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Swamp white oak makes a great street tree. Pagoda dogwood is a good option near power lines. These local sources have more Kansas and Missouri tips.

Hundreds of people filled the first floor of the Statehouse for the ceremony. (Photo by Stephen Koranda)Hundreds of Kansans gathered at the Statehouse today (WED) to celebrate the end of the building’s 13-year-long restoration project. The event coincided with Kansas Day, the state’s 153 rd birthday. School children, members of the public and former and current state officials attended the ceremony. Historians learned that the Kansas Statehouse was never formally dedicated after its initial completion, so Governor Sam Brownback took the opportunity to unveil a plaque and officially dedicate the Kansas Capitol.00000184-7fa7-d6f8-a1cf-7fa7c95f0000The restoration work cost more than $300 million and was paid for with state bonds.==========(VERSION TWO)Hundreds of Kansans gathered at the Statehouse to mark the end of a 13-year-long restoration project and formally dedicate the building. As KPR’s Stephen Koranda reports, the celebration coincided with Kansas Day, the state’s 153 rd birthday.00000184-7fa7-d6f8-a1cf-7fa7c95f0001 (SCRIPT)The event included music, historical reenactors and Kansas-themed cakes.Kansas Historical Society Director Jennie Chinn said the Statehouse was an outgrowth from the creation of Kansas.“The people who populated early Kansas had a vision of what we as a people could be. And they built that vision into this Statehouse,” said Chinn.The Senate’s top Democrat, Anthony Hensley, said the crowd should be grateful to the craftsmen who originally built the Statehouse, including the nine workers who died on the project.“Who built this historic and everlasting monument to our democratic form of government,” said Hensley.Republican House Speaker Ray Merrick pointed out that while costly, the final product is impressive.“We did have a lot of grumbling about cost and is it ever going to get done. And we stand here today with the finished product and all I can say is wow,” said Merrick.The top-to-bottom rehab of the building cost more than $300 million, financed through bonds.

Flickr photo by Kent KanouseKansas lawmakers may take money from the state highway fund to help balance the budget.The Senate’s top budget writer says transportation funding is one source that could help fill the gap.Andover Republican Ty Masterson says roads and bridges are a big expense and the state already has a healthy system in place.00000184-7fa8-d6f8-a1cf-7fac243b0002“The answer to the question is can we cut back? Sure, because we’ve been a leader in that area for so long,” says Masterson.Bob Totten, with the Kansas Contractors Association, says he’s concerned that cutting transportation projects will result in lost jobs.He says that could hurt many industries, including agriculture, which rely on well-maintained roads and bridges to bring their goods to market.====================(VERSION TWO)Kansas lawmakers may dip into highway funding to help balance the state’s budget. As KPR’s Stephen Koranda reports, the state Senate’s top budget write say transportation money could help fill the gap.00000184-7fa8-d6f8-a1cf-7fac243b0003(SCRIPT)Andover Republican Senator Ty Masterson chairs the Ways and Means Committee. He says transportation is a big expense to the state and Kansas has already built a healthy system.“Pulling back to a point of preservation, and not this aggressive expansion, wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. And it wouldn’t be prolonged,” says Masterson.Bob Totten, with the Kansas Contractors Association, says he believes there is support in the legislature for the current 10-year, $8 billion transportation plan.He’s concerned cutting transportation funding could cost jobs and hurt industries like agriculture.“Agriculture is #1 in the state of Kansas, and you've got to have a product that can get to the markets outside the state,” says Totten.Lawmakers will work on filling the budget hole when they return to Topeka in January.

Restaurant owner and Top Chef finalist Bryan Voltaggio tries to find the right recipe for blending work, family duties and the pressures of being on the road.

Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi grew up hunting for jars of fiery Indian pickles in her grandmother's Chennai kitchen. She writes about food and family in her new memoir, Love, Loss and What We Ate.

Cheetahs don't often hunt at their top speed, scientists are finding. Come mealtime, what matters most is the animals' ability to accelerate and to take tight corners.

In music, as in so many industries, the lion's share of the money now goes to a relative handful of top performers, says White House economic adviser Alan Krueger. He says the music business offers valuable lessons about America's "superstar economy."

The folks at Guinness have a polite request: Don't slurp the foamy head off their beer. It's essentially a nitrogen cap, they say, that's protecting the flavors underneath from being oxidized.

Ukrainian soldiers appear to be several miles inside Russia’s Kursk region, where they are in several villages. Russia’s top military official says some 1,000 Ukrainian troops are taking part.

Four months after its top-selling 737 Max airliner was grounded worldwide, Boeing announced a 35% drop in revenues and a loss of $2.9 billion in the second quarter.