Latest news with #Koester
USA Today
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Inside the Las Vegas Sphere's plans to enhance 'The Wizard of Oz' using AI
NEW YORK − The yellow brick road is about to get colossal when it winds through the Las Vegas Sphere. Between the venue's 160,000-square-foot screen display that anchors the visual environment and remastered songs that will play through 167,000 speakers from Sphere Immersive Sound, the enhanced version of 'The Wizard of Oz' will definitely not be in Kansas anymore when it arrives Aug. 28. The intent, says Jennifer Koester, president and COO of the Sphere, is to answer the question, 'What would it feel like to be in Oz?' Through the venue's haptic seats, viewers will feel the swirls of the tornado that whisk Dorothy's house to Munchkinland, smell the poppies as they envelop the room in 16K x 16K LED screen resolution, tremble a little with the Cowardly Lion and maybe make those flying monkeys feel exceptionally realistic. Tickets to the immersive version of "The Wizard of Oz" are on sale now at The film will be shown multiple times daily for an open-ended run. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. The ambitious amplification of the iconic movie is possible through a marriage between artificial intelligence and film archives from Warner Bros. and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The dual components allowed creators 'to make things that weren't possible, possible,' Koester says in a sitdown with USA TODAY, while still maintaining the integrity of the original film. Koester uses the example of Dorothy's limbs, which, when filmed for a 4:3 aspect ratio on a standard-size movie screen in 1939, didn't always include full images. 'The original film was shot so you have a picture of Dorothy, but you don't see her hands, you don't see her legs. When you think about (the size of) the (Sphere) screen, you know her hands and legs were there and we want to show them,' Koester says. Working with additional footage that never made it into the film and set designs for the film, 'we trained (AI) models on all of that original footage. So now we can create an arm for Dorothy or fill in her legs from that AI model.' In addition to the visuals, the original songs from the film including treasured favorites 'We're Off to See the Wizard,' 'Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead' and Judy Garland's timeless 'Over the Rainbow,' have been remastered and their orchestrations rerecorded. Koester says an 80-piece orchestra was brought to the original MGM scoring stage near Los Angeles to redo the entire soundtrack, which, when combined with the Sphere's haptics, will augment the immersive experience. 'Imagine the feeling you can evoke because you're coming down the yellow brick road into the spooky forest,' Koester says. 'And to your left you're hearing spooky sounds and then maybe some of the flying monkeys on your right. It's the evocation of feeling that becomes so possible because of the technology that exists in that venue.' The all-encompassing experience will carry a ticket price of $104, which aligns with the current Sphere films 'Postcard from Earth' from filmmaker Darren Aronofsky and 'V-U2,' the startlingly lifelike concert film taken from U2's Sphere-opening residency. As with all things related to the venue, it isn't about the experience you think you know, it's about the unexpected. Koester hints that the immersions will begin as soon as you enter the Sphere and walk into its cavernous atrium that will 'transform you into the world of Kansas" and later, "when you exit the (seats) and you've been through Oz, there's going to be some really innovative and interactive activations.' The venue is promoting its Sphere-icized 'Wizard of Oz' with an outdoor installation suggesting that the venue has landed atop the Wicked Witch of the East, complete with her 50-foot-long legs and 22-foot-tall ruby slippers extended onto the ground. The legs will be on view all the time, but daily photo opportunities on the Sphere campus are subject to times listed at 'It's larger than life,' Koester says, 'and just a hint to what's about to happen inside.'
