From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for April 9, 1973:

• Spring was said to have been “nipped in the bud” over the weekend as a late-winter storm hit western Kansas. Only .17 inch of precipitation had fallen in Lawrence, which was mild in comparison with the 10 inches that had fallen on some western counties, but northeast Kansas was not yet out of the woods. Although no major snowfall was expected for Lawrence, another round of freezing temperatures was expected, which could spell ruin for some fruit crops in the area.
• Tragedy had struck the town of Tonganoxie, where an elderly woman had been found beaten to death in her home. Officials said that Mrs. Violet Frank, 83, had been discovered by relatives in her small home, where she lived alone. Investigators were still searching the murder scene this morning and were so far unable to comment on their findings.
• In New Orleans, a major spillway had been opened to allow part of the Mississippi River to drain into Lake Pontchartrain today. The move was one of several planned to ease the strain on levees protecting New Orleans from flooding. The spillway’s opening was expected to lower the forecast crest of the river in what officials were calling “one of the big floods of the century” currently being experienced in the lower Mississippi River Valley.