PITTSBURG, Kan. — The historic Pittsburg Middle School building unveils some newly completed renovations Friday. A ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrated the completion of the $16.5 million bond project. New additions include a fully renovated auditorium and flexible learning spaces. Over the last ten years, administrators say certain sections of the 1921 building were unable to house students and staff. The new space now allows the middle school to function at full capacity. ... "So we have a lot of open collaborative spaces. It was also built in such a way that if we do need to put up walls for additional classrooms [...]

"Because dry conditions normally can lead to fires," said Dave Bruner, Fort Scott Fire Chief. That's a big reason why officials with the Fort Scott Fire Department and School District are trying to limit their water usage. City officials announced water storage has fallen below 70% capacity on Tuesday -- and will not recover in the usual amount of time. "We are on water conservation efforts right now, our lake levels are really low, they're probably as low as they've been historically. And so the city has put out that they want us to conserve water," said Destry Brown, Fort Scott [...]

Bridge projects across Kansas are getting a boost thanks to two local bridge improvement programs benefiting from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Thirty-five local and off-system bridge projects across the Sunflower State will receive a combined total of $42.3 million - which combined with matching funds from the awarded cities and counties, comes out to $48.8 million. Governor Laura Kelly along with Kansas Transportation Secretary Calvin Reed announced the projects in Dodge City on Thursday. KDoT's Off-System Bridge program (OSB) awarded $20.5 million in Fiscal Year 2025 funds to 20 projects. The Kansas Local Bridge Improvement Program (KLBIP) awarded $21.8 million in [...]