Below you will find a list of closings and cancellations in the Saline-Salina area due to Friday-Monday's winter weather:

If you have or know of any closings and cancellations please reach out to newstips@salinapost.com

- Sunday: All Day (online service on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@trinityumcsalina">Youtube</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TrinityUMCSalina">Facebook</a>)

- Sunday: All Day (online services available on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@salinafirstumc8319">Youtube</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/salinafirstumc">Facebook</a>)

- Sunday: All Day (online services available on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100079495315022">Facebook</a>)

&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Saturday&nbsp;Cancellations/Closings at YMCA:

Laundry Love at&nbsp;Quick &amp; Clean Laundry

- Saturday:&nbsp;12 pm - 4 pm canceled&nbsp;

- Sunday: All Day (abbreviated worship service posted on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ImmanuelSalina">Facebook</a>)

Community Market Expo, Tony's Pizza Event Center

- Sunday: All Day (<a href="https://www.apostolicsofsalina.com/content.cfm?page_content=calendar_include.cfm&amp;event_id=16&amp;mm=1&amp;dd=25&amp;yy=2026">holding online Bible study here</a>)

- Sunday: All Day (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@salinaheights/streams">online service available here</a>)

CLOSINGS & CANCELLATIONS: winter weather 

Following is recent booking activity for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.salinecountyks.gov/Sheriff-Office/Online-search/Booking-Activities">Saline County Jail</a>, as provided by law enforcement. Photos, if provided, are courtesy of Saline County Jail. All persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

REQUESTED CHARGES:&nbsp;Crim damage to prop;w/o consent &lt;$1K; Disorderly conduct; Brawling or fighting

REQUESTED CHARGE:&nbsp;Contempt of Court; Direct

REQUESTED CHARGE: Probation Violation&nbsp;

REQUESTED CHARGES: Probation Violation, Failure to appear (2)

REQUESTED CHARGE:&nbsp;Probation Violation

REQUESTED CHARGES:&nbsp;Probation Violation; Driving While Suspended; Driving while habitual violator; No Proof Of Insurance; Unlawful acts: vehicle registration violation

NAME:&nbsp;Rodriguez,Rolando Cirilo

*No image available for&nbsp;Sutton Feldkamp,Dannyel Marie (46)*

NAME:&nbsp;Sutton Feldkamp,Dannyel Marie

REQUESTED CHARGES:&nbsp;Outside warrant/NCIC hit; Failure to appear

Saline County Jail Bookings, January 24

Editor's note: The Kansas Department of Labor did not publish separate reports for the October and November due to the government shutdown.

Preliminary estimates reported by the Labor Market Information (LMI) division of the Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.8% in December, according to a media release from KDOL.&nbsp; This is unchanged from 3.8% in November and unchanged from 3.8% in December 2024. The labor force participation rate for Kansas increased to 67.5% in December.

The unemployment rate in Saline County, at 2.8 percent in November, remained the same December. The 3.3 percent rate last month in Dickinson County also remained unchanged.

County is up slightly from 2.8 percent in November to 2.9 percent in December.&nbsp; The rate in Geary County is also up from 4 percent to 4.2 percent. The rate is also up slightly in Pottawatomie and Wabaunsee County.

Seasonally adjusted job estimates for Kansas indicate total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 4,500 from November. Total nonfarm includes private sector and government employers. Private sector jobs decreased by 5,000 over the month, while government increased by 500. The largest job gains in the private sector were in&nbsp;financial activities&nbsp;(+600 jobs). The largest decrease was in trade, transportation, and utilities&nbsp;(-2,100 jobs).

Since December 2024 Kansas’ seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs have decreased by 1,400. This change is due to an increase of 400 private sector jobs and a decrease of 1,800 government jobs.

Technical Note:This release includes nonfarm jobs and labor force estimates for December 2025, which are produced using data from two monthly surveys. Data for nonfarm job estimates is collected through a survey of employers while the main input for labor force estimates is a survey of households. Data collected for this report references the week including December 12.

Jobless rate remains steady in Saline County

As the first severe winter weather system of 2026 arrives in Kansas, now is the time to take simple steps to prevent damage to your home from snow and ice. 

