5 stories from 10 years ago today in Wichita. Here’s what happened Feb. 27, 2016

From Hesston’s recovery after a deadly shooting to Wichita State’s push for the NCAA Tournament, Feb. 27, 2016, brought a mix of grief, growth and glory across Kansas. Here’s a look back at five stories from that day.

• Hesston leaders called for healing two days after shootings from Newton to Hesston left three dead and 14 injured. Mayor David Kauffman said, “As a city, we will get through this together,” and announced a town hall meeting and community church service at Hesston High School.

• A $103 million overhaul of the West Kellogg and I-235 interchange was underway, replacing tight cloverleaf ramps built in 1962. Daily traffic had grown from 16,000 vehicles to more than 133,000, and the interchange saw 376 accidents over five years, according to KDOT.

• The Wichita school district had spent more than $1.6 million on the Gannon v. State of Kansas school finance lawsuit since 2010, while the state spent more than $1.4 million on outside counsel. Lawmakers faced a July 1 deadline to address a Kansas Supreme Court ruling that school funding was unconstitutionally inequitable.

• Wichita State beat Illinois State 74-58 on senior day at Koch Arena, closing the regular season at 23-7. Coach Gregg Marshall said, “I think we’ve got to be in the tournament. It’s crazy if we’re not.”

• Goddard won its second straight Class 5A wrestling title with a school-record 223.5 points, led by four individual champions: Will Spexarth (120 pounds), Kameron Frame (145), Kendall Frame (152) and Cale Davidson (182).

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by Eagle journalists. The full stories in the links were reported, written and edited entirely by Eagle journalists.