Water is a business! City Council and rural water district boards have a lot to consider: water pressure, meeting all federal and state regulations and standards, and making rates affordable. In fact, their job is making the right choices about complex managerial, financial, and technical aspects of running a high quality water utility. Yes, it takes time to keep up on the laws, regulations, and rules. However, as a board/council member, you are personally responsible. Water is the foundation of your community’s jobs and future.

Like any business, there are risks and options, but is your board/council keeping them in mind? Boards/Councils need to know the pros and cons concerning your managerial, financial, and technical decision about water. That is why KanCap, a component of the Kansas Capacity Development Program, was established by the state of Kansas. KanCap is designed to be an educational tool to assist board/council members in operating their water business.

Learn more and register here.

A billboard along Interstate 70 boasting about the productivity of Kansas farmers may say more about what’s happening in agriculture than those who put it there realize. The message seems simple and straightforward: “1 Kansas Farmer Feeds 155 People + You!” A closer look reveals it’s been crudely updated — an indication that the tally changes with some frequency. The steady escalation of the number of people fed by a single Kansas farmer — from 73 in the 1970s to 155 today — reveals how lots of small farmers have been replaced by large farmers intent on getting even bigger. That trend threatens scores of small towns that sprouted on the prairie in a different time, when larger numbers of small farmers depended on them. Many of Kansas’ small towns look weathered, worn and neglected after more than a century of exodus.

(Read more: KCUR)

The opening of a child care center attracts little notice in a city or suburb. In rural Kansas, it’s cause for celebration. The focus on young families, and the hope that represents, is remarkably rare in small towns fighting for survival against forces largely beyond their control. No matter how scarce, said Iowa State University social scientist Dave Peters, it’s an essential ingredient in what he and his research team refer to as a “shrink smart” town. A place residents remain committed to improving even as it gets smaller. “Shrink smart communities are those that saw faster than average declines in population but also had above-average gains in quality of life,” Peters said. Small, rural communities can do little to reverse decades-long population trends, Peters said. But they can improve the quality of life for the people who stay.

(Read more: KCUR)