Chad Frey

Chad Frey

Thousands of students in Kansas and Missouri have left public education

Thousands of students in Missouri and Kansas have left public school in the last four years, in line with a national trend of more families disengaging from public education.An analysis by the Associated Press, Big Local News and Stanford University economist Thomas Dee found enrollment in Missouri’s public schools dropped by 2% from the 2019-2020 school year to the 2022-2023 school year — making up nearly 18,000 students.Public school enrollment in Kansas is down about 16,000 students from its peak in 2015.

Kansas could be the next state to stop people from planting Bradford pears

Local conservationists will cheer if Kansas moves forward with a ban on selling popular but invasive ornamental pear trees in the state.The Kansas Department of Agriculture wants to curb the spread of Callery pear trees — a species usually sold under cultivar names such as Bradford, Cleveland Select, Chanticleer and many more.Its proposal will get a public hearing on Jan.

County finalizing fiber agreement with Ideatek

Last year Ideatek approached Harvey County, twice, seeking support for a grant application as the company attempted to find funds to expand its fiber network in Harvey County.The company, which is currently installing fiber in Newton, would like to expand throughout the western half of Harvey County.The received the state grant, which means that the county now needs to negotiate how funds approved as matching funds will be used.The county committed $250,000 from the County’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds as matching funds, and Ideatek will receive more than $3.8 million in grant funds for the project.