Western Clay is kicking off its 100th anniversary with a community fun run on July 5 celebrating a century of operations. It started on a frosty Christmas Eve in 1925, as a handful of local workers fired up a small factory along the railroad tracks just outside Aurora. That first puff of smoke marked the beginning of Western Clay—a company with a long and storied history as a centenarian business. The Plant that Never Sleeps ...

Krissy Hallows, owner of Muddy Pawz Salon in Salina, is once again bringing the fun as chair of the Eyes to the Sky Balloon Festival’s entertainment committee. She’s spearheading one of the weekend’s most popular events—the annual cornhole tournament—set to launch this Friday night as part of the festival’s opening celebrations. “This is seriously my favorite time of year in Salina,” Hallows said. “It’s so fun to have the festival right in our front yard! ...

This past week, artist Shawn Beeler has been hard at work carving a coal miner statue into a cut-down tree in the yard of Terry Torgerson. The unique sculpture serves as a tribute to Torgerson’s career in the coal mines and a nod to the industry’s deep roots in the community. Torgerson, now retired, wanted a lasting reminder of the profession that shaped much of his life—and a symbol of coal’s significance to the region. ...