The Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas Board of Directors has its regular monthly meeting on a not-so-regular date this week. Normally, the board meets Friday mornings, but this week's meeting will be Thursday morning instead with some board members unable to attend Friday. Board business includes ...

The USD 253 Emporia Board of Education has a special meeting this week. Board members are meeting at 6 pm Wednesday to work on the 2026-27 budget. The conversation will focus on building the budget as framed by priorities already identified through the District Needs Assessment process. The meeting starts at 6 pm at Ma...

PetSmart opens in northwest Emporia this month. The newest store at Emporia Pavilions has posted signage indicating a soft opening Aug 17 and a grand open Aug 22. PetSmart now has over 1,500 stores in the United States, including more than 10 in Kansas. PetSmart becomes the 8th retail store at Pavilions over the last 9...

Construction continues at Little Lyons Childcare as part of work to add a second shift of supervised care for youngsters. Little Lyons opened its doors a year ago, and construction has been a hallmark of the property along with the goal of getting young children ready for the school system. Director Serena Jeffery says...

Flinthills Mall is awaiting word from Petsense on the store's future in Emporia. And so are another 70-plus locations across the country. Flinthills Mall Manager Clarence Frye says he met with Petsense's agent late last week as a way to keep the pet supply company at the mall after Petsense posted signage indicating a ...

The Emporia State football team has been selected sixth by the coaches and media in the 2026 MIAA Football Preseason Polls released on Monday. Pittsburg State and Northwest Missouri were chosen as the favorites to win the league this year after splitting last year's title. The Gorillas were favored by the coaches wit...

The NCAA Division II Management Council has recommended that the Division II Executive Board adopt emergency legislation to establish an age-based eligibility model. The proposal would create a five-year eligibility period and would be effective immediately for the upcoming 2026-27 season. It would replace the longst...

Emporia State's Welch Stadium is getting new turf ahead of the 2026 football season. Installation is in progress now for a new state-of-the-art FieldTurf system. The project is anticipated to take two weeks so the field will be ready for the beginning of Hornet fall training camp which is set to begin on August 3. I...

Head Emporia State women's tennis coach CyCy Peyroche has announced she's stepping down as the head coach of the Lady Hornets. She was the first female to be named a head coach in the history of the ESU tennis programs when she took over as the interim coach of both the men's and women's teams for the 2023 spring seas...

Former Madison High School standout Casey Helm is returning to the Sunflower State and joining the Kansas State Track and Field team. Helm was a four time Class 1A Discus champion and broke the state record with a throw of 214 feet, 1 inch. That remains the top mark in the state. Following graduation, he attended Prin...