WRITER: Josie Heimsoth

Humanities Kansas suspending some programs as federal funding cuts emerge; longterm survival in question

A statewide nonprofit that brings authors, speakers, historians and others to both large and small communities across the state is now operating on a week-to-week basis after being impacted by federal funding cuts ordered by the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency. The future existence of Humanities Kansas is at risk after the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, demanded deep cuts to staff and ...

Kansas leaders raise alarm over federal budget cuts saying essential services in jeopardy

Local leaders in a webinar said the things that Kansas needs the most are child care, health care, food security and housing, and all of those things are on the chopping block of federal funding cuts. Women for Kansas held an online webinar on Monday to educate Kansans on how federal policy changes are affecting people locally and to share questions with local leaders. Organizers said the event came to be ...

How Lawrence’s biosolids program transforms wastewater sludge into fertilizer for Kansas farms

In these bubbling basins, you'll find some of the hardest workers in Lawrence's water treatment system — microorganisms that tirelessly process millions of gallons of solid waste into nutrient-rich sludge. The sludge, or biosolids, is a byproduct of human waste that's filtered out during the water treatment process, and it will eventually go on nearby farmland to enrich the soil there. Lawrence produces a lot ...

As EPA raises concerns about 'forever chemicals,' one Kansas community is trying a new approach to wastewater sludge

In Lawrence, officials don't think there's much risk of harmful chemicals getting into the nutrient-rich sludge that's produced in the city's wastewater treatment plants. But at least one other city in northeast Kansas, Olathe, is interested in taking extra precautions. The sludge, or biosolids, is frequently applied to farmland in Kansas to enrich the soil, and Kansas does not have any regulations on this ...

Douglas County begins review of Consolidated Fire District 1 to collect data for improving service and operations

Douglas County is using a consultant to conduct a review of Consolidated Fire District 1 to ensure its long-term effectiveness in serving 228 square miles within the unincorporated parts of the county. The county has hired international consulting firm Emergency Services Consulting International to review the district's structure, programs and service delivery. The review, which includes meetings with ...

Community members gather to hear about the Kansas River Basin's changing climate and threats to freshwater biodiversity

A river's health has big downstream effects on the people and places that rely on it — and in Kansas and around the world, many rivers are getting sicker every day. They're carved up by dams and swollen and shrunken by climate change, and the ecosystems they support are in the middle of a biodiversity crisis. And all of this has implications for the quality of the water in these rivers — and the safety of ...