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Kansas Office of Apprenticeship Celebrates 2026 Apprenticeship Award Winners

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Kansas Office of Apprenticeship Celebrates 2026 Apprenticeship Award Winners


The Kansas Office of Registered Apprenticeship today announced the recipients of the 2026 Kansas Apprenticeship Awards, recognizing the outstanding leaders, organizations and programs that are driving innovation and expanding Registered Apprenticeship opportunities across the state.

“Our apprenticeship partners have played a tremendous role growing our workforce over the last several years,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “These apprenticeship awards honor what truly is possible when bold leadership and strategic collaboration align — and how, together, we can continue reimagining the Kansas workforce of the future.”

Since 2022, the Kansas apprenticeship program has experienced remarkable growth, including a 240% increase in new apprentices. This momentum reflects the strength of Kansas’ statewide apprenticeship ecosystem — and the commitment of the employers, education partners and workforce leaders to build sustainable talent pipelines.

Honorees were chosen based on innovation, measurable growth and long-term impact, with particular emphasis on forward-thinking strategies and sustained apprentice engagement.

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The 2026 Kansas Apprenticeship Award recipients:

  • Excellence in Kansas Apprenticeship Award – Dr. Joel Gillespie, Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE): Recognized for his visionary leadership in expanding teacher apprenticeship programs to 391 participants, helping transform educator pathways and remove barriers to the profession.
  • Kansas Business of the Year – Panasonic: Committed to workforce development through the Industrial Manufacturing Technician Registered Apprenticeship. The company has grown from 96 apprentices to 125.
  • Outstanding New Program of the Year – HCA Midwest Health: Launched Kansas’ first pre-licensure Registered Nurse Apprenticeship program. The program has 146 active apprentices.
  • Outstanding Program of the Year – Western Missouri & Kansas Laborers District Council: Recognized as one of the most robust apprenticeship models. The Council has 445 active participants, working to support an array of backgrounds and strengthen the workforce.
  • Youth Apprenticeship Development Partner of the Year – City of Winfield: Honored for its leadership in youth apprenticeship, bringing together K-12 education and higher education partners to create classroom-to-career pipelines for Kansas students.

The 2026 Kansas Apprenticeship Awards were presented during the state’s National Apprenticeship Week Celebration on April 29 in Topeka, highlighting the continued progress and future success of apprenticeship programs and opportunities in Kansas.

“Our apprenticeship partners are making a huge contribution to our state — and to our goal of connecting 10,001 apprentices by 2031,” Kansas Office of Registered Apprenticeship Director Shonda Anderson said. “Their contributions not only are changing the lives of individual Kansans but strengthening our state for generations to come.”

To view photos from the 2026 Kansas Apprenticeship Awards event, click here.

For additional information about the Kansas Office of Registered Apprenticeship, visit here.

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Kansas Baseball Advances to NCAA Super Regionals After Sweeping Arkansas

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Kansas Baseball Advances to NCAA Super Regionals After Sweeping Arkansas


In the last four years, the University of Arkansas has gotten the better of the Kansas Jayhawks in postseason play.

In 2022, the Razorbacks defeated KU football 55-53 in a triple-overtime thriller in Memphis during the Liberty Bowl. A year later, No. 8 seed Arkansas upset No. 1 seed KU (and reigning college basketball champions) in the NCAA Tournament by a single point (72-71) to end Kansas basketball’s chances of a repeat. In 2025, Arkansas pulled off another upset in the Big Dance when the No. 10 seed Razorbacks defeated No. 7 KU 79-72 to advance to the Sweet 16.

Needless to say, there were plenty of Jayhawk fans hoping for revenge this weekend when Arkansas was announced as the No. 2 seed in the Lawrence Regional – and KU baseball delivered in a big way with a sweep over the Razorbacks to reach the program’s first-ever Super Regionals appearance.

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KU came from behind in both games to earn a 5-3 victory on Saturday and a 13-10 win on Sunday night at Hoglund Ballpark.

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On Saturday, Arkansas took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second before a Tyson LeBlanc RBI tied things up in the bottom of the third. Each team scored two in the fifth and remained deadlocked until KU pulled away late with a Dairel Osoria run in the seventh and a solo home run by Augusto Mungarrieta in the eighth to seal the win.

