Effingham News

St. Anne's Catholic Church in Effingham, KS is destroyed by an early morning fire on April 21, 2008.

The Topeka Capital-Journal will publish its Briefly column and clubs and meetings calendar each Sunday for activities scheduled through the following week.

“Despite everything, the neighboring parishes were calling Father (the Rev. Ben) Tremmel that morning, offering assistance”

' Chad Hinterweger and Wendy Lanter now know what it takes to quickly reboot wedding plans when your church suddenly burns down. via St. Joseph News-Press, St. Joseph, MO

“But it was real life, not a movie”

A church fire has rocked the small community of Effingham. Firefighters arrived at Saint Ann's Catholic church around 3 a.m., only to find that little could be done for the more than 100 year-old church. via KSNT-TV Topeka

Investigators sifted through debris in Effingham, KS, hoping to figure out what sparked yesterday's blaze at an historic church. via KQTV

Hear the story from Father Benjamin Tremmel of St. Ann's Church in Effingham, Kansas. via Topeka Capital-Journal

An accelerant-sniffing dog is helping search for the cause of a fire that destroyed a 111-year-old church in northeast Kansas.Eight volunteer fire companies battled the Monday fire that destroyed St. via KansasCity.com

Fire crews in Effingham spent Monday morning battling a blaze in St. Anne's Catholic Church. via WIBW-TV Topeka

The Herington Railers placed five wrestlers in next week's 3-2-1A state championship with their fifth place team-effort at regionals over the weekend. via Abilene Reflector-Chronicle

“Before we hung up, he told me he loved me, and it got me choked up”

A set of twins who hadn't seen each other since they were a year old were reunited on their birthday at Kansas City International Airport. via WRTV Indianapolis

“I had been looking for so long, it was kind of like I was kind of empty.”

Twins separated as toddlers reunite after more than 40 years apart. It was an unforgettable birthday for an Effingham, KS man and his sister. via KQTV

An Effingham, Kansas teen remains in a coma one week after an icy accident. Elizabeth Thompson's car slid off the road and landed in a ravine near Iatan. via KQTV

Alvin Henry Kruse, 81, died Nov. 18, 2007, at his home. He was born Dec. 30, 1925, and raised on a farm one mile south and one and a quarter mile west of Morrill, Kan., the son of Daniel F. and Amalia Brockhoff Kruse. He lived and farmed southwest of Morrill 47 years and spent the rest of his life on his farm north of Fairview, Kan.

Alvin attended school at Eagle and Pleasant Hill and graduated from Morrill High School in 1944. He was drafted into the U.S. Army Aug. 2, 1944. He completed basic training at Camp Fanning, Texas. He served during World War II under the command of General George Patton in the 94th Infantry Division of the 3rd Army in France and Germany. He received shrapnel wounds March 1, 1945, and spent nine months recuperating in military hospitals before being honorably discharged Dec. 4, 1945. He received the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Bronze Star for Bravery in Action, the Expert Combat Infantry Badge and the Presidential Unit Citation. After Alvin was honorably discharged, he was a successful farmer and cattleman. He enjoyed his livestock and planting and harvesting his crops. Read more