Be sure to review your homeowners and renters’ insurance policies to know what protections you may have against common winter damage and contact your agent to review your policy and ensure you are covered for potential winter-related damages to your home or property.

The Kansas Department of Insurance recommends taking the following precautions to help prevent winter weather damages:

“Every Kansan should take precautionary steps this winter to protect their property from freezing temperatures and winter weather,” said Commissioner Vicki Schmidt. “If you need assistance with an insurance claim that arises from a winter storm, the Department is ready to help.”

If you have an insurance claim this winter, be sure to review the Department’s&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.insurance.kansas.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/48/638883392754730000">Homeowners Claims Settlement Guide</a>&nbsp;to help you through the claims process. If you or someone you know is having trouble with an insurance claim, please contact the Kansas Insurance Department’s Consumer Assistance Division toll-free at 1-800-432-2484, email&nbsp;<a href="mailto:KDOI.Complaints@ks.gov">KDOI.Complaints@ks.gov</a>&nbsp;or visit the Department online at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://insurance.kansas.gov/">insurance.kansas.gov</a>&nbsp;for any claims-related questions or concerns.

Department of Insurance provides precautionary tips to help prevent winter weather damages in your home

High School Sports LIVE STREAMS

A 58-year old Salina woman had her personal belongings and vehicle stolen, which has been missing since January 11.

According to the Salina Police Department (SPD) the woman was shopping at Goodwill (2640 Planet Ave) in the afternoon on January 11. Reportedly, she lost track of her purse and later found it emptied out in one of the dressing rooms.

Missing from the purse were credit cards, phone, cash and car keys.

The victim then discovered her&nbsp;white 2019 Chevy Trax, KS Tag: 7676ADS was missing from the parking lot as well.

More details of the vehicle include:

- Kansas City Chiefs license plate frame on back of vehicle&nbsp;

-&nbsp;Indiana Fever WNBA logo on passenger-side back window.

- Yorkie sticker on driver-side back window.

Surveillance footage has been collected and revealed a male and female as the suspects. The female suspect was seen getting into the vehicle and driving off from the parking lot.

Tiffany Clinstman (58) is the victim and shared her comments.

Clinstman said she had her purse in the cart while she was shopping. She then could not find her purse in the cart after time passed. She then walked out of the store to her vehicle, to see if her purse was in there.&nbsp;

Afterwards,&nbsp;she spoke with the store manager to report of her missing purse.&nbsp;

"Management did a great job as they looked everywhere in the store," she said.

About 15 minutes later, she went to go check her car again and discovered it was gone.&nbsp;

At this time, almost everyone inside the store was searching for her purse. An individual then found her purse, but empty.

“Everyone was concerned and someone when into the changing room and found my purse emptied out," she said. "They took all of the stuff that was important."

Clintsman reported this immediately to SPD, but did not hear anything back until January 20. She left many voicemails and contacted the police department several times for any updates.

She said an officer told her the surveillance video from Goodwill had been tampered and SPD contacted the store to get untampered footage.

FLOCK cameras were reviewed and the vehicle was last seen at 2:15 pm on the 11th and no scans have been picked up since.

The positive identification of the suspects is still pending, with more video from Goodwill expected. 

Clinstman has only had her phone recovered.

If you have any information regarding this incident, contact the non-emergency Salina PD number at:&nbsp;(785) 826-7210

Ongoing investigation: Salina woman missing personal belongings and vehicle since Jan. 11

NASA’s giant new moon rocket, Artemis II, moved to the launch pad Jan. 17, in preparation for astronauts’ first fly-around the moon in more than half a century. The out-and-back trip could blast off as early as February.

The trip will send astronauts farther than any crew has traveled.  Last spring we visited with the pilot of the mission, Victor Glover.

He was selected as an astronaut in 2013 and most recently served as pilot of the Crew-1 Dragon spacecraft which flew to the International Space Station.  Here is our interview with NASA astronaut Victor Glover.

Gary Shorman:&nbsp;&nbsp;Welcome again to "Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times" with a special guest from Houston, astronaut Victor.&nbsp;Thanks for being on our program today.

