Altamont is temporarily a dry town, due in no part to any law prohibiting the sale of alcohol. Rather, the town is being dually impacted by the new Kansas alcohol laws allowing stronger beer to be sold in grocery and convenience stores beginning April 1, and the closure of its only liquor store, the Liquor Shack, 1018 E. Fourth St., last month. Shelves that contained beer with up to 3.2 percent alcohol content by weight now sit empty, and the city’s two convenience stores have not ordered more, as they were awaiting the arrival of deliveries of beer of up to [...]

An empty grocery building with its windows papered over sits near the corner of Huston and U.S. 160. Across Huston to the east is an old gas station that while quaint in its old architecture is used now only for storage. The two empty buildings are what people first see as they look down Altamont’s main street downtown. A quick glance down Huston and one sees barren sidewalks, plain, discolored metal facades, peeling paint, damaged awnings and dirty windows marking businesses and empty buildings alike that line the street. U.S. 160 is fairly well traveled, and questions are being pondered as [...]