Stories of success and life change provided reprieve from much of the conversation about homelessness, substance abuse and mental health issues in Saline County during a public forum Wednesday. The stories were an almost necessary pause from some of the harrowing realities discussed among those who showed up to the forum. Not long after hearing statistics on homelessness, high recidivism rates, and a look at challenges county agencies see day-to-day, the stories left the crowd of about 50 musing. Source: Salina Journal

People looking for an experience in north central Kansas have another back after more than a year being away as the Kanopolis Drive In movie theater opens up this weekend for the 2023 season. The theater, located at 804 N. Kansas Ave. on the edge of Kanopolis, was hit like the rest of the area by the Dec. 15, 2021 windstorm, receiving damage to several parts of the property, including its 70 foot-wide screen, causing the theater to not open during the 2022 season. Source: Salina Journal

Owner Chris Payne says he may consider closing Heartland Motorsports Park after Shawnee County rejected an offer he made to try to settle a property tax legal battle. Heartland Park hasn't necessarily reached the end of the road, Payne said this past week. Still, Payne "must begin to make firm economic decisions to wind down the events at Heartland Park," Payne's attorney David Holstead told county counselor Jim Crowl in a letter sent Tuesday. Payne's company, Shelby Development LLC, will now "proceed to mitigate its damages in the appropriate and practical manner that is necessary for any enterprise under such circumstances," [...]

Hutchinson will become Smallville, Kansas, the home of Clark Kent, from June 15-17 to celebrate the community and togetherness as the 10th annual Smallville Festival takes place throughout Hutchinson. The city’s Third Thursday, Kansas State Fair, Reno County Museum, Cosmosphere and Strataca will partake in the three-day stretch of activities. On June 15, Smallville will be kicked off at Third Thursday in downtown Hutchinson from 6 to 9 p.m., including family-oriented games and food, plus superheroes. Source: Hutch News

This week marks 98 years since a patient first stepped into an old farmhouse in Topeka, marking the beginning of one of the world's most well-respected and influential leaders in modern mental health care. It was 1925 that C.F. Menninger and his sons, Karl and William Menninger, first began seeing patients in their clinic. The family of psychiatrists became renowned for their holistic approach to mental health, unheard of at the time. Thousands of patients from around the U.S. and world came to "tiny" Topeka throughout the 20th century to see the practice, and several of the world's leading psychiatrists and [...]

County-by-county battles are raging as wind and solar projects balloon in size, edge closer to cities and encounter mounting pushback in communities from Niagara Falls to the Great Plains and beyond. Projects have slowed. Even in states with a long history of building renewables, developers don’t know if they can get local permits or how long it might take. In Kansas, wind power grew rapidly for two decades and supplies around 45% of the electricity generated in-state, ranking it third in the nation. But at least five counties in more-populous eastern Kansas have recently placed moratoriums or bans on new wind [...]

As enrollment dwindles in the Hutchinson School District, the need for buildings decreases. But this year, the largest school district in Reno County is facing a new problem − not enough applicants to fill their 14 open teacher slots. Because of this dilemma, the USD 308 staff met with community members at McCandless, Faris and Lincoln elementary schools on Wednesday and Thursday to try to figure out a solution. They threw out all sorts of possibilities, including closing an elementary school. Hutchinson's superintendent, Dawn Johnson, Ed.D., wants to keep the community involved in what is happening. She is proposing a special [...]