News

Sheriff's deputies in Kansas made an unexpected traffic stop on Friday when they pulled over a vehicle carrying none other than 1980s pop-rock icon John Waite and his band. Sergeant Justin Rugg conducted the stop as the group was headed to Dodge City, Kansas, for a performance at United Wireless Arena. A longtime fan, Rugg couldn’t hide his excitement. The Kiowa County Sheriff's Office shared the encounter in a lighthearted social media post, calling Waite a “cool guy” and thanking him for taking a photo with the sergeant. Read more: KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com

We now know the name of the man who died after a trench collapsed in the city Thursday. The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department (KCKPD) says 54-year-old Francisco Rodriguez, a resident of the city, died that day. The collapse happened at 16th Street and Metropolitan Avenue near the train tracks and the Kansas River. Read more: KSNT 27 News

A local family is getting ready to embark on a new adventure in Burlingame with the opening of an ice cream parlor in an old bank. Robin Ridgeway is getting ready for the big day when Sweet Savings Bank Ice Cream Parlor opens its doors to the community. Ridgeway and her husband, Brett, along with her daughter Samantha Garrison and son-in-law David Garrison, will open the shop for business at 11 a.m. on Thursday, July 31 at 102 West Santa Fe in Burlingame. Read more: KSNT 27 News

The City of Andover and residents celebrated a new city park opening on Tuesday evening. The park is unique in its relativity to the new Fire Station 2 and it’s positioning south of HWY 400. Fire Station Park, located at 650 S Andover Road, finally officially opened on Tuesday, July 22. The park was long-awaited by residents who reside south of HWY 400, as they haven’t had their own park with a children’s playground on that side of the highway until now. Read more: Butler County Times-Gazette

A new four-legged recruit is rising through the ranks at Sedgwick County Fire District 1. She is a 15-month-old Belgian Malinois named Violet who is training to join the department’s search and rescue operations as a K9 crew member. Read more: www.derbyinformer.com - RSS Results in news/area_news of type article

Amid recent allegations of bullying and verbal attacks, nearly the entirety of the McCune City Council and much of the city government resigned on Tuesday. Resignations included not only three of the five city council members, but also the mayor, city clerk, superintendent, assistant superintendent, and public works director, effectively leaving the small town of 350 without leadership or government infrastructure. Read more: - Latest Stories

The declaration gives state and local governments, as well as certain nonprofits, the ability to apply for public assistance funds to repair and replace damaged infrastructure. The counties that can apply are Bourbon, Cheyenne, Edwards, Gove, Kiowa, Logan, Pratt, Reno, Scott, Sheridan and Stafford. Read more: Hutch News

State officials have said the plant will draw employees from as far as Topeka in the west, Leavenworth in the north and reaching into suburbs east of Kansas City. Read more: CJonline

Designating downtown as a CCA would allow participating establishments within the district to sell cereal malt beverages and alcohol in cups up to 16 ounces, marked with the business logo, that could be carried and consumed within the boundaries. Read more: Harvey County Now

Originally, the county intended to ask voters to renew the 10-year, quarter-cent public safety sales tax in November, planning to use it on capital and operating costs for the county’s Med-Act ambulance service, sheriff’s office, district attorney, mental health crisis intervention and disaster response. Now, the question is expected to come to voters in March 2026 instead, and the wording of the question could be modified. Read more: Johnson County Post