General News in the 316

[SubGod22]

Boeing is on strike. Apparently 96% voted to strike. How will this impact Spirit and Wichita?

I don't know all of the details, but a 25% pay increase over 4 years sounds pretty damn good. But apparently the union wanted 40%.

[WuDrWu]

I think I heard Boeing hasn't turned a profit since 2008 (around the time of the last contract dispute). Some things are just really, really hard to wrap your head around in today's world.

[SubGod22]

KSNT - Harlem Globetrotters coming to Topeka, Salina and Wichita

A basketball team known for its on-the-court antics, dunks and tricks is due to visit Kansas next year.

The Harlem Globetrotters will be holding three shows in Topeka, Salina and Wichita during the month of March at local event centers. Tickets for each show go on sale in September 2024.
.....
Wichita

• INTRUST Bank Arena at 500 East Waterman.
• Starts at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 30.
• Tickets on sale at 10 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 30.
• Ticket link.

[SubGod22]

Weekend travel closures along the North Junction.

KSN - Parts of I-135 at Wichita's north junction to close this weekend

Parts of Interstate 135 at Wichita’s north junction will close for the next two weekends. The work will happen between the Interstate 235, Kansas Highway 254 junction and the Kansas Highway 96 junction. It will impact both northbound and southbound lanes of traffic.

The Kansas Department of Transportation says the closure is necessary to install girders for a bridge project. The first closure will occur from 5 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, to late Sunday, Sept. 22.

Northbound I-135 motorists can exit onto eastbound K-96. Drivers on westbound K-96 will be allowed to northbound I-135.

[SubGod22]

Much like with K-254, KDOT will be holding meetings for K-15.

KWCH - KDOT holding open house on K-15 improvements

On Wednesday night, you’ll be able to learn about the Kansas Department of Transportation’s plans for possible improvements to K-15 between Wichita and Derby.

KDOT is studying K-15 from 95th Street South in to I-135 in Wichita. They’re looking to improve the highway through south Wichita and Derby. You’ll be able to learn more about their plans during a public meeting Wednesday from 4-6 p.m. at The Venue in Derby’s Madison Avenue Central Park. That’s at 512 East Madison Avenue.

You’ll be able to review early data from KDOT’s study of K-15 and provide your own input to KDOT staff. There will be no formal presentation, so you can come and go as you please.

J.B. Wilson of KDOT explained how public feedback will be used.

If it's anything like 254, improvements will begin in about 25 years

[SubGod22]

MSN - Great Plains Renaissance Festival returns next weekend

Huzzah! The Fall Great Plains Renaissance and Scottish Festival is returning to Wichita next weekend.

The festival will be held at Sedgwick County Park on Sept. 28 and 29 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Don’t miss out on the turkey legs, jousts, jests, fairies, pirates, Vikings, bagpipes, knights, magicians, fire breathers, falconry, kings, queens, dancers, daredevils, and the 10-foot tall fully animatronic dragon known as Ragnar.

“He is flying into the Great Plains Renaissance and Scottish Festival! Hear his fearsome roar as his head, neck, tail and wings move as our majestic dragon comes to life. Our team has worked hard to create this magical creature to thrill young and old alike,” said the Great Plains Renaissance Festival in a news release.

The festival will also again host the Wichita Highland Games and the International Highland Games Federation All-American Men’s Championship.

I've always wanted to check this out, but still haven't.

[SubGod22]

KAKE - Drone Light Festival returns to Exploration Place this weekend

The night sky over downtown Wichita will become a canvas this weekend, as the Drone Light Festival returns to Exploration Place.

Now in its third year, the Festival will run from September 20-22. The festival will mark the grand opening of the new Wichita Foundation Amphitheater and an all-new event plaza at Exploration Place.

The main event will feature a display of 300 synchronized drones, choreographed to music in the sky above the Arkansas River. The festival also includes candlelight performances in the amphitheater, free laser shows in the dome theater, free live science shows, food trucks and access to Exploration Place exhibits.

[SubGod22]

New bowling alley changes locations.

Eagle - Ray Baty still doing new 32-lane bowling complex, just not in west Wichita as planned

Ray Baty’s new 32-lane bowling complex was supposed to be open by now at Estancia Plaza developer Marv Schellenberg’s new entertainment district just southeast of K-96 and Ridge Road.

“It was a fabulous place for us, but some things just wouldn’t come together,” Baty said.

He said his son, Matt Baty, who is one of six developers in the new Champtown development in Park City, then approached him.

“Matt called me and said, ‘Dad, how do you feel about moving bowling to Champtown?’ ”

Matt Baty wondered if his father would be able to build a weekday league structure in Park City.

His father, who spent 42 years with Joma Bowling Co., said he could build one anywhere.

Still, Ray Baty was reluctant to leave Schellenberg’s development.

“It was a great location for a business to go in.”

He's hoping they'll be up and running next fall.

