K-State in the news

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

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Friday, Nov. 21, 2025

State/Regional

Herpes strain cancels rodeo finals in Kansas
11/20/25 KSN
Laurie Beard, equine medicine internist at Kansas State University, said the outbreak was caused by the EHV-1 strain. She said affected horses have shown the usual symptoms, but there’s been more instances of typically rare neurologic effects in this outbreak. It is more difficult to address these problems because the EHV vaccine, which Beard encourages, only protects against respiratory symptoms. “Why this virus sometimes results in a larger number of horses developing the neurologic form is a bit unknown,” she said.

Tackling the issue of tumbleweeds in western Kansas
11/21/25 KMUW Early Edition
If you have ever driven down the road on a windy day in western kansas, you have likely seen a gang of tumbleweeds. Those plants were the first documented that were able to resist chemical herbicide, and they still thrive across the state — choking out farmers' soybeans, corn or sorghum. Patrick Geier is a weed scientist for K-State. He says that it's getting especially hard for farmers practicing no-till farming, which is a conservation method that reduces soil erosion, but helps weed spread. "It's becoming more and more challenging to control some of these weed species using chemicals."

Tariff story takes new twists
11/21/25 High Plains Journal
Will China keep its soybean promises? Its soybean purchases are reportedly lagging behind its promises. The Chinese didn’t keep to their commitments during the Biden administration, when it failed to meet its Phase One obligations. “Tracking will be important,” said Allan Featherstone, head of the department of agricultural economics at Kansas State University.

Local

A concerted effort | Green bandanas tie together music and mental health
11/19/25 The K-State Collegian
Rachel Dirks, director of orchestral studies, had members of the K-State Symphony stay after their evening rehearsal on Oct. 27 to attend a green bandana training. Dirks said orchestra members will wear green bandanas during their performance of “Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64” by Sergei Prokofiev at their next concert. “My line of research is about mental health in the music experience and how music can impact mental health, ” Dirks said. “And so I feel it’s very important that we understand where we are … as a society and also understand some ways in which we can start making positive strides towards a more healthy mental outlook … we do that through the training, but also through the music that we play.”