Kansas News Service

An anti-abortion sign next to a highway.

Roe v. Wade Decision Will Mean Kansas Abortion Rights Hinge on a State Vote in August

The U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to strike down abortion protections, making an upcoming Kansas vote on abortion rights even more important.

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Center pivot irrigation systems like this one in Finney County pump water up from the Ogallala aquifer to spray on crops. This part of southwest Kansas experienced some of the state's worst aquifer declines last year as drought pushed farmers to pump more water from underground.

How Kansas Could Lose Billions in Land Values as its Underground Water Runs Dry

The water in the Ogallala aquifer is worth billions of dollars to western Kansas, but it’s rapidly disappearing. And it’s been a challenge to find ways to slow the depletion.

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Former Haviland mayor Robert Ellis stands between pipes inside the small town's multimillion-dollar water treatment plant.

As Fertilizer Pollutes Tap Water in Small Towns, Rural Kansans Pay the Price

For towns with only a few hundred residents, keeping tap water clean and safe can pose a crippling expense. The predicament is likely to become more common in western Kansas as farm chemicals seep into dwindling water supplies.

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Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly delivering her first state-of-the-state speech to a joint session of the Legislature in 2019.

A Glut of Cash and Issues from Tax Cuts to Medical Marijuana Await Kansas Lawmakers

Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly wants to use billions in surplus cash to cut taxes. But Republican leaders appear reluctant to go along in an election year.

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Cannabis plants.

These Cannabis Products Sold in Kansas Could Get You High, and Maybe Arrested

Shops in Hays, Kansas, have been told to turn over their stocks of delta-8 THC products to law enforcement, or they could face criminal repercussions.

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A line of people wait for the food pantry to open at Emmaus House. Maria Hernandez, center, cooks for the shelter's soup kitchen in addition to helping pass out groceries.

Kansas Meatpacking Workers Fueled an Economic Boom, But Many Need Food Pantries to Get By

Four decades after Garden City’s meatpacking boom began, the southwest Kansas town is still strained by growing pains. And its prosperity remains uneven.

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Local government officials and meatpacking executives shovel dirt at the groundbreaking of the meatpacking plant just outside Garden City in 1979.

How a Meatpacking Plant Changed One Kansas Town 40 Years Ago and Left a Colorado Community Behind

Four decades ago, a town in Kansas and a town in Colorado competed to become home to a giant meatpacking plant that, at the time, was the largest of its kind in the world. Here’s what has happened to them since.

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People gather for a suicide prevention and awareness walk in Hays in 2018.

Rural Suicide Rates Are Rising In Kansas And Solutions Won’t Come Easy

Sparsely populated communities face unique challenges, such as isolation and cultural stigmas about mental health, that call for tailored suicide prevention approaches.

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Gregory Cushman, an associate professor of environmental history at the University of Kansas, marched with faculty and students to raise awareness about potential damage of administration plans to downsize the staff and eliminate degree programs to address budget problems.

COVID-19 Challenged The Business Model At Kansas Universities And Revealed A ‘Tectonic Shift’

Enrollment at Kansas colleges fell by 8.1% last fall — more than the national average. With continued uncertainty over COVID-19 and the highly contagious delta variant, universities could face the biggest money crisis in their history.

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Workers at Shining Star Hemp Co. load a bag of hemp biomass into the processor.

Kansas Farmers Find The Only Thing Harder Than Growing Hemp Is Selling It

Growing industrial hemp, the less sexy cousin of the plant associated with getting high and some medicinal uses, has proven riskier and more difficult than many Kansas farmers initially expected.

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