A series of fast-moving wildfires fueled by lightning, strong winds, and extremely dry conditions has scorched large portions of southwest Kansas this week, prompting a state disaster emergency declaration and a massive multi-agency firefighting response across the region. Read more: Dodge City Daily Globe

The City of Emporia announced several leadership appointments Tuesday as officials prepare for the departure of Deputy City Manager Mark Detter and restructure key administrative roles. Detter will leave the city effective May 22 to become city administrator for Rose Hill. City officials thanked him for his service and wished him success in his new position. Following Detter’s departure, Tayler Wash has been promoted to deputy city manager. City officials said the promotion recognizes Wash’s growing leadership role and contributions to several major city initiatives. Read more: www.emporiagazette.com

People in Great Bend will have one more day to set off fireworks this Independence Day. The Great Bend City Council voted Monday to designate July 3-4 as days to legally discharge fireworks in town between the hours of 10 a.m. and midnight. Read more: Great Bend Tribune

The four biggest school districts in Johnson County are joining together to prepare for possible legal action against the state of Kansas over what they say is a yearslong failure to adequately fund special education. In a statement on Wednesday, Olathe Public Schools, Blue Valley Schools, the USD 232 De Soto School District and the Shawnee Mission School District said they’ve “reached a tipping point” after 15 years of special education underfunding. Together, the districts serve about 83,000 students and said that they collectively took out more than $119 million from their general education budgets for the 2024-2025 school year to [...]

A second grocery store appears to be in the works for the city of Merriam. The Merriam City Council on Monday, in a 7-0 vote, set a public hearing for June 22 to consider establishing a community improvement district, or CID, at Merriam Town Center. Councilmember Amy Rider was absent. A CID would create an additional 1% to 2% sales tax levied on purchases at the shopping center that would go towards the district’s improvements. At the center of that improvement plan is an approximately 23,000 square foot grocery store that would be added to the shopping complex that sits near [...]

Overland Park could completely overhaul its trash and recycling collection system in favor of a new framework that gives the city more control and potentially lowers rates for some residents. Though nothing is set in stone yet, Overland Park could look to switch to a completely city-run or city-contracted trash pickup system with one or more haulers. The city could also allow homeowners associations that are content with their current trash collection to opt out. Those are all options pondered in the city’s recently completed Solid Waste Study, which looked at potential improvements to how trash is collected in Overland Park. [...]

Overland Park has placed new restrictions on e-bikes and e-scooters in the city — notably, banning kids from riding e-bikes that can go past 25 mph. It is the latest Johnson County city to update its rules for micromobility devices that have seen a recent surge in popularity among younger riders. The discussion in Overland Park comes months after 10-year-old Duke Ommert died last fall from injuries sustained while riding an e-scooter in Leawood. He was wearing a helmet. Discussion at an Overland Park public safety committee meeting last week struck the tone of balancing safety with kids’ freedom to move [...]

Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab announced a new system to update state regulations is now working across Kansas. The change is part of a major effort to improve how state rules are created and managed. In 2025, the Secretary of State’s office hired a company called Esper, which builds software to modernize government processes. According to the release, the goal was to replace an old paper-based system that had been used for decades. Officials say the old process was slow and outdated. It relied heavily on paper, which led to problems like missing pages, wasted materials, and human errors. It [...]

As crews across southwest Kansas fight to contain wildfires, departments in the Sunflower State aren’t the only ones volunteering their time and equipment. Fire departments from Texas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Montana and Colorado were just some of those that answered the call for help. Several fire departments in Major County, Oklahoma, are on a list that Kansas can call in times of crisis. Read more: KSN-TV

The Sunflower Foundation said Wednesday that it’s awarding $355,000 in grants to 25 Kansas communities to support the creation and improvement of trails. The Paving the Way grant program offers funding, customized support and virtual learning opportunities to support communities in different stages of trail development. “We’re incredibly excited to work alongside our Paving the Way communities, whether they are just beginning their trail journeys or taking the next step in implementing the Trail Town model,” Kelli Mark, the foundation’s director of healthy communities, said in a news release. Read more: KSN-TV