The City of Arkansas City is deeply saddened to announce the passing of Chad Gleason, who died Thursday morning while on duty—doing the work he cared deeply about and took great pride in every day.  Chad had been a valued member of the City’s Sanitation Division since January 2024. More than a colleague, he was a trusted friend and an essential part of the Public Services Department. His strong work ethic, positive attitude, and dedication to serving Arkansas City will be profoundly missed by all who had the honor of working  with him.  Source: Local – Cowley Post

Concern over the behavior of an Ark City area man – who’s been seen taking walks in the nude in his neighborhood – has led to an effort to bolster the law against public nudity. The same issue involving the same person has come up before in the IXL neighborhood south of Ark City where the walks have occurred. Warmer weather seems to be more suitable for the displays which neighbors don’t care for and have tried to get stopped. Attempts have been made to speak with or otherwise confront the man, without success. Now, Pam Crain, a local woman known [...]

A three-judge panel from the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals appeared unconvinced Friday that five Sedgwick County juvenile detention officers should be immune from an excessive force lawsuit in the 2021 death of 17-year-old Cedric “CJ” Lofton. The county officers were appealing an Oct. 3 ruling by Eric Melgren, chief judge of the U.S. District Court of Kansas, who denied the officers’ petition to dismiss all claims against them, saying that a jury must decide who to believe about what happened inside a small cell at the Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center. Source: Wichita Kansas Local News, Crime & More [...]

The Coffey Health System Board of Trustees has voted to cease obstetrics care at Coffey County Hospital, according to a report from the health system’s marketing department published in the Coffey County Republican. Labor and delivery services incurred a $1.3 million annual loss for the health system in 2024, the report noted. In the last five years, the hospital averaged 65 births per year. Projections for 2025 are less than half that. The change aggravates a growing maternity desert in southeast Kansas. Only Neosho, Labette, Montgomery and Crawford counties have hospitals with obstetrics services.  Source: The Iola Register

Manhattan may see more charging stations in the near future for electric vehicles as they become more common. At Monday’s meeting, Riley County’s MPO planning manager told officials to expect some changes in infrastructure to accommodate the gradual rise in EV use. Tremblay said drivers with electric vehicles tend to pass through the Manhattan area and having charging stations can accommodate those visitors. There are currently 12 EV charging stations in Manhattan. Tremblay said possible locations for new charging stations may be on privately owned parking lots such as the Westloop area or the Stratford village. He said people coming into [...]

In reaction to the Kansas legislature capping property tax increases at the local level, the City of El Dorado is considering a sales tax increase to reduce the mill levy. The discussion was held at the April 2 El Dorado City Commission Workshop. City Manager David Dillner introduced the topic of the sales tax, saying it could lower the levy by 14 mills. The City already has a 1% sales tax that goes into the general fund and any excess funds special projects. The City would have to cap their sales tax at 2%, meaning a new tax couldn’t be higher [...]

The Kansas Legislature overturned the governor’s veto of a bill that opens state and county health officials to civil action for decisions about quarantines and takes away their authority to ban public gatherings in situations of infectious disease. Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed Senate Bill 29, but the veto was overridden April 10 by the Senate and House. There was little discussion in the Senate, but multiple representatives spoke out against the bill in the House. Source: www.derbyinformer.com - RSS Results in news/area_news of type article

As an Army chaplain, Father Emil Kapaun didn’t carry a gun. But President Barack Obama, while awarding him a posthumous Medal of Honor for his bravery in the Korean War, said the Catholic priest from Kansas wielded the mightiest weapon of all. “A love for his brothers so pure,” Obama said during the 2013 ceremony, “that he was willing to die so that they might live.” Kapaun dragged injured soldiers to safety during the Battle of Unsan. And, as enemy forces closed in, he allowed himself to be captured so that he could continue to care for his men. He prayed [...]

Everyone is an intruder until we know differently. Superintendent Dr. Rae Niles told a crowd of more than a dozen patrons attending Monday’s meeting of the Board of Education that this perspective “is the only way we move forward” following an incident last week in which two individuals unfamiliar to the district made their way into the high school building past a number of teachers and students. Source: Harvey County Now

The Newton Board of Education, like most educational entities in the United States, is facing many unknowns when it comes to federal dictates regarding education. During the regularly scheduled board meeting Monday evening, the board dug into some of those issues and how best they can respond. “At the federal level, everything is still a crapshoot,” Superintendent Fred Van Ranken said while providing the board with a legislative update. “We just don’t know things at a federal level.” Van Ranken advised there have been rumblings about funding cuts to Head Start services, but nothing has been confirmed. He did say he [...]