Rep. Blake Carpenter (R-Derby) recently pitched a novel idea to lawmakers that he says could eliminate state property tax collections within eight years without cutting any services the state provides. In a nutshell, here’s how it works: The Legislature creates a board that is empowered to review and eliminate sales tax exemptions, boosting state revenues to the tune of $2 billion per year. That money flows into a Freedom From Taxes Fund, which grows until it reaches a point where annual interest is enough to fully offset the 21.5 mills the state assesses to fund public schools. Eventually, the fund could [...]

Harvey County decided to move forward with a City of Newton partnership for road improvements along East First Street from Spencer to Oliver. The county first heard the request in mid-March, when city commissioners approached the county, asking for a partnership on the project. The city commissioners said this would be a show of unity between the two governing bodies and would be a good signal for developers considering the area. Source: Harvey County Now

The Shawnee Mission school board could soon finalize new procedures aimed at addressing disparities in school-based donations. One goal of the move is to more closely scrutinize funds raised to pay for additional staff positions. To prevent inequity in donations that may allow some schools to gain educational advantages over others, the school board’s policy committee on Monday afternoon reviewed a draft of an updated district donation policy as well as a procedure for reviewing so-called community-funded staff positions. Source: Johnson County Post

The idea to bring a single citywide trash hauler Merriam may soon come to fruition. The Merriam City Council during a Monday work session directed city staff to negotiate a single waste hauler contract with GFL Environmental Inc., a Canadian waste hauler that services several other northeast Johnson County cities. Out of four companies that offered bids, GFL came in as the lowest bidder at just more than $830,000 a year. That contract would translate to a monthly cost of about $23 per residence (about $3 more to cover administrative costs, as allowed in state statute). Source: Johnson County Post

So far in 2025, Parsons police officers have responded to 190 animal-related cases and seven bite cases. In 2024, the department responded to 1,293 animal-related calls and recorded 24 animals bite cases. On Tuesday, March 25, Officers responded to a report of multiple people being bitten by dogs by Daylight Doughnuts. EMS provided care to the victims and authorities took the dogs to Parsons Pet Hospital for a required quarantine. Source: www.koamnewsnow.com - RSS Results in news/local-news of type article

The head of Wichita's water system says he hears many ideas about how to keep the city's water supply from drying up. On Tuesday, he told city leaders why some of those ideas would not work and proposed some ideas the city has never considered. Gary Janzen is the director of Wichita Public Works and Utilities. He told the Wichita City Council that the city is still in Stage 2 of its drought response plan and will likely stay there for the rest of the year. People can only water lawns and flowers once a week. "This isn't just so people [...]

Ask for a ride and support your community, organizers say. A one-day drive aims to raise awareness of the need for more regional public transportation options, including same-day ride services. “Drive to Thrive: A Ride Blitz” is set for Tuesday, April 2, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Cloud County. Organized by OCCK, Inc., rides are provided by OCCK Transportation, which serves north-central Kansas with accessible, affordable transit services. Source: KSN-TV

Gamers will have a new space to call home in the Midwest very soon. In just a few weeks, an Esports arena will open at the 12th Street Community Center in Junction City, bringing gaming and life skills to the Sunflower State. Source: KSNT 27 News

Measles cases are on the rise in southwest Kansas as the Kansas Department of Health and Environment has recorded 10 confirmed cases as of Friday, March 21. The risk of measles spreading in Kansas remains low. However, pockets of low vaccination coverage leave some communities at higher risk for outbreaks according to the KDHE. The cases have been confirmed in Stevens, Morton and Grant counties, with no hospitalizations or deaths. Source: Garden City Telegram

The natural gas supply to Hoxie was cut off Monday morning. Midwest Energy says they lost the gas supply line that feeds the city. Meters were turned off until gas could be restored. The utility says it has established service to the city and crews are going door-to-door relighting customers' appliances. Source: KSN-TV