Lyon County Engineer Wayne Scritchfield appeared before the Lyon County Commission Thursday to discuss a potential new method to stabilize gravel roads, reduce the need for frequent grading and prevent pothole formation. The new method would involve applying a proprietary road stabilization product by mixing it approximately eight inches deep into the base of gravel roads. The product is designed to harden and stabilize the road surface, with several counties in Iowa and other areas with increased traffic and severe weather using it extensively.
Read more: www.emporiagazette.com

A wandering bull was located in Olathe, Kansas on Monday afternoon, and police are looking for the owner. The Johnson County Sheriff’s office found the bull near 151st Street and Evening Star Road. An animal control deputy is working to find the bull’s owner.
Read more: FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV

The Halstead Heritage Museum and Depot has the only working telegraph open to the public in the state of Kansas, according to 2024 Historical Society Volunteer of the Year Joe Trego, who recently installed the museum’s new feature. The telegraph is original to the depot, removed by Lauren Mac (LM) Watkins in 1981 when the railroad closed the depot. Watkins was the last station agent, according to his son, Mike Watkins, who had been storing the telegraph in his basement until recently.
Read more: Harvey County Now

With no clear answers, communication or even a timeline on the ever-present grocery store question, a study may offer an alternative. With oversight from the United Way of Harvey and Marion Counties, the Healthy Harvey Coalition has received a grant to help fund a study to see if Hesston could sustain a fresh foods market in a possible brick and mortar location. This idea came about thanks to the overwhelming response to the Hesston Farmers’ Market.
Read more: Harvey County Now

Kansas and the nation face a veterinarian shortage, and state agriculture experts are collaborating to draw more vets to practice in rural areas. Kansas State University officials are supporting programs that introduce veterinary students to rural lifestyles and gathering data to understand where shortages exist, said Brad White, director of K-State’s Beef Cattle Institute and director of the Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas. The United States has lost about 90% of its food animal veterinarians since the 1940s, according to a 2023 Johns Hopkins study. But it is challenging to get a handle on specific needs within the state, White said. About 2,500 licensed vets practice in Kansas, a number that has been steady for a few years, according to a survey published last year by the Farm Journal Foundation and the Kansas Department of Agriculture. The difficulty is tracking specific areas in Kansas that have veterinary shortages and in what practice areas those shortages are occurring, White said. Veterinarians may have mixed animal practices, meaning they care for large and companion animals, or they may specialize, he said.
Read more: Hays Daily News

Overland Park officials are considering a complete overhaul to the city’s zoning code that would eliminate single-family-only districts and rezone all 76 square miles of the city under a new “character-based” framework. It would be a departure from how Johnson County’s biggest city has handled zoning for decades, and a move without apparent precedent in the Kansas City metro. Notably, the new code, called the Unified Development Ordinance, if enacted, could allow for the construction of more housing types, including duplexes and townhomes, in residential areas that are currently zoned only for traditional single-family homes. Some officials have acknowledged the scale of what the city is attempting as they’ve discussed these changes in focus groups, workshops and public meetings.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Olathe is the latest Johnson County city to pass new regulations on e-scooters and similar devices as local leaders respond to growing safety concerns. The Olathe City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved an updated ordinance in a 7-0 vote after several months of discussion, revisions and feedback from residents and city staff. Cities across Johnson County have been updating their rules for e-scooters and e-bikes over the past year as the devices — some of which can clock speeds approaching 40 miles per hour — have grown in popularity, particularly among children and teens. Those efforts have been given renewed urgency following the death of 10-year-old Duke Ommert, who was killed while riding a motorized scooter in Leawood last October.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Nearly one-fifth of Americans relied on drinking water systems with elevated and potentially dangerous levels of nitrate in recent years, according to a new study released Thursday. The nonprofit Environmental Working Group examined test data collected by water systems across the country between 2021 and 2023, the most recent data available.  Water systems serving more than 3 million people exceeded the federal safety limit of 10 milligrams per liter over the three years, the research and advocacy organization found. The analysis also found that thousands of water systems serving more than 62 million people reported nitrate levels above 3 milligrams per liter at least once during those years, which indicates human-caused drinking-water contamination.  States with big agricultural industries recorded more reports of elevated nitrate levels. In fact, the report found that 64% of all water systems that recorded nitrate levels at or above the legal limit were in just five states: California, Texas, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma. 
Read more: Kansas Reflector

The Geary County Historical Society recently hosted its 4th annual “History Alive” reenactment event. On Friday, April 17, organizers said more than 400 students in grades 8–12 attended a special school-day program. That Saturday, hundreds of community members visited the event at the Spring Valley Historic Site in Geary County, which covered nearly three acres. Reenactors from across Kansas and even other states helped bring history to life by showing what life was like in the mid-1800s. Visitors could watch and try activities such as spinning, weaving, archery, flintknapping, and pioneer household chores. There were also cultural demonstrations, including traditional Ojibwe dancing.
Read more: KCLY Radio