Emergency agency displays safe room

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will show a mobile safe room from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today through Sunday at Home Depot, 1910 W. 31st St.

Safe rooms are built with reinforced steel and concrete, then anchored to a concrete foundation or floor. They can be built above or below ground. The agency recommends safe rooms as the best protection against severe weather.

For more information on safe rooms, the agency offers the booklet, “Taking Shelter from the Storm: Building a Safe Room Inside Your House.” Call (888) 565-3896 or visit www.FEMA.gov.

Lawrence student elected at Girls State

Leawood and Lawrence delegates have been elected to the top two posts at the 61st annual Sunflower Girls State.

Sarah Edwards, Leawood, was elected governor, and Katie Loyd, a Lawrence High School student, was elected lieutenant governor. Both ran on the Federalist ticket.

The inauguration is at 7:30 p.m. today at the Lied Center.

The weeklong Girls State brings 445 girls going into their senior year of high school from across the state to the Kansas University campus. Activities and speeches from politicians will help them learn about how government works at the city, county and state levels.

Friday, the girls will travel to the Statehouse, where they will have the opportunity to meet with officials in the positions they were elected to represent.

KPR to broadcast talk on children’s health

Topeka — Childhood obesity will be the topic of a town hall meeting presented Friday in Topeka by Kansas Public Radio.

The meeting will be at 6 p.m. in the old Supreme Court chambers in the Kansas Statehouse. The one-hour discussion will be broadcast live on KPR, including KANU 91.5 FM in Lawrence.

The panel is an outgrowth of KPR’s award-winning series, “Kansas Kids: A Prescription for Change.”

Panelists are Bryan Thompson, reporter for the series; David Dzewaltowski, director of Extension community health at Kansas State University; Joe Donnelly, professor of health, sport and exercise science at Kansas University; Jodi Mackey, director of child nutrition programs for the Kansas Department of Education; and Monica Pierson of the Weight Management Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan.

Wind-resistant buildings subject of FEMA site

Because wind is the most common source of damage to light-frame construction, the Federal Emergency Management Agency provides information about wind-resistant construction online.

Free videos and other information can be found at www.state.il.us/iema/Prep/ windvideos.htm.