“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 School District Superintendent. Destry Brown is the superintendent of the Fort Scott School District and says they are going from watering the school’s soccer fields and courtyards multiple times a day — to once every other day for only 15 minutes. And the Fort Scott Fire Chief tells us — the department has to cancel their city-wide fire hydrant test, which they usually do every year.
Source: KSNF/KODE

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 Fiscal Year 2024 KDOT funds to 15 projects – with 16 bridges to be replaced plus 12 more to be removed.
Source: KSNF/KODE