Hillsboro Free Press

Like many towns in Marion County, Hillsboro recently hosted a day of Christmas-themed activities, and many around town kept hearing about all of the fun things going on at the museums in town. Thanks to the hard work of Cara Duell and her new position as Hillsboro’s Community Engagement Coordinator, kids and adults alike got to have a different experience than usual at Hillsboro’s Annual Down Home Christmas earlier this month and it’s just the start of some of the events and ideas that Duell has planned. Duell was recently hired by the city to revamp the museum program and come [...]

Almost anyone who has golfed in Hillsboro anytime in the past 30 years or so knows who Gary Andrews is, because he is always around the golf course and always friendly. “Gary has done amazing things for the Hillsboro Golf Course,” Hillsboro City Administrator Matt Stiles said. “Gary works as hard as anyone I’ve ever known and has devoted himself to making sure Hillsboro has a superb golf course. Gary is also the first one to offer a hand or advice on other projects around the city. Expertise and work ethic like that don’t come around very often, and the city [...]

The Canton Township Carnegie Library is turning 100 in October. To celebrate, they will be holding an event from 1-4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 2 at the library. In addition to serving homemade ice cream from old-fashioned crank operators, the staff and board members will have games that were popular in the 1920s available to play and they will have a silent movie playing during the event to feature additional 1920s technology. “We are going to go with the 1920’s theme,” said Kim Witt, library board president. “People can dress in 20s costume if they would like and we’ll have a [...]

While Ben Steketee just celebrated 20 years as Hillsboro Fire Chief on Sunday, he didn’t ever think he would get to fight fires, let alone be chief. “I grew up in California where only the most fit and the best of the best were chosen for positions in fire departments. And I got into some trouble when I was growing up so I never thought I would be in a top position,” said Steketee. But then Steketee moved to Kansas. “I moved to Hillsboro and my friend Dale Winter asked me if I would want to volunteer for the fire department. [...]

Local kids walk along the new paved walking trail in Hillsboro. The trail provides a safe place for people to walk in town. Hillsboro has had plans for several years to have a paved walking path and this spring the path was completed. The new paved walking trail runs on the north end of town from Main Street between Hillsboro State Bank and Central National Bank to the front doors of Hillsboro Community Hospital. While the trail has been completed for several months now, it became officially recognized last week when the City of Hillsboro hosted a “Trail Gate Party” on [...]

A previously empty storefront on Hillsboro’s Main Street has been filled with a much needed business. Infinity Fitness is a gym that provides “local fitness at affordable prices” according to their website. “Fitness has always been a passion of mine and it was something I could bring to the community,” said owner Ryan Franz. Franz, who grew up in Hillsboro, said they had a soft opening on Saturday, June 5, and they are having a grand opening on June 19. “We are open 24/7. I’m here for sign-ups from 12-2 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. every weekday and then every Saturday from [...]

Main Street in Hillsboro was busy Saturday evening thanks to an event put together by the Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce. It all started earlier in the day with the 23rd Annual Car Show in the park. Guests could check out the cars for free. Then later that day was the Hillsboro Downtown Cruise. From 5-6:30 p.m. there was a contest for all the cars that entered. There was plenty to do though even for those without cars. Lots of fun food was available from various vendors and restaurants and several businesses were open. There was also lots of music with DJ Darcy [...]

After years of service, Mayor Dave Schrag will be stepping down from his post as Mayor of Goessel. Schrag has served two separate stints as Mayor, from 1993 to 1999 and 2014 to 2021. Schrag said he was motivated to join city government on a write-in campaign the first time he took a leadership role. “The city streets were in bad shape, and the Council didn’t want to let go of the money to fix them, but it was in the budget. That was the main thing that got me going,” he said. During his tenure as Mayor, Schrag was not [...]

The City of Hillsboro has unveiled the final site development plan for the Community Plaza project. Phase one of the project is anticipated to begin this year. The site, which covers half a city block, will be installed in two parts and feature a variety of amenities for residents, from a stage to a splash pad to food truck parking. City Administrator Matt Stiles said the ambitious project has been years in the making. Three houses were removed from the site several years ago, and today, it sits as a construction zone for the fiber optic cable project. “I think it’s [...]

Sunday afternoon, firefighters responded to a 600-acre wildland fire near Lincolnville. Chance Hayes, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service Wichita, spotted the fire using satellite thermal imagery on Sunday. Hayes was monitoring satellite feeds from the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service Group – a subsidiary of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. “Once we recognize a hotspot, we can use our software to drop a pin on that location. That will send out a text to all the individuals in that county that want to be notified of a possible wildfire,” he said. Source: Hillsboro Free Press