Mount Oread Messenger: September 28, 2020

COVID-19 impacts KU nature program Email not displaying correctly? [View the web version]( [Mount Oread Messenger]( Good morning! Today I want to highlight a program at KU that, while it might not seem like one that would suffer as drastically from the COVID-19 pandemic, has faced many struggles in its annual programming as a result. Monarch Watch, a program housed on KU's west campus, has for years sought to educate the public on the declining population of monarch butterflies. It typically holds spring and fall open houses, along with an event each fall at the nearby Baker Wetlands to tag butterflies so they can be tracked along their annual migration to Mexico for the winter. But even nature apparently can't escape the ongoing global health crisis. Chip Taylor, the longtime director of Monarch Watch and a KU professor emeritus in evolutionary biology, said the pandemic has forced the cancellation of all normally scheduled events, which limits the group both financially and in its ability to broadcast its mission. Taylor: "Each of these events attracts 600 to 800 people, so that represents a loss in our ability to reach out to the public and especially to engage with the young people in our community. The virus has … reduced our income to a significant degree as well, and we are trying to adapt as are so many others." Here's [Monarch Watch's website]( where you can read more about their work. Reminder: Tomorrow is KU's first scheduled COVID-19 data release of the week, and the other will come Friday. See you on Wednesday! [Monarch]( [COVID-19 pandemic upends Monarch Watch programming, but annual butterfly migration continuing mostly as normal]( A KU group's effort to tag and track monarch butterflies on their migration to Mexico hasn’t been able to hold its usual public events because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the insects’ annual journey is continuing mostly as normal, the project’s director says. [Read the full story here]( IN OTHER KU NEWS [KU confirms 12 new COVID-19 cases; percentage of symptomatic patients testing positive falls]( On Friday, KU's cumulative COVID-19 case total rose by only 12 since the university last released data on Tuesday — by far the lowest uptick since the university began regularly sharing data. KU has confirmed 950 cases of the respiratory virus. [Students]( [KU to allow fans at next home football game, other events in October]( When KU football takes on Oklahoma State this Saturday at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, there will be around 10,000 fans in attendance. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no fans were permitted at the team's first home game on Sept. 12. [KU vs. Baylor]( If you enjoy the Mount Oread Messenger, you can [subscribe to receive it here.]( To reach Mount Oread Messenger author Conner Mitchell, please email cmitchell@ljworld.com or call 785-832-6388. Tips can also be submitted at [Conner's tip form]( or at his secure email address,[connermitchell@protonmail.com](mailto:connermitchell@protonmail.som). [subscribe to the lawrence journal-world here]( This message was sent by the Lawrence Journal-World. You are receiving this because at some point in the past you shared your email address with the Journal-World To opt-out of emails like this, click the link below. [Click here to unsubscribe and manage your email subscriptions.]( Lawrence Journal-World PO Box 888, Lawrence, KS 66044