Environment
Thank you, Kansas governors, for the moratorium on wind development in tallgrass heartland
The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Jim Hoy is director emeritus of the Center for Great Plains Studies and professor emeritus at Emporia State University. His latest book, “My Flint Hills,” has […]
Kansas adds to Flint Hills Trail in Osawatomie for bikers, riders, hikers
TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly joined local officials in Osawatomie to recognize improvements in Miami County to the Flint Hills Trail used by cyclists, pedestrians and equestrians. The 117-mile trail stretches from Osawatomie to Herington and cuts through five counties in east-central Kansas. It is the seventh-longest rail-to-trail in the United States. Flint Hills Trail […]
Restoring full $8 million for Kansas water programs harder than turning a faucet
Revision of Kansas tax revenue estimates in November will offer clue as to whether State Water Plan budget cut can be reversed by Legislature, governor.
Gov. Laura Kelly, Invenergy outline economic jolt of electric transmission project
Gov. Laura Kelly, Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers tout potential of Invenergy's plan for transmission line to carry Kansas wind power to the east.
KU, Haskell and K-State to collaborate on $6 million intermittent stream research project
KSU, Haskell and KU in Kansas will collaborate on $6 million, four-year NSF research project on water-quality issues of intermittent streams.
Deal strikes balance between Quivira Wildlife Refuge, agriculture producers
Officials say a new agreement benefits both a national wildlife refuge and local agriculture producers in central Kansas, and it involves the extraction of several invasive plant species in the area along with water augmentation for a local creek. Water usage at the 22,135-acre Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Stafford, Rice and Reno counties has […]
Legislature’s auditors assess economic prospects of Kansas’ fledgling hemp crop
Value of Kansas' hemp crop in 2019 was modest, while Kansas State University is studying potential of using hemp flowers as cattle feed.
EPA targets two southeast Kansas lead smelter sites for Superfund list
The federal Environmental Protection Agency is focusing on two southeast Kansas lead smelting sites for inclusion in the Superfund program.
Kansas seeing historically low number of tornadoes in 2020
Tornadoes and their warnings have been few and far between in Kansas for the majority of 2020, and in one corner of the state a record is poised to be broken if the trend continues through the end of the year. The National Weather Service office in Dodge City has recorded only six tornadoes across […]
Historic Kansas attraction recovering from last year’s rare landslide
As a historic Kansas landmark neared its centennial last year, heavy summer rains loosened several layers of earth and triggered a rare three-foot slump in the landscape. Damage at Coronado Heights Park, which sits on a 300-foot sandstone bluff northwest of Lindsborg, made access unstable. The landslide forced cancellation of a 100th anniversary party planned […]
Wastewater testing by KU, KDHE offers advance warning of COVID-19 surge
A project involving KU and KDHE shows promise in tracking genetic evidence of COVID-19 in wastewater and offer an early warning to a community.