Sounds like it will be located between the planned aquarium and butterfly sanctuary.

[SubGod22]

I love this event and hope to find my way out there this weekend.

AOL - Wichita's largest fine arts festival is back. Here's what to know about the free event

Autumn & Art, Wichita’s biggest fine arts festival, is marking a milestone this weekend: the free-to-attend outdoor event is turning 15.

Set up along Bradley Fair Parkway, just east of Bradley Fair shopping center near 21st Street and Rock Road, Autumn & Art will be open from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Festival-goers can see and buy artwork in various mediums, including paintings, ceramics, glass, fiber, photography, metalwork, jewelry and 2D and 3D mixed media. This year’s Autumn & Art features more than 90 artists from 17 states, who were selected by a panel to participate, according to a news release from Wichita Festivals. John Hernandez from Oklahoma is this year’s featured artist. Hernandez works in a very unique medium, transforming gourds into works of art using dyes and pine needle stitched rims.

Tickets to the opening night patron party are $125 and include food from Il Vicino, Newport Grill and The Belmont/Larcher’s Market, specialty wines and spirits, a coffee bar, and wine and whiskey pulls. Sterling Gray will provide live music, while the artist collective BrickMob will do a live art painting.

Autumn & Art is produced by Wichita Festivals and was created as a fall community event to go with the long-running River Festival held earlier in the year. It was modeled after al fresco art festivals held in other cities, including Denver, Kansas City and St. Louis.

For a full idea of all that you can do, see, and experience is in the full article.

[ShockBand]

I love this event and hope to find my way out there this weekend.

AOL - Wichita's largest fine arts festival is back. Here's what to know about the free event



For a full idea of all that you can do, see, and experience is in the full article.

This year's Autumn and Art has already taken place. That AOL article doesn't make that clear at the top.

[SubGod22]

This year's Autumn and Art has already taken place. That AOL article doesn't make that clear at the top.

Damn, you're right. I didn't notice the date. Guess I missed it and that sucks.

[WuDrWu]

New bowling alley changes locations.

Eagle - Ray Baty still doing new 32-lane bowling complex, just not in west Wichita as planned



He's hoping they'll be up and running next fall.

Sounds like it will be located between the planned aquarium and butterfly sanctuary.

I will plead ignorance and apathy for not looking into this project a little more. I had no idea that the the baseball fields will be run by PBR? Is that accurate? That has to be something with a ton of upside for say, WSU baseball I would think.

[SubGod22]

That is correct.

[SubGod22]

A little news on the K-96 project and the impact it will have on a few properties.

KFDI - Wichita waiting for more information on K-96 project

The city’s public works director, Gary Janzen, talked to City Council members about the project during a workshop meeting Tuesday. He said the project will have minimal impact on six park properties along K-96.

• K-96 Lake Park: 0.8 acres out of 46 will be affected by new interchange ramps between K-96 and I135. These areas are currently unused portions of the park with no amenities or other features;
• Chisholm Creek Park North: 1.3 acres out of 57 will be affected by the construction of a new
  interchange at Woodlawn. A portion of this is a gravel parking lot, which will be reconstructed in the
  general vicinity;
• Chisholm Creek Park South: 1.8 acres out of 282 will be affected by a new interchange at
  Woodlawn. The only amenity/feature impacted will be the K-96 Bike Trail (see below);
• K-96 Bike Trail: Out of eight miles of trail length, approximately one-third of a mile will be affected.
  About 580 feet within Chisholm Creek Park South will be temporarily closed and reconstructed due
  to grading work shifting the K-96 east to Woodlawn exit ramp southward. About 1,170 feet located
  east of Webb will be temporarily closed and reconstructed due to constructing the new K-96 east
  entrance ramp from Webb;
• Great Plains Nature Center Path: After the study was completed, it was determined this path will not
  be affected by the Preferred Alternative; and
• Redbud Trail: After the study was completed, it was determined this trail will not be affected by the
  Preferred Alternative.

[SubGod22]

WBJ - Spirit AeroSystems' $9.3M contract win to bring more Air Force work to Wichita

Another defense contract win means more than $33 million in Air Force work has been awarded to Wichita-based Spirit AeroSystems in the last month.

The U.S. Department of Defense announced late last week that the major aerospace supplier won a $9.3 million contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory at Ohio's Wright Patterson Air Force Base as the administering DoD entity.

This latest contract is for conformal reusable airframe structures, while an Aug. 29 award was a $23.8 million contract — also for the Air Force Research Laboratory — specific to bonded, unitized, composite, large-scale structural demonstrations. Both were sole-source acquisitions.

As with last month's announcement, the new work is set to be completed in Wichita, according to the contract announcement. It is expected to wrap by March 17, 2026.

"This contract will improve structural performance of high-speed vehicles utilizing advanced analysis and test methods of full-scale airframe structures in high-speed environments and systems," the DoD said.