Victor Glover:&nbsp;Thanks, Gary, great to be here. Thanks for&nbsp;having me.

Gary Shorman:&nbsp;&nbsp;You know, one of the things I know that we talk about on this program is leadership. You have walked in space four times. I believe you've been on the space station. You've lived up there for a while. What puts you in position?

Victor Glover:&nbsp;You know, from a leadership, from a career standpoint, to be in the astronaut program, I love talking about leadership.&nbsp;I love the subject and, well, I think a part of it would be following having a bunch of great leaders to work with and look up to. 

Initially, when you're put into a leadership position, you can freestyle it, or you can mimic what you've seen. So I would say some great leaders do imitate. 

I worked for some amazing people. My squadron commanders, I worked for John McCain for almost a year. Charlie Bolden, who ran NASA, but he was a Marine Corps general when I worked for him the first time, and so I think that's a big part of it, having some really amazing leaders to look up to in the beginning.

Gary Shorman:&nbsp;Were there some key moments in your career that kind of turned you towards being an astronaut?

Victor Glover:&nbsp;Key moments? Wow. I was in college, tutoring for a program, and loved working with kids, teaching engineering, and felt like I really had found my calling. I was considering the military and teaching at the time.

So my boss in that program, thinking she was going to help, really set the hook for being an educator, had me meet the executive director of this program.

I went up to the University of California office, and I walk in his office, and there's a constellation of our solar system and a rocket. And he sees me, leans back in his chair, he takes his glasses off and sets it on a book.

I shake his hand, and sit down, and he taps on that book. And he says, you see that right there? That's how I live my dreams of space exploration and flying. And he says, You have a chance to go fly in the Navy. Go do it, and if anything else, it'll make you a better educator. 

That conversation, which was that quick, really turned my thinking. I've always loved education and the impact we can have on young people, but that really helped me get comfortable with the idea of going and starting this Navy journey, which, you know, lots of other decisions on the way, but that was the big one, whether or not to leave college and go be an educator or to go serve in the military.

Gary Shorman: In our story, you talk to students about that. I'm sure you make those choices, make those things that can change your life. You've done that.

You had a chance to be at the space station, walk in space. Let's talk a little bit about that. What did it feel like to step outside the spaceship and just go shooting? I see space right there that has to be a breathtaking experience.

Victor Glover:&nbsp;That is it? It is breathtaking because you don't know what it's going to feel like when you first get out there. The advice I received that really just kept repeating in my head was, "Keep your world small."

 One of my classmates said to me, and so I just focused on right what was in front of my face, my hands and the handrail, where I'm going next. And so it took me about three hours before I felt like, OK.

I kind of got the hang of this. I'm going to start looking around and maybe taking some pictures. Actually, on my first spacewalk, I did not take a single picture. There were no selfies to be taken on. it, but it was busy. 

I'll tell you, that's what it is. You're busy. When you're outside, there's a lot to be done, and it all requires intense focus. 

I&nbsp;wrestled in college, and I think space walking has a lot in common with wrestling, even though it may be physical in a different way. It's very physical. It's very three-dimensional.

Your success requires you to integrate the three dimensions and to think about what's coming next. And that's very true in wrestling and space walks. It's so challenging. It's busy physically and mentally.

But most importantly, you're working with a team. And that team, Mike Hopkins, who had been out on a spacewalk before, and led our first one, the first one I went on, and also the ground team, they all helped to make that possible. 

But that first moment when you look out, and you can see that for real, there are just no words to describe it. We train in a pool where you can see the bottom of the pool. When you look out, and it's 250 miles straight down, you go, "Wow! this is amazing and special. But also, what am I doing?"

Gary Shorman:&nbsp;Letting go to actually float would have to be one of those experiences that you can think about, and I can say, "Boy, that'd be hard to do." But letting go when you're out there, and you see that space out there, that's amazing. What did it feel like when you were named to be on the Artemis mission?

Victor Glover:&nbsp;Ah, wow. It's interesting, because people ask about the excitement, and excitement is a part of it. But the professionals who do what I do, understand the risks associated with this.

