Movie lovers of all ages took advantage of a mild May evening to turn out for the first of five Friday Flix at The Colonial Fox Theatre this summer.

Girard native and Kansas senior Tanner Poppe rang up his third Academic All-Big 12 Baseball Team selection on Thursday.

Poppe, a senior exercise science major, earned a first team nod along with teammates Wes Benjamin and Colin Toalson, as well as second team selection Michael Suiter.

“I’m really proud of their performance in the classroom,” Kansas head coach Ritch Price said in a media release. “One of our missions is to prepare kids to be successful in life and our academic services — Glenn Quick, who specifically oversees the baseball program — are world class. I thank everyone who’s helped them be successful in the classroom. Obviously, these young men have put in the effort it takes to be successful, not only on the field but in the classroom.

“I’d also like to thank our tutors as well because our academic support staff at KU is as good as any place in the country. To have these four guys on the Academic All-Big 12 team speaks volumes not only to the student-athletes in our program but to our academic services at the University of Kansas.”

Ruth Zimmerman asked seemingly every group that came through what a particular pot was used for in the pioneer home.

Bonnie Grossnickle, Erie, has been doing some research, gathering statistics for the speech she will make  Saturday as honorary chairman for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
However, she knows the disease from a much more personal standpoint.

The St. Mary’s Colgan Panthers turned momentum on its side in the Class 3A regional final Thursday night against the Riverton Rams.

Riverton staked a 2-0 lead after four behind Nolan Wall throwing a strong game on the mound and two solo home runs by T.J. McDonald off Colgan senior V.J. Piccini.

The Panthers retired the Rams in the top half of the fifth and loaded the bases in the bottom half, coming through with two RBI groundouts and a RBI single to gain a 3-2 lead. Christian Cedeno relieved Piccini in the seventh and the Panthers worked their way out of a bases loaded jam with a strikeout and a pop out caught by Cedeno over his shoulder for the final out.

“Riverton playing the second game, they came off a big win,” Colgan head coach Mike Watt said. “They had to battle with Southeast and they came out with a big win. They’ve got a lot of emotion and that carried right over into this championship game. They turn a big double play early. They were playing very well and I told our kids, ‘Hey, just keep plugging along and do what we do.’ We’ll get an opportunity and the kids did a great job.”

Friends and family of the St. Mary’s Colgan Class of 2013 gathered to celebrate an ending and beginning for each of the 35 graduates.

Kansans have always worked, and Virgil W. Dean, Lawrence, will explore that theme in a free public talk titled “The Way We Worked in Kansas” at 7 p.m. Friday at the Arma City Library.

The program is being presented in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibit “The Way We Worked,” on view through June 23 at the Miners Hall Museum, Franklin.

The Frontenac Raiders pitched and fielded their way through the Class 4A softball regional to earn a spot in the state tournament, returning after a one-year absence and making its first 4A appearance.

Frontenac defeated Baxter Springs 2-0 in the semifinals and blanked Fort Scott 1-0 in the final during a regional dominated by pitching.

Nobody pitched it better than Frontenac, which allowed no runs in 17 innings. Senior ace Lindsey Gorham pitched 16 of those innings and she gave up 12 hits against Parsons (a combined no-hitter), Baxter and Fort Scott.

“She’s a workhorse,” Frontenac head coach Cassie Buche said of Gorham. “She knows what needs to be done to get us there. She wants the ball and likes the pressure.”

The Frontenac-Pittsburg regional semifinal, on paper, offered many different storylines.

The rebuilding of the bridge over Catfish Cove on Lundquest Lagoon began as so many ideas do - with two friends sitting by the lake chatting.

Mike Neden, associate professor of technology and workforce learning, was talking with his friend and mentor, Max Lundquest, by the pond on the Lundquest property when Neden mentioned it looked like the bridge had seen better days.