After Lea Rookwood and her husband had their first son, they knew they could not get a traditional family pet. Her son had terrible allergies, and he would break out in hives around dogs. So, they decided to get a pig. Shera, now seven, is the Rookwood’s family pet. An American Mini Pig from Idaho, she lived with the family first in California, and now Kansas. TOP VIDEOS Now, though, the Rookwoods are being forced to remove Shera from their home by their new neighborhood’s homeowners association. The Rookwoods moved into a house they purchased in the Crimson Ridge neighborhood in Shawnee, Kansas, in the middle of May, and they received a Notice of Violation from the HOA on June 7.
Read more: Local Kansas City Missouri & Kansas News |

In western Kansas, rural hospitals have been closing or are perpetually understaffed, leaving residents to drive anywhere from an hour to multiple hours for doctors appointments. Western Kansas is the place for a quiet, rural lifestyle. But with that comes shortages when you need to see a doctor. Rural Kansans on average travel twice as far for medical care than their urban counterparts. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found that largely due to this difference in access to health care, rural residents are more likely to die early than urban residents.
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A Southeast Kansas fire department welcomes a new apparatus to its fleet. The Columbus Fire Department officially welcomed home its new rescue truck this week. It comes from Texas and costs $135,000.
Read more: KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com

The Manhattan city commission on Tuesday heard a revised housing development proposal following the county unanimously striking down the Reinvestment Housing Incentive Districts proposal.
The original proposal would have made use of the RHID state program’s funds. The county’s veto of the project in June took that funding off the table for future projects. The new project, the Workforce Housing Sales Tax Proposal, will rely partly on sales tax funds.
Read more: themercury.com – RSS Results in news of type article

Housing prices have increased by almost 50% in Topeka over the past 10 years alone. 27 News looked at housing price data collected by real estate company Zillow in the City of Topeka. The data shows that since 2014, the price of a house in the Capital City has increased by more than $91,000. Since 2005, homes in Topeka have increased by almost 50%.
Read more: KSNT 27 News

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach claims in a recently published opinion that Johnson County commissioners acted beyond their authority when they approved a November ballot question asking voters to renew the county’s existing public safety sales tax. … Namely, Kobach says that mental health services and emergency medical services do not qualify as public safety projects.
Read more: KC Star

Because the resolution tries to fund measures that do not qualify as public safety projects and it would fund different projects than that for which the existing tax was enacted, a court would find that the Board has exceeded its authority and that the resolution is null and void.
Read more: AG Opinion 2025-13

The Crawford County Sheriff’s Office has welcomed a new member to their squad. On Friday, Crawford County Sheriff Billy Tomasi visited the Crawford County Commission, announcing the addition of K-9 to the department. “Our K-9 got delivered last week, he’s down in training right now and it should be done by the end of August, first of September be out on the streets,” said Sheriff Tomasi.
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From Arcadia last month to Mulberry this month, the Northeast School District continues to embrace the longstanding history of its surrounding areas. On Thursday, the district hosted “Celebrating Mulberry School History” at the Mulberry Senior Citizens Center. USD 246 Superintendent Ray Streeter and district IT Director Ryan Gath are on a mission to obtain yearbook photos and memories from alumni and residents of Arcadia, Mulberry, and Arma so that they can go into a touchscreen kiosk at the high school.
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Police in Ulysses are urging residents to use caution after a recent mountain lion sighting within city limits. In a social post on Saturday, the Ulysses Police Department said it is working with local game wardens to monitor the situation.
Read more: KSN-TV