Stingers, Spikes, Steam engines, Twisters, and Gators: all mascots could soon be on the chopping block. The Newton School District will consider transitioning all schools to a single mascot, The Railer. Board Member Melissa Schreiber requested Monday night that the discussion be added to the district’s Oct. 12 agenda. Read more: Harvey County Now

Overland Park voters will decide on a new 1/4-cent sales tax in March 2027 to help fund parks and recreation projects. If ultimately passed, that could raise around $176 million over 10 years, which would be used exclusively for parks projects. A 1/4-cent sales tax would apply roughly two cents to a $10 purchase. That money would go toward addressing a nearly $250 million delta identified in Playbook OP, the city’s new parks and recreation master plan, between currently anticipated spending and the full estimated cost of the new parks plan over the next decade. Read more: Johnson County Post

Overland Park could pull in millions of dollars for projects around its future city hall under the recently approved Black & Veatch redevelopment incentive deal. The entire package — one of the largest in Overland Park’s history — is tied to Black & Veatch’s billion-dollar redevelopment project that will bring housing, commercial space and more to the firm’s headquarters campus at the heart of Overland Park. Nearby, the city has also plotted out its own investments, with a new city hall planned nearby on College Boulevard. Read more: Johnson County Post

Leawood Police are crediting a dog with alerting an officer to help its owner, who was in need of medical attention at a residential home last month. Leawood PD posted edited clips of the officer’s body cam footage to social media this week, where it quickly picked up likes, shares and reactions. “Sometimes, our four-legged friends know exactly what to do,” the post began. Read more: Johnson County Post

Ten new squirrels will be joining Marysville’s Black Squirrels on Parade this October 24 at 3:00 p.m. in the 700/800 blocks of Broadway. Wayne Kruse, OneMarysville Executive Director, said adding new squirrels isn’t an extremely common occurrence. Read more: KCLY Radio

Yes. Kansas legalized self-driving vehicles for commercial and personal use in 2022. Autonomous vehicles are permitted if they comply with state and federal regulations and traffic laws and can reach a minimal safety condition, such as stopping on a road shoulder if the automated system fails. Operators must meet state licensing, registration and insurance requirements. They must also provide the Kansas Highway Patrol with safety information, including contact information for a fleet support specialist and plans for first responders in the event of a crash or fire. Read more: KLC Journal

Voting for the general election begins in one week, and for voters in Caldwell, that means deciding on a proposed 1% sales tax. The city administrator said that if the sales tax is approved, it will raise about $150,000 every year and be in effect for a decade. Read more: KSN-TV

The City of Emporia is preparing for the next phase of construction to replace an over century-old storm sewer that partially collapsed earlier this year. In late March, a police car was partially swallowed by a sinkhole that opened up on Commercial Street between Ninth and 10th avenues. According to a city engineer, the cause of the sinkhole was a 100- to 125-year-old 44-inch storm sewer pipe underneath the street that had collapsed. Read more: KSN-TV

The City of Garden City announced Tuesday that City Manager Matt Allen will retire in the first quarter of 2027. Allen began his career in public service with the City of Salina in 1996. In 1997, he became assistant to the city manager in Joplin, Missouri. In 2000, he became the city administrator of Oakley. He returned to his hometown of Garden City in 2002, becoming assistant city manager and was appointed city manager in 2008, succeeding Bob Halloran. Read more: KSN-TV

Hoisington voters will have a sales tax to consider come election day. The 0.5% proposed tax, an extra half-penny per dollar spent, has no sunset date, meaning there is no plan for the sales tax to end. Hoisington already assesses a 0.75% sales tax, so the total would rise to 1.25%. Including county and state taxes, shoppers would pay 10.25% of their bill in sales taxes. City Manager Jonathan Mitchell estimates the tax increase would generate around $180,000 a year. The money would go to directly to sewer and water systems he said are out of date. Read more: KSN-TV