News
WEATHER: Severe thunderstorm watch through overnight hours for portions of listening area
The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for portions of the KVOE listening area through early Saturday. The watch currently includes Chase, Morris and Wabaunsee counties until 4 am. Currently there is a marginal risk for severe weather areawide through the overnight hours. NWS says there is...
5h ago
Doors to Sweet Granada KC now open
The Red Bridge Shopping Center in Southern Kansas City officially has a sweet new business. The Sweet Granada KC officially opened in the shopping center Friday afternoon following well over a year's worth of planning according to owner Kim Redeker. Redeker spoke with KVOE News just hours after the official ribbon cutt...
9h ago
Fourth annual Emporia State Special Athletics Track and Field Day sees largest attendance to date Friday
The 2024 Emporia State University Special Athletics Track and Field Day Friday will go down as the largest to date. This was the fourth installment of the event since 2019 and the third since the COVID-19 pandemic led to a brief hiatus between 2020 and 2021. Despite the short layoff, the event has continued to grow in ...
10h ago
Emporia's Gufler Mansion on the market
One of Emporia's most well-known lodging establishments is on the market. The Gufler Mansion, 612 West 12th, was listed as for sale Friday. The mansion was built in 1916 and has been owned by Brad and Susan Cochennet since 2016, but they tell KVOE News they are reluctantly putting the property up for sale now. Susan Co...
10h ago
Nienstedt files for Lyon County Commission
Now that his basketball coaching career is over, Bill Nienstedt is looking at a career in public service. Nienstedt has announced a campaign for Lyon County Commission District 3, serving southern Lyon County. Nienstedt coached girls basketball at Lebo, taking them to a state championship, as well as Emporia and -- mos...
11h ago
Motorcycle driver hurt in southeast Emporia wreck
Emporia Police are investigating a wreck that developed between a pickup truck and motorcycle Friday afternoon. Officers and Emporia/Lyon County EMS responded to the intersection of East South and Exchange just after 3 pm. Officer Lane Doty says the motorcycle was eastbound on East South, while the truck was northbound...
11h ago
Construction begins on Downtown Emporia Food Truck Plaza
Jeremy Rusco is a busy man. Already overseeing the start of activities for the Dynamic Discs Open through Sunday as well as plans for expanded operations at Champions Landing, Rusco is now involved in an improvement project for downtown Emporia. Construction began Friday morning near 10th and Commercial, and Rusco beli...
16h ago
La Grind launches this weekend
Another Emporia staple bike race is set for this weekend. La Grind will take place on Saturday and Sunday. Bike riders will ride either 30, 50 or 100 miles on Saturday and 65 miles on Sunday. With weather potentially being a factor, event spokesperson Tom Hayden says the race is rain or shine, which could cause an adju...
16h ago
Demolition continuing, future plan details pending for future of former Family Fun Center
So what's going into the former Family Fun Center location immediately behind Goodcents and just east of Dillons? Iron Horse Development out of Wichita isn't saying yet, but it has been doing a fair amount of demolition and debris removal over the past two weeks, including the go-kart track and batting cages. Last summ...
16h ago
Simunovic acquitted of rape, aggravated criminal sodomy
The former Emporia State tennis player accused of rape has been acquitted. A Lyon County jury reached a verdict Friday, finding Dominik Simunovic not guilty of rape or aggravated criminal sodomy. The jury deliberated for nearly three hours before announcing its verdict. Simunovic was charged in October with raping a wo...
18h ago
USD 421 Lyndon plans groundbreaking for significant project Monday
A significant project is moving forward for USD 421 Lyndon next week. Ground will officially be broken at 10 am Monday for the district's new Collaborative Learning Center -- a better than 8,000-square-foot "multifunctional" facility that will also serve as a warming kitchen and storm shelter. The event will ...
18h ago
Reported structure fire near Reading leads to discovery of destructive mower fire
A reported structure fire Thursday in eastern Lyon County turned out to be destructive, but not for any building. Emporia, Miller and Reading firefighters were dispatched to 2178 Road 270, about two miles north-northwest of Reading, shortly before 6 pm. Emporia Fire Capt. Michael Nunley says the actual cause of the cal...
19h ago
First-ever Howe Hoist coming Sunday
Just "Howe" excited is Visit Emporia Director LeLan Dains for the first-ever Howe Hoist this upcoming Sunday? His back may disagree, but Dains says he's quite excited for what's to come -- in large part because it fits into Emporia's ongoing tradition of challenging events like Unbound Gravel. Dains is also p...
20h ago
Emporia Farmers Market ready for regular season opener Saturday
Saturday is opening day for the Emporia Farmers Market's regular season, and Coordinator Trisha Fullerton says vendors are ready to go. Besides produce, baked goods, meats and other items, the Farmers Market will hand out Market Bucks to attending kids and there will be a drawing for a $25 Farmers Market gift certifica...
20h ago
WEATHER: Last week's heavy rain clears most area locations from abnormally dry designation
Last week's heavy rainfall reset the US Drought Monitor's weekly map, at least for most area counties. For the past two weeks, abnormally dry conditions have been in place areawide. However, rain amounts ranging from 2-9 inches, depending on the county, cleared most of the area from any stage of drought. Part of extrem...
20h ago