Leawood Police are crediting a dog with alerting an officer to help its owner, who was in need of medical attention at a residential home last month. Leawood PD posted edited clips of the officer’s body cam footage to social media this week, where it quickly picked up likes, shares and reactions. “Sometimes, our four-legged friends know exactly what to do,” the post began. Read more: Johnson County Post

Ten new squirrels will be joining Marysville’s Black Squirrels on Parade this October 24 at 3:00 p.m. in the 700/800 blocks of Broadway. Wayne Kruse, OneMarysville Executive Director, said adding new squirrels isn’t an extremely common occurrence. Read more: KCLY Radio

Yes. Kansas legalized self-driving vehicles for commercial and personal use in 2022. Autonomous vehicles are permitted if they comply with state and federal regulations and traffic laws and can reach a minimal safety condition, such as stopping on a road shoulder if the automated system fails. Operators must meet state licensing, registration and insurance requirements. They must also provide the Kansas Highway Patrol with safety information, including contact information for a fleet support specialist and plans for first responders in the event of a crash or fire. Read more: KLC Journal

Voting for the general election begins in one week, and for voters in Caldwell, that means deciding on a proposed 1% sales tax. The city administrator said that if the sales tax is approved, it will raise about $150,000 every year and be in effect for a decade. Read more: KSN-TV

The City of Emporia is preparing for the next phase of construction to replace an over century-old storm sewer that partially collapsed earlier this year. In late March, a police car was partially swallowed by a sinkhole that opened up on Commercial Street between Ninth and 10th avenues. According to a city engineer, the cause of the sinkhole was a 100- to 125-year-old 44-inch storm sewer pipe underneath the street that had collapsed. Read more: KSN-TV

The City of Garden City announced Tuesday that City Manager Matt Allen will retire in the first quarter of 2027. Allen began his career in public service with the City of Salina in 1996. In 1997, he became assistant to the city manager in Joplin, Missouri. In 2000, he became the city administrator of Oakley. He returned to his hometown of Garden City in 2002, becoming assistant city manager and was appointed city manager in 2008, succeeding Bob Halloran. Read more: KSN-TV

Hoisington voters will have a sales tax to consider come election day. The 0.5% proposed tax, an extra half-penny per dollar spent, has no sunset date, meaning there is no plan for the sales tax to end. Hoisington already assesses a 0.75% sales tax, so the total would rise to 1.25%. Including county and state taxes, shoppers would pay 10.25% of their bill in sales taxes. City Manager Jonathan Mitchell estimates the tax increase would generate around $180,000 a year. The money would go to directly to sewer and water systems he said are out of date. Read more: KSN-TV

Douglas County commissioners approved a pilot project that will turn tiny homes at the community shelter into extended-stay housing.  The pilot will use three of the 12 shipping container shelters currently at the Lawrence Community Shelter as part of the Monarch Village. Those Monarch CARES, or Crisis And Respite Extended Stay, units will be designated for longer stays of 30 days or more to provide support for people with complex needs who need a place to recover and receive care.  The commission voted 4-1 Wednesday to approve the pilot project, with Commissioner Erica Anderson opposed.  Read more: The Lawrence Times

A county administrator can help commissioners research issues, manage county departments and find solutions while leaving elected officials in charge of their own offices, according to a Miami County commissioner who spoke to the Riley County Commission Thursday. Riley County is amid its search for a new county administrator after county clerk Rich Vargo — who also fulfilled administrator duties — announced he plans to retire Nov. 30.  Vargo has endorsed the county’s current budget and finance officer Brittany Phillips to succeed him as county clerk. Read more: themercury.com

Kids take their chances squeezing through the stationary rail cars that regularly cut this small town in two. Sometimes they brave the high, narrow road bridge leading over the tracks. That gives Bret Glendening, the Osawatomie city manager, worries about how he’ll make things safer. He wonders how the town can afford to fix the once-elegant — now rusty — bridge that spans the Marais des Cygnes River. Or if it’ll ever catch up on basic street maintenance. But the railroad business that helped build Osawatomie is long gone, taking away hundreds of jobs and leaving a hollowed-out tax base that [...]