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Developer brings new life to historic downtown area in Marysville
MARYSVILLE (KSNT) – A Manhattan-based development company is setting its sights on a small town in rural north-central Kansas this year where it plans to inject life into some aging historic structures. Tyler Holloway with Frontier Development Group (FDG) has some big ideas for downtown Marysville. Specifically, he and his workers hope to transform a block of historic structures tied to the local Koester family into new living areas for local tenants called the Broadway Lofts. FDG has several other, similar projects going on around Kansas to create new housing opportunities in rural areas. FDG staff have worked on or completed projects in Wamego, Alma, Cottonwood Falls and other places, often taking old historic buildings and converting them into new places for people to call home. Highway shutdown to create nearly 70-mile detour in central Kansas Holloway told 27 News that FDG is set to transform some of the old Koester buildings into a new housing complex consisting of 12 units. This comes after officials in Marysville gave FDG the green light to repurpose the aging buildings following numerous meetings and a securing historic tax credits for the project. The new living spaces will be a mix of one and two-bedroom units that will feature modern appliances and individual utilities, all while preserving the original historic value of the property. 'We are hopeful to have a majority of the units completed late fall of next year,' Holloway said. The Kansas State Historic Society (KSHS) lists the Koester Block Historic District as consisting of several buildings in Marysville's historic downtown area that date back the 1870's. The historic district contains commercial and residential buildings, including the former home of local historic figure Charles F. Koester and old Post Office buildings, according to the National Park Service (NPS). These were added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1980. What happened to these Kansas counties and why don't they exist anymore? Holloway said that FDG worked with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) for this project. He said the budget, while still in the works, is around $3.5 million, with cash flowing in from investors and state tax credits. 'This is a unique project for several reasons,' Holloway said. 'First, it's actually three individual buildings, so it required three separate historic reviews, and will be treated as three individual projects by SHPO and NPS. We worked closely with our design team at CES to develop a plan that was mindful of all existing historic fabric, but also allowed for updates necessary for modern apartments and code compliance. One of the solutions we identified was creating an opening in between two of the buildings that will allow all three buildings to share a common corridor for convenience and egress. Another item worth noting is that one of the buildings was built in 1870, making the oldest structure that Frontier has ever worked on.' Holloway said he believes the project will have a big impact on the Marysville community. The addition of new housing opportunities and the rejuvenation of the Koester buildings are expected to add some new life to Marysville and possibly encourage continued development of the downtown area. 'Marysville has been an amazing community to work with,' Holloway said. 'There is a ton of civic pride and a genuine excitement to see residential and commercial development happening in the downtown district. It's going to be a great project and we're really looking forward to showcasing what's possible when everyone works together!' You can learn more about the Broadway Lofts project by heading to the FDG's website. You can find out more information on the town of Marysville by going to Visit Marysville's website. Found an arrowhead in Kansas? Archaeologist urges you to leave it alone For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'It's just really strange': Retired dog handler weighs in on search for missing N.S. children
As search and rescue crews once again depart a rural Nova Scotia community without finding two children who disappeared more than two weeks ago, a retired RCMP dog handler says it is baffling the siblings are still missing after such wide-scale searches. Lilly Sullivan, 6, and brother Jack Sullivan, 4, have been missing since May 2, when police received a 911 call reporting they had wandered away from their home in Lansdowne Station, a sparsely populated area about 140 kilometres northeast of Halifax. The children's disappearance set off a massive operation that included upward of 160 ground search and rescue officials, dog teams, drones and helicopters. But after six days of scouring the heavily wooded areas surrounding the siblings' home, covering 5.5 square kilometres, there was no sign of the children and RCMP announced the search was being scaled back. Search and rescue crews were called back to Lansdowne Station on Saturday and Sunday for yet another search, focusing on specific areas around Gairloch Road. An RCMP spokesperson said officials would be reviewing the information collected and determining next steps. Glenn Brown, who worked as an operational dog handler in the RCMP in several provinces for 26 years, said the fact the Sullivan children haven't been found "is just really strange." "I find it hard to believe that a six- and four-year-old would just disappear like that," said Brown, who was involved in hundreds of searches during his career. "I can guarantee you if I was still working today, it would be the thing to be racing around your mind all the time. Where would they have gone? We have done everything." Robert Koester, a search mission co-ordinator with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management in the United States, said it's rare to never find the subject of a search — it only happens in about five per cent of cases. That statistic is based on a database he compiled of a half-million search and rescue incidents from around the world. Koester said there are a few possible reasons the subject or subjects might not be found during a search, including that the search area wasn't large enough or that a team was assigned to an area, but never made it there. "The final reason is, it can just be darn hard to spot people out in the woods sometimes," said Koester, who wrote the book Lost Person Behavior: A Search and Rescue Guide on Where to Look — for Land, Air and Water. "All it can take is a second or two of looking to your left when you needed to be looking to your right.... Especially with children, they can crawl into small, tight spaces that are obscured from view, so they can be very difficult to find." While RCMP would not say what prompted them to return to the area over the weekend, Brown said it's not uncommon to bring searchers back in such investigations. In general, there are several factors that may prompt police to restart a missing persons search, he said. WATCH | Here's a timeline of the investigation into Lilly and Jack's diappearance: If police had received a tip or evidence, the substance of that information likely was not known by the searchers or even officers on the ground, given that the RCMP's major crime unit is involved. "They may tell them, 'We got a tip and we just want you to go in that area and search and see if you find anything,'" said Brown. "They don't even tell their own people that unless you are in the know, unless you're in that investigative group." He added that it's possible evidence has been found during the course of the investigation, but RCMP are not releasing that information publicly. As well, Brown said investigators may have reviewed information that warrants re-examining an area, or perhaps there were weather or wildlife concerns that prevented them from searching a particular area before. Regardless of why they returned to Lansdowne Station on Saturday, Brown said he knows from experience that those search and rescue officials and police officers are carrying Lilly and Jack with them every step. "They look at their own kids and look at their grandchildren and their nieces and nephews and they're probably wanting to go back in [and search]," he said. "It's such a heart-wrenching situation." RCMP have said they have not ruled out the case is suspicious, and the major crime unit has been involved since the day after the disappearance. The Mounties would not answer specific questions about the latest search and declined a request for an interview Tuesday. MORE TOP STORIES
