News

Upon saying the Pledge of Allegiance and approving a consent agenda, the Commissioners were briefed on the various road and bridge projects underway at this time. A cattle guard was repaired near Belvidere, County fuel tanks were replaced in several locations, and the maintainers are busy grading the roadways. Next week tree trimming will begin south of Belvidere. They are looking into purchasing a used boom-lift for trimming and high work throughout the County. Prices are coming in for a new track loader equipped with a clamshell bucket for use at the landfill. The best deal is a 7-year lease that includes a 7-year warranty. The lease model will come equipped with a construction package. A lease contract will be considered at the next Commissioner’s meeting.

COUNCIL GROVE, Kansas — Cornell University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and 30 other schools owe at least part of their existence to land taken from Kansas’ indigenous people.

In 2021 the rural population of Kansas continued to decline while the Kansas City region remained one of the fastest-growing areas in the nation. It is estimated that Sunflower State has over 6,000 ghost towns and dwindling communities (World population review, KS). Rural flight has ushered in the Grim Reaper, actively collecting the soul of communities throughout the Heartland. Haviland is no different than many struggling communities showing a population growth rate since 2010 of negative 6% (World population review, Haviland).

Kansas Day at the Pratt County Historical Society Jan. 26-27 - Kansas Day at the historical museum will be next week, January 26 & 27, 2022.

The January 10 Kiowa County school board monthly meeting covered important COVID-19 related safety measures. Board members covered several items on the agenda and handled some old business in regards to the Kansas Association of School Boards with the approval of their policy updates. They appointed a negotiations team and reviewed their 2020-2021 financial audit before turning their attention to the most important meaure at hand - the district’s “Safe Return to In-Person instruction Plan.”

MANHATTAN, Kan. January 21, 2022 - Kansas feedlots, with capacities of 1,000 or more head, contained 2.49 million cattle on feed on January 1, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. This inventory was down slightly from last year.

A century of sausage-making. That sounds like a lot of work, and a lot of tasty food. Today we’ll learn the remarkable story of a family-owned meat business that had its beginnings 100 years ago. Now, another young family is taking the business to the next level.

Kansas farmers might walk away with higher-than-average profits for 2021. But forecasts for 2022 are bleaker.

Doug Peterson will be the featured speaker at a Cheney Lake Watershed Winter Workshop on Thursday, January 27 at noon. Peterson will be speaking at the South Hutchinson Community Building at 101 W. Ave C in South Hutchinson. Lunch will be served at noon for the first forty people attending. Peterson will speak at approximately 12:30 pm.