The number of suicides in northwest Kansas increased by more than half in recent years.
Twenty counties in the region saw suicides climb by 57% from 2014 through 2018.
That jump comes in a part of the state where people already die by suicide at a higher rate than in the rest of Kansas.
In Kansas “frontier” counties — places with fewer than six people per square mile — about 26 people a year out of every 100,000 die by suicide. Statewide, Kansas sees fewer than 18 suicides per 100,000 people, according to a report by the Kansas Health Institute
And overall, Kansas had 555 suicides in 2018, up 2% from the previous year. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said the 2018 suicide rate was the highest in 20 years.
(Read more: Here)