Newton’s hotels are low on vacancies. That’s according to the front desks of both the Holiday Inn Express and The Comfort Inn. “We’ve been full pretty much all season,” said Cat Olson, front desk manager for The Comfort Inn, 1205 E 1st St, Newton. Olson said, for the Comfort Inn, much of the demand was being driven by regular events, such as school activities, weddings and funerals. She said corporate stays or bookings for staff did account for some of the stays at the hotel, but it varied by week. The front desk of the Holiday Inn Express reported a good number of long-term stays at the hotel, with much of those stays housing crews employed at AGCO, and that the hotel had been tight since around July of 2021. The tightness of hotel lodging has made it harder for groups to host conventions in Newton. Emily Bradbury, executive director of the Kansas Press Association, said that they barely found enough room in Newton for their upcoming convention.
Source: Harvey County Now

Fire and EMS workers in Burrton learned how to use a new piece of life-saving equipment last week. The department recently received a KRAF grant from the board of EMS to purchase a LUCAS, which is an automated CPR machine. The grant paid for 75 percent of the approximately $15,000 cost, with the department matching the remainder. EMS Director Cherie King said the LUCAS is something their department has really needed for a while. “We applied last year and didn’t get it, but last year I think there was a lot that didn’t get funded because of COVID,” King said. Halstead and Newton already have LUCAS machines. “We’ve seen it with Halstead, but we’ve never put it on. Halstead’s always done it,” King said. “As you can see, it brought a lot of people out.”
Source: Harvey County Now