July 2025
K-State in the news
Some of the top stories mentioning Kansas State University are posted below. Download an Excel file (xls) with all of this month's news stories.
Tuesday, July 8, 2025
National/International
U.S. News & World Report ranked 2 Kansas universities higher than last year
07/08/25 Yahoo.com
Two colleges ranked higher on a national ranking list than last year. U.S. News & World Report ranked 436 national public universities based on class sizes, graduation rate and other factors. Out of the four Kansas Universities, Kansas State University and Wichita State University ranked higher this year than last year's list, and the University of Kansas and Baker University ranked lower.
5 credit card marketing tricks — and what you should know about them
07/07/25 AOL
Credit card experts are full of tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your credit cards. Card issuers have their own tips and tricks – but they work a little bit differently than what the experts will tell you. “Credit card marketing is effective because it taps deeply into how we think, feel and behave around money,” says Megan McCoy, a certified financial therapist and assistant professor of personal financial planning at Kansas State University.
A solar storm’s billion-dollar agricultural toll and the race to fortify GPS systems
07/07/25 Natural News
In May 2024, a severe solar storm dubbed the Gannon Solar Storm disrupted GPS signals across the U.S., inflicting over $565 million in agricultural losses — the costliest impact yet recorded on American farmers. The storm, named after deceased space scientist Jennifer Gannon, occurred during the peak planting season in the Midwest, sending GPS-guided tractors spiraling off course by hundreds of feet. Terry Griffin, a Kansas State University economist, noted that 70% of U.S. planted acres use GPS automation, leaving few alternatives when systems fail: “We no longer use physical road markers. Without GPS, machinery the size of our current equipment can’t be manually navigated.”
Monday, July 7, 2025
National/International
Why beef prices have hit a record
7/4/25 The New York Times and Wichita Eagle
Ranchers reported strong profits in 2014 and expanded their herds over the next five to six years, said Ted Schroeder, an agricultural economics professor at Kansas State University.
May 2024 solar storm cost $500 million in damages to farmers, new study reveals
7/4/25 Live Science
The erratic behavior of GPS-guided farming machinery caused by the Gannon solar storm cost American farmers in the U.S. midwest more than $500 million, according to Terry Griffin, a professor of agricultural economics at Kansas State University.
State/Regional
Why your backyard bug zapper hurts the ecosystem, not pesky mosquitoes
7/4/25 Kansas City Star
Markis Hill is a horticulture agent with Kansas State University Research and Extension.
KSU students earn spring 2025 semester honors
7/4/25 Salina Post
Nearly 4,600 Kansas State University students have earned semester honors for their academic performance in the spring 2025 semester.
Thursday, July 3, 2025
National/International
The US plans to begin breeding billions of flies to fight a pest. Here is how it will work
7/2/25 Associated Press
In one sense, raising a large colony of flies is relatively easy, said Cassandra Olds, an assistant professor of entomology at Kansas State University. But, she added, “You’ve got to give the female the cues that she needs to lay her eggs, and then the larvae have to have enough nutrients.”
New York Is Hungry for a Big Grocery Experiment
7/2/25 The Atlantic and MSN
"It’s a retention strategy, but it’s also a recruitment strategy,” Rial Carver, the program leader at Kansas State University’s Rural Grocery Initiative, told me.
State/Regional
Could Wichita’s rainy June mean more mosquitoes this summer? What an expert says
Wichita Eagle 7/2/25
“Most of the life stages of mosquitoes occur in water,” Raymond Cloyd, entomology professor with Kansas State University, recently told The Eagle. “So anytime there’s moisture and the temperatures hover between 70 and 80 degrees, that’s going to be conducive for development of the mosquitoes. Especially areas of where the stagnant water or warm water accumulates, those are areas that are prime breeding grounds for most mosquitoes.”
Wednesday, July 2, 2025
National/International
What Do Dementia Patients Think About?
6/9/2025 A Place for Mom
"As dementia begins and progresses, the person will notice their increasing memory difficulties and will be aware that they're struggling to cognitively function as they used to," explains Erin Martinez, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Gerontology at Kansas State University. In situations where your loved one struggles to do something they used to know how to do, fear and frustration — coupled with a new difficulty in verbally expressing confusion — can result in aggression. "It's entirely normal and common to experience a range of complex emotions in response to these challenges, including frustration, anger, sadness, and denial," Dr. Martinez says.
State/Regional
Eating while in pain
7/1/2025 High Plains Journal
When seated at the dinner table, it is easy to detect who are the fast eaters in the group. But if those people are unwell, the desire to eat and the amount of food consumed can change. While that is true for people, cattle also change their eating habits when they are uncomfortable, say the experts at Kansas State University’s Beef Cattle Institute. Changes in eating habits when cattle are managing an injury was the topic of discussion on a recent Cattle Chat podcast. The experts spoke with guest doctoral graduate student and veterinarian Jordana Zimmermann, who is conducting a trial focused on how fast cattle eat when they are in pain.
Local
Moran, Starkey Selected to Aviation HOF
7/1/2025 KSAL
The Dean of K-State Salina and the senior U.S. Senator from Kansas will both be inducted into the Kansas Aviation Hall of Fame. According to the organization, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran and Dr. Alysia Starkey, Dean & CEO of Kansas State University Salina are among four who will be inducted as part of the class of 2025. The other two inductees include Mark Schlegel, accomplished pilot and aviation leader, and Rick Hamlin, lifelong advocate and contributor to Kansas aviation.
Tuesday, July 1, 2025
National/International
Here’s A Sample Of The Common Readers Colleges Are Assigning This Year
07/01/25 Forbes
Kansas State University’s 2025 common read is "Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World" by Vivek H. Murthy, who served as the 19th and 21st U.S. Surgeon General. The book examines loneliness as a public health concern and offers suggestions for how people can form more social connections in their lives. "'Together' is a powerful choice for the K-State First Book because it sparks vital conversations about the importance of connection and community," said Brianne Heidbreder, director of K-State First and associate professor of political science. "It is a reminder that one of our greatest strengths lies in how we care for and show up for one another."
New wheat varieties may reduce the need for bread additive
06/30/25 AGDAILY
A new trio of Oklahoma State University wheat varieties might just be the food solution for consumers interested in fewer additives — the substances added to food products during processing to help improve color, texture, flavor, or, in the case of bread, dough quality. Flour from the OSU varieties Paradox, Breadbox and Firebox (dubbed the OX varieties) appears to provide an uncommonly high level of dough strength while maintaining varying levels of extensibility. Research on the Paradox wheat variety and its siblings continues through the combined efforts of OSU and Kansas State University.
Tar Spot confirmed in Kansas cornfields for 2025, K-State pathologist urges early scouting
07/01/25 Farmtalk News
Tar spot, a fungal disease that has steadily established itself in Kansas cornfields over the past few years, has been detected again in the state, with the first confirmed report of 2025 occurring June 11 in northeast Kansas. “I think we have learned a lot in the last (few) years in terms of distribution and management,” K-State Row Crop Pathologist Rodrigo Onofre said. “It is one of the corn diseases that we see survive in corn residue, so folks that have seen this spot before are going to be dealing with this disease for a long time.”