There's a lot of software, a lot of pieces and parts to this, hardware, lots of people. This is made all over the country, in all 50 states of the Union, and then also parts overseas. 

And it all has to work flawlessly the first time for the duration of the mission. 

So we understand the risk. And so I would say the overriding feeling was, first of all shocked, because I didn't expect to be on this mission, so I was a little shocked. But then also, I know focus isn't a feeling, but the seriousness, that's my overriding feeling, was the seriousness of this. 

This means a lot for our country, for our agency, for our Artemis Accords, international partners, and it's risky. My family is going to have to go on this journey with&nbsp;me. We have a lot to get done in the next couple of years. And so, yeah, profundity, if it's a if that's an emotion, it was profundity.

Gary Shorman:&nbsp;If you look at 50 years since we've had a mission like this, and you'll be the first one to head to the moon, there's more to it than just circling the moon, though. Tell us a little bit more about the long-term plans for the Artemis mission.

Victor Glover:&nbsp;Artemis is our generation's deep-space exploration program. It's not just the Moon Program. We're going to make sure this Orion capsule is safe for humans to fly, so that we can fly it to eventually dock to a lunar lander.

That will get us to the surface of the moon, or to a gateway space station that's orbiting the moon. Both of those things are going to enable future technologies and future techniques and future teams to go beyond the moon on to Mars.

And continue to understand, maybe, how the Earth looked in its past, or where we may be headed in the future, if we don't take better care of our planet. 

So the Artemis program is a big campaign. The moon is just one destination, and that's our mission. Our mission is to do the free return trajectory around the moon, but really to test out Orion as one big step on this journey that's going to eventually get humans to Mars.

Gary Shorman:&nbsp;Orion is your spaceship, and you'll be the pilot of that as you approach the moon and circle the moon. What are you going to be looking for?

Victor Glover:&nbsp;Oh, wow. So there's a potential. The region of the moon, what we would call the Western Hemisphere, looking at it from Earth on the far side. That part has not been completely seen by human eyes, and I just learned that recently.

So the fact that there's a potential for us to see something that's never been seen before, that's amazing. 

But no matter what, even if it's completely dark, to look out the window of the spacecraft and to look at the moon in the foreground, and then see the Earth in the background, in the distance, a quarter of a million miles away, with my crewmates, Reed, Cristina, and Jeremy. I don't know what that's going to feel like, but I'm looking forward to that. That's going to be amazing.

Gary Shorman:&nbsp;I hope you send us pictures back, Victor.&nbsp; I know you're short on time because you have a lot of people and you have a lot of training to do. That has to be intense training, because there are so many moving parts, as you say, that intensity, that focus it takes. How many hours a day do you train?

Victor Glover:&nbsp;So we will start training next month, and I imagine it's going to be chock full. I think they're going to schedule our days full. And you know, while some of it will be technical training, some of it will be continuing to engage the public, like we are now.

But also, we will be engaging the team that's developing the hardware or building hardware and software, and thanking them for their hard work and letting them know how much we count on their technical expertise. And so they're going to keep us busy. Gary, you can be best believe we'll have some full days until launch.

Gary Shorman:&nbsp;I can't wait to see how this all develops. Look forward to it, and maybe again later on, once you're back, get a chance to follow up on that. But Victor, thanks for being on our program.

🎥 Forward Ever: Astronaut Victor Glover discusses Artemis II mission to moon

OTTAWA COUNTY—Two people were injured in an accident just after 8a.m. Friday in Ottawa County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Chevy Malibu driven by Joseph Adam&nbsp;Huiett, 25, Tescott, was westbound on Kansas 18 just east of 50th Road. Hulett fell asleep. The car traveled left of center and spun into the south ditch. An eastbound 2019 Dodge Ram driven by Heather&nbsp;Steen, 42, Lincoln spun and came to rest in the westbound lane facing southwest.

EMS transported Huiett and Steen to Salina Regional Health Center. Both drivers were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

2 hospitalized in Salina after driver fell asleep at the wheel

Gas station altercation results in juvenile punching man and shattering his car window.

