error.

With a score of 4-over-par 292 Tuesday the Wildcats held onto fifth place in the NCAA Bremerton Regional at Gold Mountain Golf Course in Bremerton, Washington. The tournament concludes Wednesday with the top five teams advancing to nationals May 23-28 in Carlsbad, California.

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The 10th-seeded Wildcats, who were tied for fourth after one round, have just a one-shot cushion over sixth-place Charlotte with South Florida and Utah lurking two back at 8-under. Kansas is in 10th place at 16-over, 10 shots below the qualifying line.

K-State senior Cooper Schultz, the co-leader with Florida’s Luke Poulter at 4-under Monday, dropped into a three-way tie for sixth with an even-par 72 in the second round. Florida’s Matthew Kress tops the leaderboard heading into Wednesday’s final round at 10-under, one shot ahead of Poulter.

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No. 2 seed Florida is comfortably in the team lead at 25-under, followed by top seed Arizona State in second at minus-16, South Carolina at 2-under and Colorado at 1-under.

Senior Kobe Valociek turned in K-State’s best round of the day at 1-under 71, moving up 11 spots into 21st place. Ian McCrary, who shot even par on Monday, dropped to 35th overall with a second-round 76, while Nicklaus Mason is tied for 48th at 7-under after a 3-over 75 on Tuesday.

K-State will go head-to-head in a group with Colorado and Charlotte in the final round on Wednesday behind leaders Florida, Arizona State and South Carolina, which tees off first at 8 a.m. Pacific (10 a.m. central).

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on X (formerly Twitter) at @arnegreen.                          

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3 Ways the Kansas City Chiefs Have Improved this Offseason

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3 Ways the Kansas City Chiefs Have Improved this Offseason


The Kansas City Chiefs have been the kings of the mountain in the NFL for the last several years. However, they were dethroned in an embarrassing fashion by the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, leading to questions about how much longer they will remain as annual big-game contenders with the rest of the league getting better around them.

Kansas City did what it usually does when it starts seeing critiques: it answered the call and made some impressive improvements to its roster during the offseason, especially through the draft, where it handled three of its biggest needs.

With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the three ways the Chiefs improved their roster this offseason.

One of the biggest priorities for the Chiefs this offseason was finding their franchise’s left tackle. It had been a couple of years since Orlando Brown left the team and it has been a makeshift role since. With the lack of high-end talents available in free agency, general manager Brett Veach needed to hone in on the offensive tackle class with one player in mind, Ohio State’s Josh Simmons.

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When healthy, Simmons was arguably the best tackle in the draft and could’ve been the No. 4 overall selection had it not been for the torn patellar tendon. Instead, he fell to the last pick of the first round, to the excitement of the Chiefs. Simmons has a chance to come in a be the missing piece on the blindside they have been needing for two years and establish himself as the long-term cornerstone at left tackle.

Simmons was the big piece of this. While it is somewhat concerning they did not drafting a guard to compete for the starting left guard spot, it seems as though the Chiefs have the utmost confidence in second-year player Kingsley Suamataia. Furthermore, Trey Smith is back on the franchise tag as the two parties look to secure an extension for one of the leagues best guards.

Long story short, the Chiefs’ offensive line is better than last year and it should certainly hold its own against some of the league’s best defensive fronts. Protecting quarterback Patrick Mahomes and giving him chances to make plays is a priority that, so far, should be deemed a success.

With the addition of Simmons, the Chiefs had an overall strong draft class. They were able to address their needs in the trenches at left tackle, interior defensive line, and edge rusher. Omarr Norman-Lott and Ashton Gillotte should find roles on the team fairly quickly this season and are slated as long-term pieces.

Depth-wise, talent was added at linebacker, cornerback, running back, and wide receiver. Wide receiver Jalen Royals and running back Brashard Smith could find themselves in bigger roles by the end of the season. Linebacker Jeffrey Bassa should see the field on passing downs, while cornerback Nohl Williams is a future starter at cornerback opposite of Trent McDuffie if he can improve his consistency.

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