State and Region

Natural gas, electric companies Black Hills, NorthWestern Energy plan merger

TOPEKA — Black Hills Energy Corp. announced it will merge with NorthWestern Energy Group, pending regulatory approval. Black Hills offers natural gas services in Kansas, primarily in the southwest and south-central part of the state. It is regulated by the Kansas Corporation ...

Kansas health officials proclaim measles outbreak over

TOPEKA — State health officials have declared the measles outbreak over in southwest Kansas, where dozens of cases affected mostly unvaccinated children. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced Thursday that no new cases have been reported or confirmed in the past 42 days ...

Sedgwick County Zoo’s elephant baby boom adds more than cuteness to the herd

On a blistering August afternoon, Stephanie stands itching her legs in the heat at the Sedgwick County Zoo. As a three-ton, 54-year old African elephant, leg scratching can be quite the balancing act. That’s no matter to the comparatively small, 400-pound Kijani. The four-month-old male ...

Kansas scientists put AI to work in the fight to save the Flint Hills tallgrass prairie

Kansas State University scientists are enlisting the help of artificial intelligence in the effort to conserve what’s left of North America’s shrinking grasslands. Zak Ratajczak, an assistant professor and grassland biologist, says K-State scientists have trained a computer model to map in ...

Kansas delegation backs governor’s request for disaster declaration

The six members of the Kansas congressional delegation urged President Donald Trump on Monday to approve the governor’s request for federal assistance to help the state recover from damaging weather in early June. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly on Aug. 6 asked for a disaster declaration after ...