WATHENA, Kansas — A Kansas leader is on a tour to assure constituents and businesses that he won’t approach their needs with a “Let them eat cake” attitude. Visiting Marie Antoinette’s Gluten Free Bake Shoppe and the Dairy Barn family restaurant on Thursday afternoon in Wathena, Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers emphasized how the Democratic-led administration […]

About 70 area residents gathered at the Winfield Community Center at Baden Square in Winfield Monday night to define prosperity, what is being done right to encourage prosperity and what is standing in the way of that prosperity in their communities. Among those present, there was a confluence of opinion in each of those categories. […]

TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNW/RELEASE) – Secretary of Commerce David Toland has announced the award of a special series of Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) to support 11 rural communities across Kansas. These grants are specifically designed to aid communities in constructing or reconstructing community swimming pools. Improvements to recreational assets will enhance the quality of life […]

TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNW) – A new study of nationwide deadly car accidents says Kansas has some of the worst in the nation. Country roads in Kansas rank in the top ten of the most deadly streets. The report shows our rural roads are three times as fatal as our interstate highways. For every 100 million miles cars travel on […]

NICKERSON — About 120 people came to the Monday night kickoff of Kansas Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers’ 12-city Rural Prosperity Tour listening stops, exceeding organizers’ expectations. The event coincided with meetings of the Nickerson City Council and the Nickerson-South Hutchinson USD 309 Board of Education, but in addition to local residents, the listening tour attracted people from […]

The newly created Office of Rural Prosperity will conduct a listening tour across the state, looking at ways to assist and revitalize rural communities in Kansas.  The office is the creation of Governor Laura Kelly, Lt. Governor Lynn Rogers, and Commerce Secretary David Toland. The 2020 fiscal budget allocated $2 million to create the office. […]

Jonathan [email protected] Monday Apr 29, 2019 at 4:36 PM PITTSBURG — Earlier this month, Gov. Laura Kelly doubled down on her previous calls to expand KanCare, the state’s Medicaid program, citing rural hospital closures. In interviews last week when they visited Pittsburg, however, supporters of Kelly’s plan to expand Medicaid in the state acknowledged that […]

The key to passing Medicaid expansion may not necessarily be our polarized Legislature, but voters themselves, especially in small town and rural Kansas. But how much do average Kansans honestly care about expansion, and how much do they prioritize what their communities might gain from it? Maybe less than you think, which might help explain […]

CONWAY SPRINGS, Kan. (KAKE) – Rural Kansas residents are angered by bad cellphone connection in Conway Springs due to only one service provider working in the area. “It’s kind of a monopoly as far as the cellphone service goes,” said Clay Murphy, superintendent of Conway Springs schools. A map released by Gov. Laura Kelly showed […]

The Kansas Senate gave initial approval Tuesday to a pair of bills relating to expansion of the state’s Rural Opportunity Zone program. The program provides student loan forgiveness and income tax waivers to those who relocate to rural areas. About 80 counties already fall under the program. Proposed legislation would add eight counties to the […]