A bridge replacement project in western Kansas is creating a nearly 60-mile detour. The Kansas Department of Transportation says work has started to replace a bridge on Kansas Highway 34 in Clark County. The bridge is located over Bluff Creek, about 8 miles north of the U.S. Highway 160 Junction north of Sitka. During the project, traffic is being diverted onto U.S. Highway 160, west to U.S. Highway 283 to Minneola and U.S. Highway 54, and east on U.S. 54 to Bucklin and the K-34 junction. KDOT says the detour is necessary because the county roads cannot support highway traffic. Source: [...]

Barton County Fire District 2 determined a grass fire had somewhat of a squirrelly cause. A Facebook post from the fire district said firefighters were dispatched to a small grass fire near the intersection of U.S. Highway 281 and NE 50 Road. They arrived and found a small grass fire that appeared to have started near the base of a power pole. The fire was extinguished, and after some investigation, it was determined that it started when a squirrel climbed on the wires of the power pole. The squirrel made contact with two power lines, which caused a spark that set [...]

The City of Wichita is on the fourth day of water restrictions and is already issuing violation notices. Public Works Director Gary Janzen was not specific about the number of violations reported, but he said some of the people who received notices plan to appeal. “We’re not proactively going out looking for people who are running irrigation systems when they’re not supposed to,” he said. “It’s not meant to be punitive, so we’re not actively trying to go after people. Our goal here is education of the community and the value we have with conservation community-wide.” After people get a violation [...]

The City of Hutchinson is getting creative to solve the housing crisis. The Hutchinson City Council approved the purchasing of land on the west side of town, and will partner with a developer to build somewhere between 24 and 33 new homes. Hutchinson City Manager Enrico Villegas told KSN it’s a unique approach, but it’s what they decided. “So this is gonna be unique for the city, and it’s probably a little unorthodox in general,” Villegas said. “But that is going to be the approach that we’re taking to at least help get us out of the housing crisis that we’re [...]

As students are preparing to return to campus in the coming weeks, college enrollment across the country is rising, recovering from the drop it took in 2020. In the 2024 spring semester, undergraduate enrollment grew 2.5%. That means over 300,000 more students enrolled compared to 2023. More than half of the increase is at community colleges. Community colleges across Kansas are also seeing a spike in students this fall. The official count will come later this fall, but according to the Kansas Community College Association, schools with increases have seen enrollment increases of 2-3% to as much as 20%. “What we [...]