🌱 Topeka Metro Youth Ride For Free + Topeka Zoo & Parks Master Plan

Hello all. I'm back in your inbox this morning with your fresh edition of the Topeka Patch newsletter. Here are all the most important things to know about what's happening in town today.

But first, your local weather:

• Wednesday: Cloudy. High: 82 Low: 66.
• Thursday: Cloudy with heavy t-storms. High: 77 Low: 66.

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Here are the top three stories today in Topeka:

1. Topeka Metro announced the popular Kids Ride Free promotion for summer will take place May 15 through Aug. 15. The Metro officials said youth can ride "Topeka Metro buses to their summertime activities, including the library, pool, meeting with friends, summer school, and getting to their workplaces." The free ride promotion is only available to youth on Topeka Metro’s fixed routes, according to Metro officials. (WIBW)
2. Leader of the Gage Park Authority, Gage Park, the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center, and the Topeka Zoo met Monday, May 8, to discuss how to use the proceeds from a 0.2 percent sales tax that supports the parks. Brendan Wiley, CEO of the Topeka Zoo & Conservation Center, said, "Now we’ve got even more ways that we can work together and continue to really enhance this amazing park for the future." (WIBW)
3. On Tuesday, May 9, there was a two-vehicle crash reported outside Washburn Rural High School in Topeka. According to law enforcement, a teenager driving an SUV failed to stop as it was turning onto 61st Street and struck a suburban, driven by a woman with her four-year-old child in the back seat. Medical personnel cleared everyone involved at the scene of the crash.(KSNT News)

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Today and tomorrow in Topeka:

Wednesday, May 10

• Open Mic Comedy Night At Happy Basset Barrel House (6:30 PM)

Thursday, May 11

• Paint Sip Sing! At Studio 62 (4:00 PM)
• Kickstart Bike Night with Live Music & Bikini Bike Wash At Kickstart Saloon (6:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• On May 9, City of Topeka leaders and community members gathered to celebrate the unveiling of the Menninger Pocket Park! The new pocket park is located at the 600 block of Kansas Avenue. (City of Topeka via Twitter)
• If you were outside around 5:30 a.m. on May 9, you could have seen the high-speed meteors shooting across the sky, which are part of the Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower! According to the National Aeronautics and Space Adminsistration (NASA), Comet Halley typically lasts from Apr. 15 to May 27. (KSNT)
• If you've been hoping to add a four-legged ball of love and affection to your household, look no further than the shelters in Topeka! See Bellbird, an adorable Domestic Short Hair cat, and many more adoptable pets in the Topeka area at the link. (Topeka Patch)

You're all caught up for today! I'll catch up with you bright and early soon with another update.

— Nicole Fallon-Peek

About me: Nicole Fallon-Peek is a journalist and copywriter with a degree in Media, Culture and Communication from New York University. She has served as a freelance reporter, managing editor, copy editor, and editorial director for a variety of B2B news outlets. She currently co-owns and operates content creation agency Lightning Media Partners.