Kansas
This Kansas City area college has some surprising historical ties to the Civil War
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If the Missouri Baptist Convention had stuck to its original plan, William Jewell College would be in Booneville or Fulton.
But influential Missourians like Alexander Doniphan successfully lobbied the church to choose a parcel of land on a hill north of downtown Liberty instead. The school, one of the first colleges west of the Mississippi, opened its doors in 1849.
Work on Jewell Hall, started soon after. The building, and school’s, namesake was a physician, educator and politician. He even supervised the construction process until he died, reportedly of sun stroke, in 1852.
Though Jewell at times spoke favorably of abolition, he and some of the school’s other prominent backers, including Doniphan, did own slaves.
Ironically, during the Civil War, the completed Jewell Hall served as a barracks and hospital for Union soldiers. Accounts vary, but at least 17 who died in the Battle of Liberty were buried on the grounds.
The campus continued to grow, with buildings like Wornall Hall, which burned down in 1913, and Gano Chapel commemorated on postcards of their own.
In 2003, William Jewell and the Missouri Baptist Convention severed all ties. Today, the independent liberal arts school bills itself as the ”critical thinking college” and is best known for its Harriman-Jewell Arts series, which was launched on campus in the 1960s.
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Looking for more Kansas City history?
Speaking of the Civil War, how did Lee’s Summit get its name?
The amazing story of Pearl Hill and the river bluffs where Kansas City began
How the town of Quindaro rose and fell on the Kansas side of the Missouri River
Kansas
Tornadoes reported as severe weather hits Kansas
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Severe storms brought hail and reports of tornadoes to Kansas on Wednesday night.
Here are the reports received so far:
- Golf ball-size hail, 3 N Enterprise, Dickinson County
- Tornado, north of Enterprise and east of Abilene
- 2-inch hail, 5 NNE Nickerson, Rice County
- Funnel, 3 WNW Woodbine, Dickinson County
- Tornado, 4 NNW Herington, Dickinson County
- Golf ball-size hail, 1 S Lyons, Rice County
- Power outages in Durham, Tampa, Lincolnville, Lost Springs
- Ping pong ball-size hail, 5 S Windom, McPherson County
- 2-inch hail, 5 WSW Ellinwood, Barton County
- 60 mph wind gust, 5 SSE Milford, Geary County
For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. To watch our shows live on our website, click here.
Kansas
Thousands remain without power after severe storms hit Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Severe storms left thousands of Kansas residents without electricity for more than 24 hours as crews work to restore power.
Topeka resident John Braun said his neighborhood has been without power for more than a day.
“It just went out, and you know, of course, we’ve got no air conditioning, and it’s humid, you know. Three sheets on the bed so you don’t sweat through the mattress. You know, couldn’t run a fan,” Braun said.
Braun said the area from 29th to 21st streets has no power.
Gina Penzig with Evergy said crews from Kansas and Missouri are working to restore service.
“We had our local crews going to work as soon as they could safely do so to begin to restore power,” Penzig said.
Evergy had 25,000 customers without power about 36 hours ago and has restored service to 90% of those customers, Penzig said.
“We expect to have everybody back on late this evening, so about a day and a half into this storm getting everything done,” Penzig said.
Braun said residents are trying to stay positive while waiting for power to return.
“We had a great time picking up; it was fun, a lot of fun, but around 2 o’clock, everybody is worn out about 8 hours of tree cutting. Just piling and stacking and then you have three or four beers of that, and you’re tired,” Braun said.
About 1,800 customers remain without power in Shawnee County and 500 in Riley County. Evergy expects power to be restored by late tonight.
About 8,200 customers in the Salina area remain without power, and it may take until Thursday night for electricity to be restored, according to Evergy.
Evergy’s power outage can be found here.
Copyright 2026 WIBW. All rights reserved.
Kansas
Kansas boy discovers 15-foot marine reptile fossil from 85 million years ago during geology field trip
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A Kansas boy searching for fossils during a geology club field trip stumbled onto something far bigger than expected: the remains of a 15-foot-long marine reptile that swam an ancient sea 85 million years ago.
Corbin Bullard was just 11 years old when he spotted several large vertebrae protruding from rock at a quarry near his hometown of Clearwater, Kansas, during a September 2025 outing with the Sedgwick County 4-H Geology Club.
“I didn’t know what it was, but I knew that it was something big,” Bullard told FOX Local.
Over the course of three additional excavation trips, Bullard and fellow club members carefully uncovered nearly an entire tylosaurus, a massive marine reptile that ruled the seas during the Cretaceous Period.
DINOSAUR FOSSILS UNEARTHED DURING PARKING LOT CONSTRUCTION AT NATIONAL PARK
Corbin Bullard discovered the fossil at a quarry near his hometown of Clearwater, Kansas, in September 2025. (Wendy Bullard)
The fossil measured more than 15 feet long and included everything from the animal’s enormous skull to most of its skeleton.
Corbin and his geology club uncovered a fossil of nearly an entire tylosaurus, a massive marine reptile from the Cretaceous Period. (Wendy Bullard)
LIMPING DINOSAUR’S TWISTED PATH PUZZLES PALEONTOLOGISTS, 150 MILLION YEARS LATER: ‘VERY RARE’
The ancient predator lived roughly 82 million to 87 million years ago, according to researchers who dated the specimen to the Smoky Hill Chalk formation, a fossil-rich layer of rock that stretches across parts of Kansas.
In this photo, part of the tylosaurus fossil is seen. (Wendy Bullard)
The discovery emerged from a quarry where commercial crews routinely shave away layers of rock, exposing relics hidden for millions of years. Before Bullard’s find, club members had mostly uncovered shark teeth and fish fossils.
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Now 12 and preparing to enter seventh grade, Bullard plans to display the fossil’s skull at the Sedgwick County Fair in July.
“I hope [the judges] say that it looks really nice and that we put a lot of effort into it,” he said.
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