Arkansas City hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday at Lovie Watson Park. The ribbon cutting was hosted by the Arkansas City Chamber of Commerce and marked the culmination of extensive efforts by Arkansas City's Parks Department to renovate the park. The renovations were made possible through a grant that was secured in Nov. 2023 from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Health Pathways program. The grant funding helped install new equipment and establish a tobacco-free policy within the facility. The Pathways initiative, known as Pathways to a Healthy Kansas, is the largest community grant initiative funded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield [...]

Wichita firefighters took the time to teach kids about being first responders, letting them spend a day in their boots. On Friday, the Wichita Fire Department hosted a summer camp, giving kids a personal perspective on the life of a firefighter. They learned how to pull a hose, spray water, and force their way into a building. "We want to get out in the community and do fun things, great things with the kids. We want to share what we do with them. We want to have fun with them and let them know if they ever need us that we [...]

An emergency shelter is now open in Cowley County, and it has already housed its first temporary residents. The shelter has been in the works for years but now has the opportunity to change lives. In Cowley County, resources for housing are slim. The Cowley House of Hope shelter is meant to fill those gaps. The shelter's been in the works since 2017 when thousands of dollars had to be raised to make it a reality. The shelter is built similarly to a duplex. It sleeps five people and has two rooms with several beds in each. Each room also has a small [...]

The city of Sedgwick will have a city-run EMS service for the first time since 2017. City leaders made the decision to give up their certificate to run EMS services because they were not getting enough volunteers. This meant the closest ambulance was coming 15 minutes down the road from Halstead. The city's new EMS director believes having in-service in the city limits once again will get them under the five-minute response requirement by the state of Kansas. Sedgwick's officials made the decision to start stockpiling funds yearly from 2017. Now, they have roughly $500,000 to launch the new department. Having Halstead run [...]

A Kansas grant is helping put new apartments into old buildings across the state. "It's crucial to have on Main Street. Main Streets have been notorious for dying out and we are very proud of our Main Street and what we continue to do for our Main Street," said Clint Bundy, president of Sterling Main Street/Chamber of Commerce. Bundy explains Sterling is one of eight towns in Kansas getting fifty grand to help put apartments into upper floors of towns in the Kansas Main Street program. "It's historic, it's old. It needed a lot of attention and TLC," said Bundy. Bundy's talking about the historic [...]

The Dodge City Convention and Visitors Bureau has unveiled a new "Big Blue" trolley. The organization has been operating a red trolley for a decade that shuttles visitors on tours of the historic Old West town. The new 30-seat trolley features padded seating, vivid video displays, etched glass windows, and enhanced audio features, according to the bureau. "We've been eagerly anticipating this moment for over a year, and it's truly exciting to finally welcome our new trolley to Dodge City," said Megan Welsh, director of the Dodge City Convention and Visitors Bureau. "Our beloved big red trolley has created lasting memories for thousands [...]

The Wichita City Council narrowly passed an amendment to the drought response plan ordinance. It passed 4-3. The ordinance lets the city manager take multiple factors into consideration when determining the drought stage. Right now, it is based on the 12-month average water level at Cheney Reservoir. The amendment widens the criteria to include weather trends and water demands. Before Tuesday, water restrictions would kick in when water levels were below 70% at Cheney Lake. At the start of last month, our 12-month average was right at 70.1%. After Tuesday's vote, the city manager decides whether to implement Stage 2 drought restrictions, [...]