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The city of Newton is considering buying the historic Newton Depot for $500,000 with plans to turn the property into a redevelopment opportunity. The train depot at 414 N. Main St. sits at the entrance of downtown Newton and serves as the busiest Amtrak station in Kansas for its line that travels from Chicago to Los Angeles. Built in 1930 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the depot was most recently used for leased offices but has also housed restaurants and lodging, according to the city. Newton's City Commission approved an agreement at its Tuesday meeting for an [...]

The future of the Yates Center Police Department is decidedly murky after City Council members voted Tuesday evening to substantially downsize the department later this year. In a surprise vote, the Council voted 3-2 with one abstention to shrink the force down to a single position held by a police chief who would be on duty from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Law enforcement duties after hours would fall under the Woodson County Sheriff’s Department. The changeover is scheduled for April. However, that change may not come.  Read more: The Iola Register

In small Kansas towns like Burrton, volunteer departments are often the closest option for people in danger. Read more: KSN-TV

If Wichita voters approve a 1% city sales tax in March, groceries won’t be exempt. Some supporters of the ballot initiative have pitched excluding transactions on food items from the $850 million plan as a way of reducing its burden on lower-income Wichitans. Read more: Wichita Eagle

Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Rosen pressed the Kansas Legislature on Tuesday to expand funding for specialty courts tailored to special challenges of defendants and asked lawmakers to collaborate on solutions to the shortage of attorneys in rural Kansas. Rosen, delivering his first State of the Judiciary speech to a joint session of the Legislature, said the state must continue to move forward with initiatives to enhance access to justice, build public confidence in the judiciary and improve efficiency of state court operations. Rosen, with a father and father-in-law who worked at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, said he had [...]

A new initiative announced by the Kansas Department of Commerce could open up possibilities for repurposing vacant and underutilized buildings in Lyon County into new housing. Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland announced Monday that the Department of Commerce is launching an initiative to identify vacant, abandoned, or underutilized buildings suitable for redevelopment into housing units. Local leaders, community organizations, and property owners are encouraged to submit information about buildings in their area that could be considered for conversion. Read more: www.emporiagazette.com

Tumbleweeds have taken over the High Plains. They thrive so well that they are part of the culture of the West. But this ample supply of blowing weeds can hurt farm yields, wreak havoc on neighborhoods and cause fire dangers. A minor but significant character in old western movies: the tumbleweed. In the midst of the gunslinging, often a lonely tumbleweed will roll across the screen. Today, if you drive across western Kansas on a windy day, you will often see not a lonely tumbleweed, but a swarm of them crossing the highway or congregating along a fence by the road. [...]

The newest Harvey County Drug Court graduate, Zack Walters, has been sober since April 19, 2024 (625 days and counting), which is his longest streak since he started smoking marijuana as a teenager. The county began drug court in October of 2021 as a way to reduce recidivism and celebrated its first graduate in March of 2023. The program takes 12 to 18 months to complete. Walters’s story is slightly different because he went from the county jail to county employee. Read more: Harvey County Now

While the Kansas City Chiefs’ plan to move its headquarters and training facility to Olathe has been in the works behind closed doors for years, the news came as a surprise to many Johnson County residents when the NFL team announced it at the end of December. Earlier this month, the Post published an informal survey asking readers how they felt about the Chiefs’ decision to move their operations across state lines. The survey asked a question for Olathe residents specifically, about how they feel about potentially hosting the team’s new headquarters and training facility. While not scientific, the survey’s results give [...]

The city of Prairie Village helped its Ukrainian sister city purchase four drones, medicine and bed linens in 2025. Last spring, the Prairie Village City Council approved a nearly $23,000 donation to its sister city Dolyna for the purpose of “humanitarian goods.” Dolyna is in the western part of Ukraine in the Ivano-Frankivsk oblast, or district. In late December 2025, Dolyna Mayor Ivan Dyriv sent an itemized list of the goods purchased with that donation — and thanked the city for its help. Read more: Johnson County Post