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A fight over fluoride in drinking water in Abilene, Kansas, could preview battles likely to play out in cities across the country as the next presidential administration puts a spotlight on the issue. Plus: President-elect Trump's immigration policies will likely affect the meatpacking industry, and in turn, the cost of food. Members of the incoming Trump administration want to remove fluoride from public water. It’s drawing more attention to the mineral many cities add to public water supplies to strengthen peoples’ teeth. As Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga reports, a town in Kansas just went through that debate last year. Source: KCUR News

Groups on both sides of a proposed bond issue for Wichita schools have named leaders and launched campaigns ahead of the February election. Wichita United for Better Education, a political action committee formed by Republican strategist Ben Davis to oppose the bond issue, said on a new website that the Wichita district should focus on basic maintenance and student test scores rather than building new schools. Bradley Dyer Jr., a senior business development officer with Credit Union of America, is spearheading a “Yes for Wichita Kids” campaign in favor of the bond issue. He said the proposal is a responsible plan [...]

New wind installations aren’t allowed in about one-fifth of Kansas counties, in part to protect the nation’s last, largest swath of tallgrass prairie. Wind power can spark passionate reactions – at times dividing neighbors and communities – but unlike many other hot-button topics, how this one shakes out across Kansas may not follow political lines. Researchers at the University of Kansas have begun exploring the drivers behind the regulations that vary county by county and control where wind farms are – and aren’t – allowed. They’ve created a first-of-its-kind interactive atlas that pulls together rules for the state’s 105 counties, creating [...]