News

Within the same breath, 10 years can feel both as if decades have passed or it has just been a few minutes, and for many, the moment happens at the same instant. On Feb. 26, 10 years will have passed since a random act of violence shook Hesston to its core during the Excel shooting, where Joshua Higbee, Renee Benjamin and Brian Sadowsky were killed, along with the perpetrator, Cedric Ford, and 14 others were wounded. Ford’s rampage began when he fired shots at cars near the intersection of 12th and Meridian, in Newton, followed by more shooting at Old 81 [...]

More than 222,000 Notices of Appraised Value are being mailed to Johnson County property owners, detailing changes in property values for this year. County Appraiser Carolyn Logan will present property revaluation trend updates to the Board of County Commissioners at its regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, Feb. 26. This year’s report indicates a continuation of healthy growth and stability across residential and commercial markets. Total appraised and assessed values across all markets show an increase of approximately 6% for 2026 compared to 2025. Read more: Johnson County Kansas

A stretch of Lee Boulevard between 81st Street and 103rd Street now has a lower speed limit in the latest effort by Leawood officials to address parents’ demands for pedestrian safety. The council unanimously voted last week to lower the speed limit from 35 to 30 miles an hour, beginning Friday, Feb. 20, with the intent to review the effects in six months to decide if the limit needs to be lowered even further. Speed limits, crosswalks, helmets and signals have been at the top of the council’s to-do list for the past few months, since the death of 10-year-old Duke [...]

Students and parents in the Shawnee Mission School District are heading for a significantly more tech-centric bus riding experience next school year, now that school board members have approved a seven-year contract with Zum, a Redwood City, California, company. Expectations were high last month as the Shawnee Mission Board of Education gave unanimous approval to engage Zum (pronounced Zoom) at an estimated $21 million a year and an $18 million initial cost. In return, Zum advertises a completely air-conditioned fleet and modernized tracking systems that optimize routes, show parents and school officials where a bus is at any given time and [...]

A yawning gap between surging home values and stagnant commercial assessments has fueled a significant shift in the Kansas property tax burden, forcing homeowners to shoulder a larger share of government needs, state and local officials say. Driven by an overheated residential market and decades of commercial exemptions, a flip in the tax base has left families paying the lion’s share for schools, roads and emergency services. Despite commercial property being taxed at more than double the rate of residential property, Rep. Adam Smith, a Weskan Republican and chair of the House Taxation Committee, said the “sheer velocity” of home price [...]

The Overland Park Police Department is one step closer to having a true, on-campus training center for its officers. For years, the department has utilized a temporary space, originally intended as a garage, for physical fitness training. Additional training, such as mandatory shooting practice, is completed elsewhere, either at another police department facility in the area or at private facilities. But on Monday, city leaders, department officials and retired members of Overland Park Police marked the formal start of construction on a dedicated, more sustainable training facility on the W. Jack Sanders Justice Center campus with a groundbreaking ceremony. Read more: [...]

Marysville Mayor Todd Frye is looking to incorporate the youth of the community to help design the city’s next flag. Frye said Marysville’s over-50-year-old flag could use a refresh, and decided it would be fun to involve the youth. He said he is hoping to branch off the city’s coloring page competitions that the council hosts for the students. “I’m hoping to kind of branch off of that, but also include junior high and high school kids in the community.” “The students can just draft whatever they think of as a flag that would represent Marysville and what it means to [...]

This artist needs to think big. That’s because his proverbial canvas isn’t just a small square on an easel, it might be the side of a building. Today we’ll meet a rural Kansas man who is creating murals for communities across Kansas and beyond.  Layne Stafford is the artist who has created murals around the state. He grew up in Hill City where his father was a music teacher. “Creativity was encouraged at our house growing up,” Stafford said. “Our dad’s classroom was next to the art room, so we were exposed to some of that.” Stafford and his brother enjoyed [...]

A new two-day celebration is coming to Dickinson County as part of the U.S. 250 commemoration, funded through local and regional sponsors. Organized between Old Abilene Town, the Smoky Valley Railroad, and the Dickinson County Historical Society, Plains, Trains and Cowboys: A 250th U.S.A. Celebration, will take place April 24–25 on the grounds of Old Abilene Town and Heritage Center beginning at 10:00 a.m. both days. Austin Anders, Historical Society Director, said the event was designed to mark the nation’s 250th birthday with attractions that reflect the region’s character and history. “Of course, plains, trains, and cowboys seemed like a natural [...]

"Those guys are 32 chickens," says Spring Hill resident Lindsay Museousky, as she scans her 10 acres along 191st in Spring Hill, Kansas. "That's the dairy farm ... the horse farm is there," she mentions and points from the west to the east across her land. "It's one of the main things that we love about this area. We love the open land ... it gets pitch dark, and it's so quiet." She thinks for a moment and smiles. "I mean, you hear occasional planes going by and we have an owl that's been in that tree since 2019." When she [...]