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A bill approved by the Kansas Legislature and recently signed by the governor has ensured that Strother Field Airport and Industrial Park will retain its tax exempt status. Without the legislative fix, officials said, the cities of Winfield and Arkansas City faced a growing risk of needing to impose a property tax levy to support Strother operations — a tax burden that hasn’t existed for residents and businesses since 1952. The two cities jointly own and operate the industrial park and airfield located along U.S. 77. The passage and signing of Senate Bill 117, clarifies and reaffirms the property tax-exempt status [...]

Roughly 150 chickens perished in a fire Tuesday at a residence south of Valley Center. Authorities were originally called at 3:25 p.m. to a barn fire at a home in the 1300 block of South Meridian. Fire crews arrived at a residence and found a 20-by-40 foot chicken coop on fire behind the house, Valley Center fire chief Lonnie Tormey said in a phone call. Firefighters quickly put out the fire, with only one building near the coop getting heat damage. Source: Wichita Kansas Local News, Crime & More |

The city of Wichita will seek help from a consultant to find its next city manager in a nationwide search. Longtime City Manager Robert Layton announced his retirement earlier this month, sparking conversations on whether the mayor should have a stronger role in the city’s day-to-day operations. Even so, the council is moving ahead with a search for another manager. The city council will vote on issuing a request for proposals from search consultant firms at next week’s meeting. Source: Wichita Kansas Local News, Crime & More |

Carl Slaugh, who served for five years as Iola’s city administrator and another five years as a city councilman, died last week at the age of 77. Funeral services are Friday. The Utah native embarked on a 20-year military service, a stint that put him in Germany when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. He retired from the Air Force in 1993, and eventually began a career in city administration. He served four years as city administrator in Hiawatha and three more in Basehor, before coming to Iola in 2011. Source: The Iola Register

Iola City Council members are looking at presenting a distinguished citizen award each year, giving recipients an honorary key to the city. The proposal will be discussed further. Iola has an abundance of folks who go above and beyond, helping make the community a better place to live. Mayor Steve French would like to see some of that benevolence formally recognized. Source: The Iola Register

Several factors are taken into account for a safe and controlled burning, Riley County fire officials said Monday. After a prescribed burn went out of control on Harmony Road April 7, Riley County’s emergency management department reminded the public of why certain regulations exist for burning in the Flint Hills. The fire jumped to the south to the Big Blue riverbed. Russel said there were 66 people, 40 apparatus and two planes from different counties involved in fighting the fire. An estimated 650 acres burned. Source: themercury.com - RSS Results in news of type article

“Welcome to the theater.” As the smell of popcorn wafts in the air, movie-goers come in and take their seats – in a theater building that is more than a century old. Today we’ll learn about a group of volunteers who have restored their historic movie theater building and are operating it for their rural community.  Dan Brooks and his wife Kelsey Mai are volunteer managers of the Strand Theater in Sharon Springs. Dan grew up in Colorado Springs. He does carpentry and residential remodeling. Ten years ago, they moved back to Sharon Springs where Kelsey grew up. Source: KCLY Radio

Nearly a year after the tornado, JT and Ashley VanGilder said they are pleased with how well the Westmoreland community has bounced back..... Westmoreland's city government has chipped in by not requiring people whose homes were destroyed to pay for their building permit, Ashley VanGilder said. Source: CJonline

The city of Prairie Village is once again thinking of sending funds to help its war-ravaged Ukrainian sister city, but the politics of the moment in the U.S. are creating local concerns that didn’t exist the first time Prairie Village tried to help three years ago. Source: Johnson County Post

A public pet microchip scanning station, believed to be the first of its kind in Johnson County, is now up and running in Gardner. The Gardner Police Department installed the scanning device inside a portable station last week in the parking lot at the head of the popular Gardner Greenway trail off East Madison Street. Source: Johnson County Post