Rural Kansas issues topic of ‘On the Record’

Former Gov. Mike Hayden discusses the troubled future of rural Kansas on public television’s “On the Record” at 12:30 p.m. today on KTWU, Sunflower Broadband Channel 11.

Hayden, who lives in Lawrence, is originally from Atwood. A former speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives, he served a single term as governor, from 1987 to 1991.

He is secretary at the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, a position he also held under former Gov. Bill Graves.

In recent months, Hayden has been outspoken in calling attention to declines in the state’s rural population.

Road conditions

511 number will help guide Kansas travelers

The Kansas Department of Transportation is reminding travelers on this holiday weekend that the Kansas 511 system replaces the old Road Condition Hotline.

By dialing 511 inside Kansas or (866) 511-KDOT anywhere in the United States, travelers can get specific road conditions, construction detours and travel weather information for the Kansas State Highway System and the Kansas Turnpike. Information is available all day, every day.

The call is free from a land line phone. For most wireless users, the call will count against their cellular minutes, but no roaming fee should be involved.

Road information is updated every 15 minutes on 511, a Transportation Department spokeswoman said.

Topeka

Lewis and Clark art makes Statehouse debut

A painting by a St. Louis artist, honoring Kansas and the Lewis and Clark expedition, was unveiled Friday in the Statehouse.

The artist, 42-year-old Stuart Morse, and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius unveiled the painting “By Way of Fertile Ground.” The painting, above, is 10 feet wide and 5 feet tall and depicts a bend of the Missouri River near White Cloud.

Morse completed 10 such paintings, one for each state along the route of Lewis and Clark, who set out from near St. Louis in 1804 to explore the newly acquired lands of the Louisiana Purchase.

He also has a traveling exhibit of 10 smaller prints, which will be on display in the Statehouse through July 14.

Morse said he also hoped to have all 10 paintings displayed in Kansas City or St. Louis after 2006, and perhaps later in Washington.

His Kansas painting will hang in the south wing on the second floor of the Statehouse for two years. The exhibit is free and open to the public.