According to the Salina Police Department (SPD) on Thursday evening, officers were dispatched to Kwik Shop on West Crawford for witness reports of an altercation that occurred in the parking lot.

Reportedly, a 46-year old male victim stated he was threatened by another male who said he was going to "shoot him" along with punching him and shattering his car window.

This happened because the suspect allegedly hit the victim's vehicle with the door of his car. The victim then called out the suspect and the altercation ensued.

However, officers interviewed the suspect who is aged 16 and admitted to punching the 46-year old man because he made a "derogatory comment" towards him.

The 16-year old male was arrested without incident for the requested charges of:

Criminal Threat, Battery and Criminal Damage to Property.

The damage to the victim's car window was valued at $350.

Gas station altercation results in juvenile punching man and shattering car window

A Saline County Most Wanted suspect was arrested at a parking lot in west Salina.

According to the Salina Police Department (SPD) on Thursday morning, officers located a <a href="https://salinapost.com/posts/6d071f98-8f5c-45ab-a59b-687f983477d7">Most Wanted suspect from the January 2026 list</a>.

Officers arrested <a href="https://salinapost.com/posts/5555ec73-8407-4f52-b7ab-d3ea44261679">Vernon Howard (49)</a> without incident.

During the arrest, officers located Howard was in possession of a crack cocaine pipe.

Howard was booked into the Saline County Jail for the requested charges of:&nbsp;

Possession of narcotics, and Saline County District Court outstanding warrants for Bond Supervision Violation and Municipal Court warrant for Failure to appear

Most Wanted suspect arrested at parking lot in west Salina

REQUESTED CHARGE: Failure to appear

REQUESTED CHARGES:&nbsp;Contempt of Court; Direct; Failure to appear; Use/poss drug paraphernalian/human body; Poss of opiate, narcotic, or certain stimulant

REQUESTED CHARGE:&nbsp;Theft of prop/serv;&lt;$1500 3 business in 72 hrs

NAME:&nbsp;Kramer,Tristan Thomas Jean

REQUESTED CHARGE:&nbsp;Outside warrant/NCIC hit

REQUESTED CHARGE: Failure to appear

REQUESTED CHARGES:&nbsp;Battery on LEO; Physical contact with county or city officer on duty; Interfere w/ LEO; unknown circ; misd; Failure to appear

NAME:&nbsp;Wilson-Zuniga,Jessica Nicole

REQUESTED CHARGES:&nbsp;Probation Violation; Agg interfere w/ parental custody; Commit for hire; Agg interfere w/ parental custody; Conceal child; Interfere w/ LEO; unknown circumstance

Saline County Jail Bookings, January 23

<a href="https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Salina&amp;state=KS&amp;site=ICT&amp;lat=38.8158&amp;lon=-97.6178">For a full look at the weather forecast, click here.</a>

Monitor local weather updates frequently in multiple ways by listening to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.weather.gov/nwr/">NOAA Weather Radio</a>, checking local news and emergency notifications. You can also stay informed by following Saline County and the National Weather Service on social media.

For the latest forecast updates, visit the National Weather Service Wichita office at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.weather.gov/ict/">https://www.weather.gov/ict/</a>. To check forecasts frequently, go to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.weather.gov/">weather.gov</a>.

Three day weather forecast Salina, January 23 - January 25

Saline County Emergency Management&nbsp;

The National Weather Service in Wichita reports an&nbsp;Arctic outbreak and winter weather&nbsp;will impact Saline County&nbsp;beginning Friday and continuing through Monday morning, bringing&nbsp;dangerous cold, hazardous travel conditions, and&nbsp;accumulating snow.

Arctic air is expected to move into the area early Friday morning and persist through the weekend, with&nbsp;dangerous wind chills between -10°F and -20°F&nbsp;likely from Friday morning through Monday morning. The coldest conditions are expected during the overnight and early morning hours.

