KTWU was the first public television station in the state of Kansas to begin broadcasting educational programming and has been in business for more than 40 years. KTWU’s promise is to “[provide] services that characterize excellence and enrich the lives of those we reach.”

KTWU won an award for following that promise when its Web site provided its viewers with a documentary on the 40th anniversary of the Topeka tornado. The International Academy of the Visual Arts gave the Web site a silver award.

The International Academy of the Visual Arts awards Web sites that have “creative excellence.” The award is meant to recognize the professionals who design and create the award winning sites.

The Web site was created in honor of the documentary, “June 8: The Topeka Tornado,” commemorating the tornado that ripped through Topeka in 1966, which killed 16 people and caused the most property damage in the United States at the time.

FryeAllen Inc. designed the Web site using several resources, such as Washburn University archives, the Mabee Library, the Kansas Historical Society and photographs taken by The Topeka Capital-Journal and WIBW-TV.