Hi Mike,
Have you checked around Lawrence? I know back around 7 years ago, there was a group of KU students (20+ at times) that would meet up once in a while for a linux meetup. Though it was on the KU campus, it wasnt limited to just KU students. This doesnt quite answer your original question, but Lawrence is right around the corner from Topeka and might be a lot easier for you to travel to.
I cant find a web page on this meetup, but maybe one of these guys in this group could help you. http://www.ittc.ku.edu/kurt/ (KUSP: Kernel/User Systems Programming). And then there's FudCon that was held back last month, which you might want to plan to attend next year if they have another one. https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FUDCon:Lawrence_2013
Another tip is LinuxPro Magazine is published from Lawrence, KS. Maybe one of the guys there could point you to a group closer that you're not aware of.