He was born in Liberal, grew up in Garden City and now... he’s the
welterweight boxing champion of the world. At the state capitol, today (TUE) was proclaimed "Victor Ortiz Day" in honor of Ortiz who won his championship bout last month. Ortiz took a moment to praise his mentor, Ignascio (ig-NOZZ-ee-oh) Avila (AH-vee-luh)...known to Ortiz as "Bucky"...for steering him down the right path during a troubled childhood.

Ortiz was abandoned by his family at an early age and lived in foster care before he turned pro as a boxer at the age of 17. Kansas Governor Sam Brownback saluted Ortiz for "getting better, not bitter" as a result of his childhood experiences.

The Kansas City Royals have announced announcing the promotion of hot-hitting prospect Eric Hosmer (HAWZ-mer) from the minor leagues. He's expected to be in the starting lineup for tonight's (FRI) home game against the Oakland Athletics. Royals General Manager Dayton Moore says the decision to call up the 21-year old first baseman was made after in-depth discussions.

Hosmer is regarded as one of the future cornerstone players for the Royals as they hope to contend in the American League Central. Hosmer had a .439 batting average this season for Omaha, the Royals' Triple A farm club. The Royals are currently in second place in the A-L Central.

For the second consecutive year, Leavenworth will play host to the Kansas Sampler Festival. The two-day event begins at 10 o'clock tomorrow (SAT) morning in Ray Miller Park. KPR's J. Schafer has more.

Next Year, the Kansas Sampler Festival travels to southwest Kansas. It will be held in Liberal in 2012 and 2013.

The federal departments of energy and agriculture have awarded 47-million dollars to fund eight research and development projects designed to reduce the need for imported oil. As Kansas Public Radio’s Bryan Thompson reports, one of those grants is coming to the University of Kansas.

The Kansas Holocaust Commission is holding a commeration service today (MON) in Topeka. The event features choir music, a cellist, and a keynote speech by a holocaust survivor. Co-chairman Lana Gordon says she thinks it's important to hear from survivors.

More than six million Jews, gypsies and others were murdered by the Nazi Regime during World War II. The Topeka commemoration begins at 1:00 o'clock this afternoon (MON) at the Kansas History Museum in Topeka. The event is free and open to the public.