🌱 WIFI Film Festival + Nurse Navigator Program

Hello, everybody. Nicole Fallon-Peek here with your fresh copy of the Topeka Patch newsletter, full of all the community information you need to know right now.

But first, today's weather:

Mostly cloudy and breezy. High: 65 Low: 34.

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Here are the top three stories today in Topeka:

1. Washburn University's student-run WIFI Film Festival is returning today, Apr. 21 through Sunday, Apr. 23. The festival aims to connect Topeka, the Washburn community, and Kansas filmmakers with the professional film industry. The festival will be live and in-person at the Rita Blitt Gallery on Saturday from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at ArtsConnect Sunday from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and at Evergy Plaza from 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. There will be workshops, panel talks, and more. For a full schedule of events, visit the link. (Wifi Film Festival)
2. Kansas Highway Patrol officials reported that a car caught fire after a three-vehicle collision occurred on eastbound Interstate 70 Thursday morning. The crash was reported around 7:45 a.m. on Thursday, just west of the S.W. 1st Street exit. Kansas Highway Patrol officials at the scene said that a pickup truck, a sport utility vehicle, and a car collided at the location. A Chrysler PT Cruiser that was involved in the collision caught fire after it had been pulled over onto the south shoulder of I-70. No injuries were reported. (WIBW)
3. The first nurse navigator program in Kansas will launch in Shawnee County on Tuesday, Apr. 25 at 9:00 a.m. Introduced by Shawnee County and AMR, the program aims to provide better care to residents while wasting fewer resources. Shawnee County will no longer dispatch AMR for every medical call received. Instead, calls will be transferred to a nurse navigator, who will consult with the caller to determine the best course of action. Officials say the two-year pilot program will pre-screen patients' symptoms to ensure they get the most appropriate type of care. (WIBW)

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Today in Topeka:

• Game On! At Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library (3:00 PM)
• Heartland Dueling Pianos At The Happy Basset Barrel House (7:00 PM)
• Live Music — Delta Haze At Compass Point Home Of Dirty Girl Adventures (7:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• Wednesday’s Live @ Lunch Concert Series will continue Wednesday, Apr. 26 with Seek the Kingdom. This past Wednesday featured the Topeka classic rock band “Time Express.” (KSNT News)
• In an annual meeting hosted Wednesday, Apr. 19, lot owners or anyone with burial rights at the Topeka Cemetery were invited to voice their thoughts and concerns to the board members who handle cemetery operations, such as financial responsibilities and ground maintenance. For a full recap of the event, visit the link. (WIBW)
• Weather permitting, a section of a southeast Topeka road is set to reopen after a year-long closure. Officials with the City of Topeka say a stretch of SE California between 41st and 45th St. will reopen to traffic sometime this week. (WIBW)

Thanks for following along and staying informed! See you soon for your next 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.