K-State in the news

Recent news highlights

Read some of today's top stories mentioning Kansas State University. Download an Excel file (xlsx) with all of the day's news stories.

See more K-State faculty, staff and students in the news in the clip archives.

Tuesday, May 26, 2026

National/International

KSU Salina students create VR experience for Cosmosphere camps
05/23/26 AOL
A new virtual reality experience created by Kansas State University Salina students will become part of the Cosmosphere’s educational camp programming. Through a partnership between the Cosmosphere and KSU Salina, senior students developed the project under the guidance of professors Balaji Balasubramaniam, Annie Hoekman and Michael Oetken. The project, titled ISS Rupture Simulation, places participants aboard the International Space Station during an emergency scenario. Using virtual reality technology, campers will search a model of the ISS for ruptures, using an audio amplifier to listen for air leaks and repairing them with branded patches.

State/Regional

Plant these heat-loving florals for a pop of color in your KC garden this summer
05/24/26 The Kansas City Star
In Kansas, it gets hot in the summer. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has lived in the KC metro for longer than a year. What might surprise many people is that there are plants that absolutely love extreme heat. These plants make an excellent pop of color for a garden space long after many spring bloomers have faded.

K-State project works to recover Kansas’ lost service members
05/26/26 KSNW-TV
K-State’s MIA Recovery and Identification Project is working to bring service members missing in action home. D.J. Schaefer is the founder and a veteran himself. He is searching the world for missing soldiers from the past century of U.S.-involved conflicts.

Destructive worms begin to impact certain trees in Kansas
05/22/26 KSNW-TV
Bagworm season is underway in Kansas as eggs are hatching, according to Kansas State University Research and Extension. The worms can be about 2 inches long and can be seen hanging from branches or twigs. They begin hatching now through June.

Local

K-State grad named honoree in the Going the Distance Brain Injury Run
05/22/26 Manhattan Mercury
As an undergraduate at Kansas State University, AmyRenee Sheldon survived a near-fatal car crash that resulted in a traumatic brain injury. Today, she is named the honoree at the Going the Distance for Brain Injury Run.