HUTCHINSON, Kan. —The Hutchinson City Council will take a look at some revisions to its community event policy during Tuesday’s agenda session. The policy was put in place several years ago to address fees, applications for holding events in the city and security.

The council will also take action on a change order for the 23rd street overlay project after the street was found to be in worse condition than expected. The extra cost totaled $185,136.00. The council will consider an amendment to a contract for replacing pumps at the city’s wastewater plant. The project includes the removal of the five existing pumps and the installation of three new ones. The cost is just over $1.1 million.

Finally, the council will go over a request from the landmarks commission for the demolition of a property at 522 E. 1st and hear reports from the city manager.

Tuesday’s meeting of the Hutchinson City Council begins at 9 a.m. at the Hutchinson city offices.

WICHITA, Kan. — Motorists using K-96 to get to the Kansas State Fair will want to find an alternate route today. A truck carrying a heavy load failed to negotiate a turn and became high centered at the intersection, blocking off traffic on westbound K-96.

The Kansas Highway Patrol says a detour has been set up at 167th Street, but if you can find a different route, it would be well advised. There were no injuries and crews are working to get the semi back on the road.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — September is Healthy Aging Month. The Reno County Health Department is encouraging people to find out if they are at risk for high blood pressure and stroke.

The department is offering free blood pressure checks at two locations next week. The free service will be at the library Monday and Tuesday from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. and then Wednesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. at the Hutchinson Mall.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 75 million Americans have high blood pressure.

For more information, contact the Reno County Health Department at 620-694-2900.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson Community College Board of Trustees was introduced to the Student Ambassadors and the college’s admissions counselors as part of the monthly board meeting.

The board approved the recommendation to award the bid, including the base bid and three alternates, for the project for the student cafeteria renovation to Harman Huffman at a cost of $5,252,300.

The board also approved the Master Agreement with the Hutchinson National Faculty Association and approved a salary increase for classified and administrative staff for the fiscal year. The increase will be 3.1% or $1,000 — whichever is greater.

The next meeting of the HutchCC Board of Trustees is Oct. 10.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Three people, including an inmate from the Hutchinson Correctional Facility, were injured Thursday morning after a cow got loose on the fairgrounds.

Kansas State Fair spokesperson Amy Bickel says a heifer that was being moved to the birthing center got loose just before noon and knocked some people down. Reno County 911 reports the two people were not seriously injured and no one was transported to the hospital.

The inmate’s situation was handled internally by HCF.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Cosmosphere will host a free public presentation with U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Research Geophysicist and Deputy Chief of the USGS Induced Seismicity Project Dr. Justin Rubinstein. The forum is Saturday, Sept. 21, at 10:30 a.m.

Dr. Rubinstein will offer information regarding the recent string of local earthquakes and discuss
their potential relationship to human activities, specifically activities associated with oil and gas
production. Following his presentation, Dr. Rubinstein will take audience questions. The virtual
presentation will be held in the Cosmosphere Banquet Room on the first floor. It is free and open to the public.

That Saturday is also Smithsonian Museum Day. This one-day event allows participating Smithsonian-affiliated museums across the country to offer free admission to museumgoers. A Museum Day ticket is available for download at: www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday. Visitors who present this ticket will gain FREE entrance to the Hall of Space Museum for two people.