News

Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland today announced that nearly $600,000 has been awarded in the latest round of Tourism Attraction Development Grant funding, bringing the total awarded this fiscal year to more than $1 million. The new grants will support 32 communities through 21 projects aimed at developing new or enhancing existing tourism attractions across the state. Source: Kansas Department of Commerce

Iola City Council members will decide soon whether to allow extended fireworks sales now that they’re allowed by the state. The Iola City Council will decide at its June 9 meeting whether to allow extended fireworks sales, although prospects look iffy. Currently, fireworks sales are allowed in Iola from outside the current eight-day window, from June 27 through July 5. State lawmakers extended the sales dates from June 20 through July 7 from temporary facilities, or year-round sales from permanent structures. Source: The Iola Register

The City of Garden City is thrilled to announce the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for Bob Halloran Community Park, a new recreational space designed to promote inclusivity and community engagement. Source: Garden City, KS - News Flash

Recent rainy weather has led to water levels at Cheney Reservoir rising more than a foot since a low point in mid-May, but more precipitation is needed to ease drought restrictions in Wichita heading into summer. Even with the U.S. Drought Monitor removing Wichita from its drought distinction, the watering restrictions in the city will remain in place for the foreseeable future due to still-low levels at the reservoir, which is the source of Wichita’s water. Source: Wichita Kansas Local News, Crime & More |

Cheery chatbots offering help with property valuation appeals or tax bills won’t be popping up on the Johnson County website any time soon. But artificial intelligence is beginning to seep into the county’s administration in various other ways — enough so that commissioners and county technology experts recently began crafting a policy for how it will be used and overseen. Source: Johnson County Post

A pilot program intended to make it easier to build homes in Overland Park from a group of pre-selected designs is nearly ready to launch. Earlier this month, city staff told the Overland Park City Council Community Development Committee that preparations for the pilot program were wrapping up and that it could be available in June or July. Source: Johnson County Post

Over the next few weeks, Wyandotte County commissioners will need to decide whether to freeze property tax revenues for a second consecutive year. And at least one local official said it’s time for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, to stop playing games with taxpayers over the matter. Source: Local Kansas City Missouri & Kansas News |

Cheney Lake is now up over a foot since the beginning of May thanks to the abundance of rain. According to the latest data from the National Water Prediction Service, that lake is at 1,414.85 feet as of 7 a.m. Thursday. At the beginning of the month, the lake was at 1413.7 feet. The lake is measuring at 6.75 feet below normal. The City of Wichita remains in Stage 2 of its drought plan. The conservation pool is just around 62.75%. The next drought trigger is when the conservation pool drops to 50% of its capacity. Source: KSN-TV

It’s been ten days since a tornado tore through the town of Plevna in Reno County. The EF-3 storm left a path of destruction, but the damage does not meet the threshold required for state or federal disaster aid. According to Adam Weishaar, director of Reno County Emergency Management, nine homes were destroyed and about 20 others sustained damage on May 18. Roughly half of the affected homes were uninsured. Despite the devastation, the extent of the damage still falls short of qualifying for assistance. Source: KSN-TV

The City of Emporia is topping off its new state-of-the-art fire station. The final beam was installed on Wednesday for the new Emporia fire station. Work on this facility has been ongoing for several years, and is a huge upgrade for the city's fire department. The Emporia Fire Department worked out of the Civic Auditorium basement for the past 85 years. A city commissioner said the long-awaited upgrade will benefit fire crews and Emporia locals alike. Source: KSNT 27 News