After Arkansas beat Northeastern in a narrow 10-9 contest on Sunday afternoon, KU and Arkansas met again on Sunday evening in a highly anticipated matchup that saw a lot of offensive firepower on display.

The Razorbacks jumped out to a 5-0 lead through three innings before KU had a monster performance in the top of the fourth. Osoria led things off with a solo home run before Brady Ballinger hit an RBI single to score Jordan Bach and Max Soliz Jr. had an RBI single to score Dylan Schlotterback. Then LeBlanc showed his All-American talents once again in a big moment by hitting a three-run home run to deep center field to put the Jayhawks ahead 6-5.

From there, KU would never relinquish the lead after scoring two runs in the fifth inning and three in the sixth. The Jayhawks tacked on two more in the top of the eighth to give the team its 13th score of the game.

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The Jayhawks are now 45-16 on the season – tied for the most wins in a season in program history with the 1993 team that reached the College World Series.

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KU will now move on to the Super Regionals which start Friday, June 5. If Oklahoma beats Georgia Tech tomorrow, KU will get the chance to host as they did this week. If Georgia Tech wins, the Jayhawks will head to Atlanta with a spot in the College World Series on the line.  

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Leawood’s Parkinson’s Exercise and Wellness Center expands services as diagnoses climb

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Leawood’s Parkinson’s Exercise and Wellness Center expands services as diagnoses climb


KSHB 41 reporter Olivia Acree covers portions of Johnson County, Kansas, including Olathe and Lenexa. Share your story idea with Olivia.

If the motto to live by is to get 1 hour of movement a day, the Parkinson’s community in Kansas City is exceeding it.

Bob Zipse has been fighting Parkinson’s for 10 years. He said the diagnosis hit him hard.

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Leawood’s Parkinson’s Exercise and Wellness Center expands services as diagnoses climb

“I was super depressed. I mean, I was in a chair. Did you want to move? Look around, just horrible. Because there’s no resources. Where do I go with the time?”

Zipse said the disease can be an isolating experience.

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Bob Zipse

“Parkinson’s, I say, is a very lonely, lonely disease. Either people don’t want to deal with you, or you’re embarrassing.”

He found the Parkinson’s Exercise and Wellness Center at his lowest point. Now, he sees people around him pushing past their limits.

“You see people out here, they’re in the mid-70s, they’re doing push-ups, sit-ups, lifting weights. I mean, it’s amazing, really,” Zipse said. “In here, we’re all the same.”

Sarissa Curry founded the center after seeing the power of healing through exercise and recognizing that diagnosis rates were increasing. An aging population and younger diagnoses are among the biggest factors driving that trend.

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Kansas consistently ranks as having one of the highest Parkinson’s disease diagnoses and mortality rates in the United States, second only to Nebraska. According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, an estimated 20,000 people in the Kansas City metro alone are living with the disease.

“You see your neurologist once every six months to a year, and you see a physical therapist maybe a couple of months out of the year. Community-based programs are here every day to support this community,” Curry said.

Curry said the warning signs of rising Parkinson’s rates have been visible for years.

“They have been predicting this increase in Parkinson’s for many years. They were able to see the writing on the wall, they were able to see how the population was aging, and they knew that this was coming. We paid attention.”

She expanded the center to serve as an all-encompassing resource for people like Zipse.

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Sarissa Curry

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Sarissa Curry

“I’d hate to wager what I would have been like. Life would have stopped for me, I think. This at least gives me hope, gives me some work towards and see some benefit of it,” Zipse said.

The PEWC will host a ribbon cutting on Wednesday, June 3, at 3:30 p.m. The community is invited to attend to learn more about the center’s services and the disease as incidence rates continue to rise each year.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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Olivia Acree





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Kansas City liquor store increasing international options ahead of World Cup

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Kansas City liquor store increasing international options ahead of World Cup


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Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is a leading, diversified media company that produces and distributes engaging local and national news, sports, and entertainment content across its television and digital platforms. The My Nexstar sign-in works across the Nexstar network—including The CW, NewsNation, The Hill, and more. Learn more at nexstar.tv/privacy-policy.



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