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Drums, music and children make it a great year for Miss Kansas 2021

Miss Kansas 2021 Taylor Clark made her last official appearance as the title-holder in Pratt on Friday, June 3, taking part in Pratt’s Art and Music Walk. Starting at the Vernon Filley Art Museum where she has many supporters, Clark - in crown and sash, made several stops at downtown Main Street locations, taking time to visit and pose for photos with admirers of all ages.

Read MoreDrums, music and children make it a great year for Miss Kansas 2021

Sad story involves businessman with Greensburg connections

Owing at least partly to the fact that he was once homeless, Luke Einsel is a scrappy businessman, with a high tolerance for risk and a nose for a profitable niche. Over the last decade, he built an Overland Park smoothie stand into Smart Beverage, a 15-employee company that supplies schools, hospitals and other large institutions with healthy drinks. Along the way, Smart Beverage acquired several competitors, purchased every single 7-Eleven slushie machine in Mexico, and raised several million dollars from investors. In 2019, Kansas City officials lured Einsel’s Kansas-based company across the state line with tax incentives, paving the way for it to move into an 18,000-square-foot warehouse at the former Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base. All that promise and optimism seems like a distant memory these days. Einsel is winding the company down, he told The Star, his eyes sunken and his hair and beard grown long one afternoon earlier this spring.

Read MoreSad story involves businessman with Greensburg connections

Memorial Day traditions carried on this year

Memorial Day 2022 was celebrated in traditional style with services at the Iuka Methodist Church and Cemetery in the morning of May 30 and at 2 p.m. at the Pratt Regional Airport Army Base Pavilion. Military servicemen who gave their lives in service to the protection of their country were honored by waving flags, messages of honor, songs of patriotism, beating drums and the playing of taps.

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Don’t let vacation rental scams ruin your great getaway

The season for travel fun has arrived and millions of Americans will be enjoying vacation rentals – except the ones that experience vacation rip-offs instead. A Better Business Bureau (BBB) study in 2019 found that 43% of those who searched online encountered fake property listings. More than 5 million people lost money to such scams. It is reasonable to assume that with the easing of the pandemic, as so many feel freer to travel, vacation rentals will be highly sought after. Here is BBB’s advice for those who want to keep their getaways safe from bad actors and their vacation rental schemes. Easy to fake

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Miss Kansas 2022

Wages, Courtney Miss Air Capital Wichita State University One Vision is Not the Only Vision: Eye See You Tap Dance Bayani-Heitzman, Via Miss Asian Festival Johnson County Community College Celebrating and Raising Awareness of Cultural Diversity Cultural Dance Holman, Anna Miss Augusta Pittsburg State University Fitness for all: Disability Inclusion through Physical Activity Tap Dance Klein, Autumn Miss Boot Hill Dodge City High School Body Positivity and Inclusivity: Embrace it, Don’t Erase it Vocal Bonn, Sierra Miss Butler County Wichita State University - Graduate Let’s Go Full Steam Ahead Educational Steam Presentation Altenor, Gabrielle Miss Capital City Washburn University School of Law Passport to Success: Education & Opportunity Monologue Heinson, Addisyn Miss Cottonwood Kiowa County High School Power Up Vocal Seiler, Sailor-Anne Miss Cowboy Capital Kansas State University - Graduate Fit for Life Spoken Poetry Gier, Allie Miss Cowley County Dodge City Community College The Yellow Ribbon Project Vocal Bertie, Brynn Miss Dodge City Independence High School Battle On: Fighting Against Childhood Cancer Dance Smith, Miranda Miss Emerald City Butler Community College Your Story Isn’t Over: Suicide Prevention Lyrical Dance Burford, Jordan Miss Heartland Southwestern College Raising Awareness for Child Loss Vocal Hensley, Ayanna Miss Kiowa County Fort Hays State University - Graduate ACEs Low: Overcoming Adverse Childhood Experiences Modern Jazz Dance Bowden, Suzannah Miss Ruby Slippers Wichita State University Tech Mentoring the Next Vocal Price-Dukes, Courtney Miss Sedgwick County Wichita State University Aging Out to Aging Forward: Fostering the Future Musical Monologue Brooks, Katie Miss South Central Cowley College Representation Matters Monologue Rugg, Emily Miss Southern Kansas Oklahoma State University Graduate The Time is Female Vocal Krell, Kaycee Miss Southern Plains University of Kansas The M.I.R.R.O.R.: A Reflection on Bullying and Suicide Prevention Vocal Pollard, Tyler Miss Sunflower Fort Hays State University 30 x 30: Women in Law Enforcement Vocal . Keller, Payton Miss Topeka Butler Community College Be UN-Silent: Breaking the Silence Around Mental Health Contemporary Dance Andrist, Katelyn Miss Walnut Valley Kansas State University Commit to Confidence: Envisioning a More Confident You! Contemporary Dance Smith, Jetta Miss Wichita Fort Hays State University - Graduate She Should Run: Inspiring Women for a Stronger Tomorrow Power Prose .

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Southeast Kansas road trip very enjoyable

BKRT, also known as The Big Kansas Road Trip, took place the first weekend of June in Southeast Kansas. Sponsored by the Marci Penner and the Kansas Sampler Foundation, this event has become “the thing to do” for my husband and myself. The trip annually focuses on three counties in a certain part of the state. This year, southeast Kansas, the one part of the state that that we are the least familiar. Bourbon, Cherokee and Crawford counties were the three spotlighted counties.

Read MoreSoutheast Kansas road trip very enjoyable

Dramatic effect in the dark

I wish I could tell you how many miles that I have driven in the darkness of the night. Driving down the highway, not knowing when a creature, big or small, would dart out in front of you. The sound of your truck being torn up because the deer thought your headlights were to help them to cross the road.

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Students collaborate with city to create first-ever St. John Jubilee Scavenger Hunt

The St. John Jubilee Historical Scavenger Hunt began at 9 a.m., Saturday, May 28, at the Information Booth near the fountain in the Square and ended before the start of the annual Jubilee Parade. This new event was the collaboration of creative student minds and city leaders who were on board with bringing something new to the annual St. John event.

Read MoreStudents collaborate with city to create first-ever St. John Jubilee Scavenger Hunt