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Mulberry is the little town that refuses to quit. Once a popular rest stop for travelers along the Military Highway, the little burg has experienced some rough times. But the spirit of the town refuses to quit. Mulberry has always been a focal point for young athletes. Kids from the surrounding small towns, including Liberal, Missouri, still come to play on the city basketball court, recently refurbished with a grant from the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas (CFSEK). Mayor Pat Walden wants to capitalize on that momentum. Walden’s plan is to renovate the city’s baseball field at the City Park. Currently, [...]

The City of Lawrence has launched a new searchable database of burial records for Oak Hill, Memorial Park and Maple Grove cemeteries. The website allows people to search and locate burial sites, including walking and driving instructions. It includes functions to upload photos and add more information about the people buried there. There have been more than 64,000 burials, dating back to the city’s founding, according to a news release from the city. More than 1,000 Potter’s Field burials at Oak Hill are now viewable and searchable for the first time, according to the city. Source: The Lawrence Times

Newton Fire/EMS calls rose slightly in 2024, driven by an increase of grass fires. Calls for service increased from 4,303 in 2023 to 4,334 in 2024. “Probably the big highlight is our call volume stayed consistent,” Chief Steve Roberson said of a report recently released by Newton Fire/EMS. “We saw a slight increase but not near what we’d seen in years past.” EMS calls, which account for roughly 83 percent of service calls for fire/EMS, were down slightly on the year. Fire calls, however, increased by 80, he said. “Grass fires are way up,” Roberson said. “We’ll continue to see problems [...]

A normal 30-minute job turned into a three-day excavation search for Sedgwick Public Works last week on South Commercial. City maintenance was working on water service installs for the new houses north of the industrial park that Jimmy Sharbutt and his crew are building, but when they dug a hole to connect to the main line, they came up empty. Finally, the missing lines were located across the street from where they were expected. The problem wasn’t with public works but with the city’s map, something Nordick and Administrative Assistant Isaiah Chapman have been working on since last fall anyway. Last [...]

Kansas farmers are on alert, bracing for how tariffs against Mexico and Canada and retaliatory tariffs could affect their bottom line. Those working in agriculture are waiting to find out the full scope. Tariffs are coming in at an awkward time of year for growers. That's because the fertilizer industry relies heavily on Canadian imports. Source: KSN-TV

Kansas’ weather in the early 1990s was active, including large hailstorms and disastrous tornadoes. One of those tornadoes was the Hesston tornado in March 1990. Decades later, memories of that day are still fresh in the minds of meteorologists and storm researchers. An outbreak of tornadoes occurred early in the season 35 years ago. Ripping across Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Iowa, Missouri, and Texas. Source: KSN-TV

Citing the rising price of eggs, Emporia is making it easier for residents to own and raise their own egg-laying hens. The city commission has voted to waive the Chicken or Fowl Pen and Domestic Animal Application fee for 2025. However, you must still apply to receive a permit and follow the city ordinance. Source: KSN-TV

As property valuation notices are mailed out this week, not everyone is happy with what they are seeing. Most home valuations in Sedgwick County are up this year, and homeowners are worried about how it could affect the bottom line on their taxes. The assessed value of a home, which is the smaller number on a property valuation notice, plays a big role in determining how much you pay for your property taxes. It’s multiplied by the mill levy rate to decide how much you pay. Source: KSN-TV

Sedgwick County's election commissioner testified in Topeka on Monday about a bill that limits special elections. Laura Rainwater supports the bill that restricts special elections to one day in March, as well as during the primary and general elections. Sedgwick County has four special elections on three days in the first half of this year. Rainwater says that this many elections can confuse voters. "You cannot imagine how many emails and phone calls we got from people that show up to wrong polling places because we couldn't get the polling place for that special election or even early voting places where [...]

As part of Olathe’s efforts to reimagine its downtown, the city has taken the first step toward setting up a special sales tax district that will aid in the redevelopment of a prominent collection of downtown storefronts. The special 2% Community Improvement District sales tax would cover the storefronts between 114 N. Cherry St. and 126 N. Cherry St., directly adjacent to Johnson County Square, at the heart of downtown Olathe where the former courthouse stood. Source: Johnson County Post