Snow&nbsp;is expected to begin late Friday afternoon or Friday evening and continue through Saturday night, with&nbsp;slick roads&nbsp;and&nbsp;hazardous travel&nbsp;possible. While higher snowfall totals are more likely south of Saline County, confidence is high that snow will affect the area.&nbsp;Travel impacts are expected&nbsp;due to&nbsp;reduced visibility, slick roads,&nbsp;and&nbsp;prolonged cold conditions.

A&nbsp;Winter Storm Watch&nbsp;remains in effect from Friday afternoon through Saturday night, and an&nbsp;Extreme Cold Watch&nbsp;has been issued for the entire forecast area through Monday morning. Confidence is high in the timing and severity of the cold, with medium confidence in exact snowfall amounts due to potential shifts in the heaviest snow band.&nbsp;

<a href="https://files.constantcontact.com/55d47694801/2b6fb17f-1676-4697-ac6f-7c32ed6b5928.pdf?rdr=true">Click here to view the full packet of the upcoming severe weather</a>

Arctic outbreak & winter weather to impact Saline Co. Friday - Monday

Three day weather forecast Salina, January 21 - January 23

Three day weather forecast Salina, January 19 - January 21

Three day weather forecast Salina, January 16 - January 18

High wind gusts are expected to make its way through Salina and central Kansas on Friday.

According to the US National Weather Service, gusty&nbsp;northwest winds are forecasted during the day on Friday. Wind gusts are expected to range from 40-50 mph.

This is also paired with dry conditions, which there will be a very high grassland fire danger in the afternoon.

Russell is expected to have the highest speed of wind gusts with the range being 45-50 mph.

High temperatures for Salina is 41 degrees.

Stay updated with local weather on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/NWSWichita">US National Weather Service Wichita Kansas</a>&nbsp;Facebook page.

High wind gusts and grassland fire danger expected throughout central Kansas, Salina on Friday

Three day weather forecast Salina, January 14 - January 16

Three day weather forecast Salina, January 12 - January 14

A chance of light rain Friday afternoon is expected to gradually transition into light snow towards the evening.

According to the US National Weather Service, a chance of rain is expected after 1:00 pm with a 50% chance to mix with snow after 4:00 pm.

Portions of central and south-central Kansas could see light snow accumulations up to 1 inch, and slick spots on bridges and overpasses are possible tonight.&nbsp;

A little after 7:00 pm, the mix will likely become all snow.

Higher accumulations are expected across southwest Kansas.

Light snow up to 1 inch expected late Friday afternoon and into the evening in central Kansas

Three day weather forecast Salina, January 9 - January 11

Lawrence sees early flu peak as some health care providers require masking

By:<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/mayasmith/">Maya Smith</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/02/24/gov-laura-kelly-skeptical-kansas-houses-anti-tenure-legislation-will-reach-her-desk/">Kansas Reflector</a>

LAWRENCE — Six viral diseases — including COVID-19, the flu and norovirus — have been found at high concentrations in Lawrence wastewater as Kansas communities face peak flu season.

COVID-19, influenza A and B, RSV, human metapneumovirus, and norovirus have all been detected at high concentrations in Lawrence&nbsp;<a href="http://bit.ly/4niF8mr" target="_blank">wastewater</a>&nbsp;within the last three weeks.&nbsp;

Wastewater data indicates trends of illnesses spreading within a community but does not correlate to exact case numbers, with doctors saying it’s normal to see high concentrations of respiratory illness during flu season.&nbsp;

“Wastewater data does not measure individual cases, but it provides a reliable picture of how much virus is circulating in a community,” said Veronica White, preparedness and epidemiology coordinator for Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health. “This data captures viral genetic material shed by everyone using the sewer system. One factor that may be contributing to the higher concentrations of respiratory viruses seen in Lawrence’s wastewater is its larger population.”

Lawrence is also seeing an early peak in influenza B compared to the rest of the country. Positive flu tests spiked the last week of 2025, with 32% of total flu tests coming back positive, according to data from the University of Kansas Health System.

Some health care providers such as Watkins Health Center at the University of Kansas are requiring masks for all visitors, patients and staff due to a “record surge in respiratory illnesses,” according to a sign at the front door.