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'It's just really strange': Retired dog handler weighs in on search for missing N.S. children
As search and rescue crews once again depart a rural Nova Scotia community without finding two children who disappeared more than two weeks ago, a retired RCMP dog handler says it is baffling the siblings are still missing after such wide-scale searches. Lilly Sullivan, 6, and brother Jack Sullivan, 4, have been missing since May 2, when police received a 911 call reporting they had wandered away from their home in Lansdowne Station, a sparsely populated area about 140 kilometres northeast of Halifax. The children's disappearance set off a massive operation that included upward of 160 ground search and rescue officials, dog teams, drones and helicopters. But after six days of scouring the heavily wooded areas surrounding the siblings' home, covering 5.5 square kilometres, there was no sign of the children and RCMP announced the search was being scaled back. Search and rescue crews were called back to Lansdowne Station on Saturday and Sunday for yet another search, focusing on specific areas around Gairloch Road. An RCMP spokesperson said officials would be reviewing the information collected and determining next steps. Glenn Brown, who worked as an operational dog handler in the RCMP in several provinces for 26 years, said the fact the Sullivan children haven't been found "is just really strange." "I find it hard to believe that a six- and four-year-old would just disappear like that," said Brown, who was involved in hundreds of searches during his career. "I can guarantee you if I was still working today, it would be the thing to be racing around your mind all the time. Where would they have gone? We have done everything." Robert Koester, a search mission co-ordinator with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management in the United States, said it's rare to never find the subject of a search — it only happens in about five per cent of cases. That statistic is based on a database he compiled of a half-million search and rescue incidents from around the world. Koester said there are a few possible reasons the subject or subjects might not be found during a search, including that the search area wasn't large enough or that a team was assigned to an area, but never made it there. "The final reason is, it can just be darn hard to spot people out in the woods sometimes," said Koester, who wrote the book Lost Person Behavior: A Search and Rescue Guide on Where to Look — for Land, Air and Water. "All it can take is a second or two of looking to your left when you needed to be looking to your right.... Especially with children, they can crawl into small, tight spaces that are obscured from view, so they can be very difficult to find." While RCMP would not say what prompted them to return to the area over the weekend, Brown said it's not uncommon to bring searchers back in such investigations. In general, there are several factors that may prompt police to restart a missing persons search, he said. WATCH | Here's a timeline of the investigation into Lilly and Jack's diappearance: If police had received a tip or evidence, the substance of that information likely was not known by the searchers or even officers on the ground, given that the RCMP's major crime unit is involved. "They may tell them, 'We got a tip and we just want you to go in that area and search and see if you find anything,'" said Brown. "They don't even tell their own people that unless you are in the know, unless you're in that investigative group." He added that it's possible evidence has been found during the course of the investigation, but RCMP are not releasing that information publicly. As well, Brown said investigators may have reviewed information that warrants re-examining an area, or perhaps there were weather or wildlife concerns that prevented them from searching a particular area before. Regardless of why they returned Lansdowne Station on Saturday, Brown said he knows from experience that those search and rescue officials and police officers are carrying Lilly and Jack with them every step. "They look at their own kids and look at their grandchildren and their nieces and nephews and they're probably wanting to go back in [and search]," he said. "It's such a heart-wrenching situation." RCMP have said they have not ruled out the case is suspicious, and the major crime unit has been involved since the day after the disappearance. The Mounties would not answer specific questions about the latest search and declined a request for an interview Tuesday. MORE TOP STORIES
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New water softener installed in Greene County
A new $49 million infrastructure project, installed two months ago, is softening water for the Beavercreek community. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] News Center 7′s Amber Jenkins speaks with Greene County officials about the new water softening system, LIVE on News Center 7 at 11. TRENDING STORIES: First measles case detected in Ohio for 2025 Arrests made in connection to shooting that killed 17-year-old, injured other teen Man formally charged in crash that killed 68-year-old woman Rebecca Koester has lived in Beavercreek for 28 years, she's used to buying salt water softener because of the hardness of her tap water. But now, it's the softest it's been in years. 'We tested the water and said, 'oh you live in Beavercreek?'' Koester said. Greene County Sanitary Engineering Department recently announced its new reverse osmosis system. Now, the county can filter and soften the water before it reaches the tap. 'Which removes calcium and magnesium, which is the two main components of hardness,' Sanitary Engineering Director Mark Chandler said. The new machine decreases the hardness of the water from 27 grams per gallon to 8 grams. The water is naturally hard because of its source, according to county officials. 'Our water comes from underground aquifers, which is pretty heavily limestone, which causes our water to be hard,' Chandler said. 'That's what most everybody around this area experiences.' The upgrade took just over two months to start softening the water, and people are noticing the change. 'I've noticed it's less dry on the skin,' Koester said. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
