Twenty‑five years ago, Hoisington High School students were preparing for a memorable prom night. It was also the night an F4 tornado struck. The Hoisington tornado of April 21, 2001, caused widespread damage and heartbreak. The storm destroyed 200 homes and 12 businesses, and another 200 homes received minor to moderate damage. One person died, and 28 others were hurt. The tornado touched down southwest of town and quickly moved into the city.
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Residents of Galena are taking matters into their own hands – after they say they’ve lost federal and state support over the city’s landfill. Facebook group Galena Kansas Neighbors for Clean Air has been pushing back against the landfill on the outskirts of the city, which they feel is polluting the environment. Recently, group member and EcoSavvy Insights founder Kaylann Loraine has been collecting signatures for an environmental risk survey through her organization. The survey collects data about symptoms possibly caused by the landfill – where and when odors occur – and any other complaints.
Read more: KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com

The Kansas City Royals are moving from their longtime home at Kauffman Stadium to the downtown Crown Center area, partnering with Hallmark Cards on a $3 billion project that includes a mixed-used development with a new ballpark as its centerpiece. Royals owner John Sherman was joined by Hallmark chairman Don Hall Jr., Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, along with other local and state dignitaries, in making the announcement Wednesday near Hallmark headquarters. While the finalized master plan has yet to be complete, Sherman said the $1.9 billion stadium would break ground next year in the middle of Crown Center as part of the first phase of an 85-acre project. Two-thirds of the funding will come from private sources and the remaining one-third from public partners, including money earmarked by the state for stadium projects.
Read more: Western Kansas News

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller on Friday said current economic conditions are complicating the approach to interest rates, with policymakers facing a potentially long-lasting inflation shock and a labor market with no job growth that nonetheless appears stable. Against that backdrop, Waller said the Fed could have to stay on hold for a prolonged period until the economic direction becomes clearer.
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A new study that followed thousands through their lives found no evidence that fluoride in drinking water had a negative effect on young people’s IQs. Researchers found that children exposed to fluoridated water did not experience lower IQ or reduced cognitive performance later in life, according to findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research followed more than 10,000 people in Wisconsin, tracking fluoride exposure during childhood and measuring cognitive performance over decades. Participants were tested at age 16 and again throughout adulthood into their 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s.The result: no measurable difference between people who grew up in communities with fluoridated water and those who did not.
Read more: WCVB Top Stories

Crews contained a wildfire that started at a dairy in west Kansas on Sunday. The fire started around 1:15 p.m. at Syracuse Dairy. The Kansas Forest Service said embers from burning hay bales and silage spread to grass nearby. Winds gusting up to 40 mph caused the fire to spread. An estimated 10 to 15 haystacks burned, but the exact number is unknown because of heavy smoke.
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Reno County is improving its emergency response by opening two newly built emergency medical services station. An open house was held Friday for the new station near Fifth Avenue and Adams Street in Hutchinson. EMS Chief Dave Johnston said the new stations were built in some high-traffic areas to help EMS improve response time.
Read more: KSN-TV

Residents and history buffs of Lyon County traveled the historic Santa Fe Trail Saturday, albeit a bit differently than back in the day. Rather than riding horses and buggies, residents gathered for a bus tour of the trail that stretched from Allen to Wilmington with several stops along the way to view historic sites in the area. Organizer Jan Huston says the tour was not just about educating participants at the trail itself, but also about our own local history. She noted that of the thousands of individuals who utilized the trail, many played a vital role in the founding of our local area, including Charles H. Withington, the first settler of the area, who founded the community of Allen and acted as the area’s first “Real estate agent.”
Read more: KVOE