White said early rise in the flu doesn’t indicate a more dangerous flu season, but rather earlier circulation of the virus than usual.&nbsp;

“Identifying this trend early through wastewater data allows people to take preventive steps, such as getting vaccinated, monitoring symptoms, and staying home when sick,” White said.

Wastewater data also indicated that a newer strain of COVID, known as the XFG or the Stratus variant, has accounted for 82.5% of positive COVID samples, with concentrations increasing by 25% in the last month. The variant has also been increasing nationally, White said.

Dana Hawkinson, medical director for Infection Control and Prevention program at University of Kansas Health System, said there are still large populations of people across the state who have not received a flu shot.

“There have been a large number of people ill and circulators too in our communities. But (the flu) still remains at a high level at this point in time,” Hawkinson said. “There have been extremely low numbers of people not getting the vaccine. We know that we can help prevent this and people’s chances of severe illness and death with it.”

Steve Stites, chief medical officer at the University of Kansas Health System, said that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/p7chEnUW0EI?si=2KN1bC2byLQI_f0H&amp;t=678" target="_blank">vaccines</a>&nbsp;are incredibly safe and effective.

Hawkinson said flu symptoms include fever, cough, congestion, body aches and a sore throat rather than stomach bug symptoms, with the definitions often getting mixed up during flu season.

Wastewater data has also indicated that Salina is seeing medium concentrations of the same illnesses, except for influenza A, which is considered to be at a high concentration.

“Based on the data, we expect viral activity to continue in both Lawrence and Salina over the next few weeks,” White said. “As we move through flu season, we anticipate seeing elevated influenza activity reflected in the wastewater, especially as the season approaches its typical peak.”

Medical experts continue to advise washing hands, covering coughs and not going into large public spaces when sick to prevent illnesses from spreading.

“You can still go get the flu vaccine,” Hawkinson said. “It’s still recommended, and you can do it now to protect yourself from infection.”

Six viruses detected at high levels in Kansas community’s wastewater

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal immigration officers shot and killed a man Saturday in Minneapolis, drawing hundreds of protesters in a city already shaken by another fatal shooting weeks earlier.

The details surrounding the shooting weren’t immediately clear, but Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said the person was shot amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said a 37-year-old man was killed.

He urged people to remain peaceful and not to destroy the city after federal immigration officers shot and killed a man Saturday in Minneapolis.

O’Hara said there was limited information about the shooting. He called on people to leave the area and said it’s “not sustainable.”

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told the AP in a text messages that the person had a firearm with two magazines and that the situation was “evolving.” DHS also distributed a photo of a handgun they said was on the person who was shot.

The shooting happened amid widespread daily protests in the Twin Cities since the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-immigration-enforcement-shooting-crackdown-surge-173e00fa7388054e98c3b5b9417c1e5a">Jan. 7 shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good</a>, who was killed when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fired into her vehicle. Saturday's shooting unfolded just over a mile away from where Good was shot.

After the shooting, an angry crowd gathered and screamed profanities at federal officers, calling them “cowards” and telling them to go home. One officer responded mockingly as he walked away, telling them: “Boo hoo.” Agents elsewhere shoved a yelling protester into a car. Protesters dragged garbage dumpsters from alleyways to block the streets, and people who gathered chanted, “ICE out now,” referring to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

“They’re killing my neighbors!” said Minneapolis resident Josh Koskie.

Federal officers wielded batons and deployed flash bangs on the crowd.

Walz, a Democrat, said in a social media post he had been in contact with the White House. He urged President Donald Trump to end what the Department of Homeland Security has called its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-enforcement-ice-noem-minnesota-somali-db661df6de1131a034da2bda4bb3d817">largest-ever immigration enforcement operation</a>.

“Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now,” Walz said in a post on X.

The shooting happened a day after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-ice-immigration-protest-unions-faith-leaders-edc6c4884f8cc26be9ad34a28d82a7a5">thousands of demonstrators</a>&nbsp;protesting the crackdown on immigrants crowded the city’s streets in frigid weather, calling for federal law enforcement to leave.

The age of the man who was shot has been corrected to 37, per information from the police chief. The AP previously reported his age as 51 based on a hospital record.

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