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For the first time in school history, the University of Kansas volleyball team has advanced to the Final Four. The Jayhawks will face Nebraska Thursday at the national semi-finals in Omaha.

(Flickr Photo by Matt Katzenberger)Many of us have fond memories of childhood. Trips to grandma's house might be near the top of your list of memories. Commentator William Jennings Bryan Oleander relays the story of one young man who took his own trip down memory lane -- only to discover just how hard that can be.00000184-7fa7-d6f8-a1cf-7fa73bb90002 The comments of William Jennings Bryan Oleander, otherwise known as Tom Averill, Writer-in-Residence at Washburn University. He's been a regular contributor to KPR for more than 20 years.Tom Averill, who teaches English and writing, is also the author of several books. Check them out by clicking here.

An energy efficiency contest has 16 Kansas cities competing to see who can save the most energy. The Take Charge Challenge is broken into 4 regions, with a total of 16 cities competing. Each community gets a 25 thousand dollar grant to start the program. The money is used to buy energy-saving light bulbs and get the word out about easy ways to increase energy efficiency. The Take Charge Challenge is in its second year. Dorothy Barnett is with the Climate and Energy Project. She says all the competing cities will likely show benefits from the contest.00000184-7fa7-d6f8-a1cf-7fa78dd10000In each region, the top city will receive a 100 thousand dollar grant for an energy efficiency project. There is more information at takechargekansas.org (take charge Kansas dot org).

Senate leaders believe a nominee to head the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services will be confirmed, despite some controversy. An email made public this week referred to remarks supposedly made by acting SRS Secretary Robert Siedlecki (SIDE-leck-ee) in front of a group of mental health center administrators. The email alleged Siedlecki said he would not follow legislative guidelines when spending state dollars. Siedlecki said he never made those comments. Senate Vice President John Vratil, a Leawood Republican, asked Siedlecki about the email during a Ways and Means Committee meeting this week.00000184-7fa7-d6f8-a1cf-7fa793a50000The top Democrat in the Senate, Anthony Hensley of Topeka, said this week that he will not vote to confirm Siedlecki because of the allegations.

Some lawmakers are criticizing a proposal to cut the pay of state workers. The House Appropriations Committee approved a budget plan this week that would trim the pay of government workers making over 40 thousand dollars per year. Shortly before passing the budget, the committee voted to exempt legislative staff. Representative Sharon Schwartz, a Republican from Washington, proposed the amendment.00000184-7fa7-d6f8-a1cf-7fa793990000 That move drew opposition from some Republicans and Democrats, including Paul Davis of Lawrence, the top Democrat in the House.00000184-7fa7-d6f8-a1cf-7fa793990001Supporters of the pay cut say it’s needed to help the state balance the budget in the face of a nearly 500 million dollar deficit. The Appropriations Committee also voted to cut the pay of state officers by 7.5 percent. That would include legislators, judges and agency heads. The full House will likely debate the budget proposal next week.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Republican Governor Sam Brownback and his challenger Paul Davis will meet for back-to-back debates this week in Wichita amid a close race as the election nears. The two candidates will face off for a televised debate Monday at the KWCH studios in Wichita, followed on Tuesday by another debate before the Kansas Association of Broadcasters meeting. Recent independent polling shows the race has tightened in Brownback's favor. Davis is wooing moderate Republicans and unaffiliated voters worried about tax cuts enacted at Brownback's urging. The cuts dropped the state's top personal income tax rate by 26 percent and exempted the owners of 191,000 businesses from income taxes altogether. Brownback contends the reductions are boosting the economy, but the Legislature's nonpartisan research staff predicts a $260 million budget shortfall by July 2016.

(Courtesy of National Weather Service/Topeka office)TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Several Kansas school districts are canceling classes today because of bitter cold temperatures. The National Weather Service says wind chill advisories and warnings are in effect through noon Monday for all but extreme southwest Kansas. Meteorologist Audra Hennecke says northeast sections of the state are expected to see wind chills of minus 25 to 30 degrees. The cold snap comes after an area of east-central Kansas was coated this weekend with 3 to 4 inches of snow. Elsewhere accumulations ranged from 2 to 3 inches in southeastern Kansas to 1 to 3 inches in far northeast and south-central sections of the state. Hennecke says strong winds are leading to widespread areas of blowing and drifting snow. Districts canceling classes include Kansas City, Kansas and Shawnee Mission.

Click the graphic to be connected to the National Weather Service website (Image: NWS Topeka)ST. LOUIS (AP) — Holiday travelers are watching a band of foul weather across the nation's midsection that threatens to mar the opening weekend of one of the busiest travel periods of the year. Forecasters are predicting a stew of foul weekend weather, from freezing rain and snow in the north to torrential rain in the Ohio Valley and Appalachia and possibly even tornadoes in the South. Parts of Kansas can expect ice, sleet and several inches of snow. The National Weather Service office in Wichita has posted winter storm watches and warnings starting at midnight and continuing through early Sunday morning. AAA is projecting record travel for this holiday period, and spokeswoman Heather Hunter says more than 90 percent of travelers will get there by car. She encourages drivers to check the weather, not only at their destination but at points along the route, before heading out.

State officials say tourism is big business in Kansas - bigger than you might think. Becky Blake is the tourism director with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.Blake says Kansas will celebrate National Travel and Tourism Week next week. To plan your own trip in Kansas, visit TravelKS.com. ==============================State Officials Tout KS Tourism (2nd newscast version)State officials say travel and tourism in Kansas generated almost $8 billion in 2011. Becky Blake, the state director of tourism, says 32 million people visited Kansas in 2011 -- and each visitor spent about $236. Blake says some of the top travel destinations in Kansas include the Flint Hills, Cheyenne Bottoms, the Underground Salt Museum and Cosmosphere in Hutchinson and the famous frontier town of Dodge City.For more information, log on to TravelKS.com.

As Team U.S.A. climbs the Olympics swimming charts, searches for "why do swimmers wear parkas?" are trending on Google.