All posts by Loretta George

Fort Scott, Schools, Sports, Youth

FSHS Senior Ali Simhiser Is Competing At The Junior National Wrestling Championship

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Ali Simhiser. Submitted photo.

Ali Simhiser, who will be a senior at Fort Scott High School this fall,  is the only female Fort Scott wrestler to be invited to the 2025 U.S. Marine Corps Junior National Women’s Freestyle Wrestling Championship, held  July 10-19 in Fargo, ND.

The event is at the Fargo Dome and men’s wrestling Freestyle and Greco-Roman athletes will also compete.

“It’s the largest in the world and a pretty big deal to be invited,” said her Aunt Stephannie Erie,  who submitted the information. “She is the first female from First Scott to attend. She is also ranked 2nd in her weight class of 190lbs in the state for 4A.”

“She is a two-time state qualifier, placing 3rd at state, winning a Southeast Kansas League Championship, and reaching a huge milestone—100 career wins and pins as a junior.”

Ali Simhiser, top position, wrestles with a competitor. Submitted photo.
Ali is pictured in a contest with another wrestler. Submitted photo.

 

This Kansas Female Wrestling Team is representing the state in different divisions at 2025 U.S. Marine Corps Junior National Championship in Fargo, N.D.. This photo was posted on the Columbus High School Wrestling Team Facebook page and was submitted.

Alvin Metcalf is the head wrestling coach at Fort Scott High School.

Fort Scott, Government, Schools

Federal Funding Freeze Will Affect USD 234

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All American schools, including local schools, will be impacted by the funding freeze that President Trump has directed the U.S. Department of Education to delay, pending a review.

Destry Brown, superintendent of USD 234, Fort Scott’s school district, wrote the following about how the funding freeze will affect his district.

Destry Brown. Submitted photo.

 

“The federal funding freeze has affected two of our Title funds.

“The first is Title IIA. This money is used for professional development for our teachers and administrators. Title IIA provides $120,000 toward professional development. This accounts for 90% of our professional development budget. The impact of withholding that funding is that we will not be able to send staff for professional development. The State no longer provides funds to be specifically used for professional development any longer. As we prepare our budget for this school year, we do not expect to be able to fill this gap in funding.

“The other fund that is impacted is Title IV. This fund provides funding for innovative programs that enhance Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math programs in the district,  to provide more hands-on, interactive learning activities for our students. Title IV provides $38,000 to the district for these activities. The loss in funding will impact our ability to provide some of these updates and enhancements. Any updates will be funded through our regular supply and equipment accounts for each building.

“Currently, the State (of Kansas government) has advised us to budget as if we will receive the funds and spend as if we will not. The State expects to hear more about this funding later this month. Our understanding is that the money is being held while the US Department of Education evaluates these two programs.”

To contact your elected representatives with your views on this matter, according to the Bourbon County, KS website:

US Senator


Roger Marshall – (R)
PO Box 1588
Great Bend, KS 67530
(202) 224-4774

Jerry Moran – (R)
PO Box 1372
Pittsburg, KS 66762
(620-232-2286

Derek Schmidt (R)
1223 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC  20515
Phone: (202) 225-6601

 

This graphic is taken from a Newsweek online story dated July 7, 2025.

 

Bourbon County, Government, Schools

How Federal Education Funding Freeze Will Effect U235 School District

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All American schools, including local schools, will be impacted by the funding freeze that President Trump has directed the U.S. Department of Education to delay, pending a review.

Vance Eden, superintendent for USD 235. Photo from the school districts website.

USD235 Superintendent Vance Eden remains hopeful that the Trump administration will unfreeze funds, enabling schools to continue operations as authorized by Congress, he said.

Here is his statement
“The Uniontown USD 235 School District receives federal “Title” funds to support students.  Currently, the Trump administration has directed the US Department of Education to delay reimbursement of some of these funds until a review can be completed.  These Title funds aren’t a single lump of money, but instead are received by the district with individual designations for individual purposes.  While we don’t qualify in all categories, the following three specifically apply to Uniontown.
  • Title IIA- These funds can be used to reduce class sizes and were initially used to add a teacher, and that position has continued to be paid with Title II funds.  Our allocation for the coming year is $25,222.  While not all funds the district receives can be used for teacher salaries, this can and has been a meaningful part of our budget and the goal of maintaining a quality salary schedule.  The removal of this funding stream will make it more difficult to continue this practice.
  • Title IVA-  These funds can’t be used on people and but instead are used primarily on safety and security items and also things that “extend the curriculum.” Our next year allocation was set at $17,492. While most are likely unaware if anything in their classroom has been purchased with these funds, the reality is that probably all of them have had some benefit.  I manage these funds and purchase qualifying items throughout the school year as teachers submit requisitions that can qualify.  As an example, field trips, science experiment supplies, digital cameras for the yearbook team, a pottery wheel, the window display at WBE, and a good chunk of the smartboards in the district are all things that have been purchased with these funds over the past few years.  These funds invite creativity and foster a robust and quality learning experience.  Losing these funds directly impacts our ability to maintain this commitment in the future without cutting from other areas or increasing the mill levy (which no one wants).
  • Title IVB-  These funds pay for the WBE after-school program and summer program.  Without this allocation, the district will not be able to afford to continue to offer this to students and parents. 
We also receive Title I funds, which are used to support math and reading support at WBE.  These funds are stated to still be usable for the coming year.  This is good news as it represents our largest area of allocation and would be extremely difficult to adjust for in its absence.
I’d encourage you to visit with our federal legislators during this period of review to help them consider this change in direction and priority, as ultimately, they SHOULD control the disbursement of funds.  Most likely, none of us enjoys making these contacts, but I want you to be informed and involved, as these decisions will affect us all.”
To contact your elected representatives, according to the Bourbon County, KS website:

US Senator


Roger Marshall – (R)
PO Box 1588
Great Bend, KS 67530
(202) 224-4774

Jerry Moran – (R)
PO Box 1372
Pittsburg, KS 66762
(620-232-2286

Derek Schmidt
1223 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC  20515
Phone: (202) 225-6601

 

This graphic is taken from a Newsweek online story dated July 7, 2025.
Fort Scott, Government

Work Continues on the Street Corner at 6th and Main

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FS Public Works Staffer Christian looks on while Kenny Allen works on the Bobcat at 6th and Main Streets.

 

Fort Scott Public Works Department staff were preparing for a concrete pour at the corner of 6th and Main Streets today.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of July, unless other issues are identified.

The project was on the list for work, but water issues at the Neice building, which is being renovated, sped up the timeline.

A staff person said water was pooling in the street corner, which was leaking into the Neice building.

Business, Fort Scott

Local Author Levi Qualls Publishes His First Book

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Local author Levi Qualls. Submitted photo.
Local author Levi Qualls, 29, grew up in Baxter Springs and graduated from Pittsburg State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in illustration. While at P.S.U., he met his future wife, Taylor Schilling, and then earned his Master of Fine Arts in comics and storytelling from the Academy of Art, California, through its online program.
He became an author through the encouragement of an acquaintance.
“My first semester of college, my mom’s coworker saw some of my art and said I should be an artist. I wasn’t enjoying my first degree plan (biology), so I made the switch and never looked back.”
“After I earned my master’s degree and was working on the graphic novel of Calder, I realized that I was more interested in the actual story than I was in illustrating it. I have always loved to read, and it just made sense. I love it and it’s fun.”
“I still love drawing, and it was fun to illustrate a cover and chapter illustrations for this book!”
They moved to Fort Scott shortly before their first son was born, and it is here that he wrote most of this, his first book.
The Book
The front cover of Quall’s new book. Submitted photo.
Qualls sent this synopsis of his book: The Sea and The Sword is
 an escape into the world of Aegindus, where the gods of Olympus reign and destiny hangs in the balance. It is packed with fantasy, action, suspense, mythology, and magic. The Sea and The Sword is an adventure for anyone who loves getting lost in a great story.
There is a Parental Advisory with the book because it contains descriptions of battle scenes, but nothing more graphic than video games or even the Bible, he said.
To order the book: https://a.co/d/jbfK20z
Bookmarks that depict each chapter in Quall's book Submitted photo.
A bookmark depicts the different gods of Olympus, but they are also used for chapter headings. (There are a lot more than 12 chapters.) Submitted photo.
 Aside from being a full-time stay-at-home father of two and author, he also runs Hercules Hobby, a local trading card store in downtown Fort Scott.
Bourbon County, Business

Quadruplet Hair Sheep Born on Brock Farm

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The quadruplet Katahdin lambs with their mother that were born June 23 on the Brock Farm, Redfield. Submitted photo.

Matt and Sally Brock started Brock Farms in Bourbon County in 1994.

On June 23, the farm had its first set of Katahdin Hair Sheep quadruplet lambs born.

Katahdin hair sheep provide a practical option to producers who are primarily interested in raising a meat animal, with great lamb vigor, mothering ability and do not want to shear or are no longer able to find shearers, according to https://katahdins.org/

“In the 1970s, someone bred an African Hair Sheep with an English Suffolk Sheep,” Brock said. “It sheds its hair in the summer. The wool industry became unprofitable, so in America, it changed to meat sheep.”

The recent quadruplet lambs were taken to the barn for extra care and fed for two weeks, he said.

“The decision was made to separate one lamb for bottle feeding. The other three lambs and momma were put back on the pasture with the rest of the herd for grass grazing on July 1. All lambs are healthy.”

The quadruplets are transported to another site. Submitted photo.

“The sheep farm has also raised five sets of triplets, but the ewes normally have twins or singles. Statistically, it is said a quad birth is 1 in 500. Their goat herd has produced two sets of quads from Kiko and Nubian goats in past years as well.”

 

About the Brock Farm

From left: Alaina, Annie, Sally, Matt, Alex, and Mary Brock. Submitted photo.
“The sign on the barn came from the original Kansas Brock Farm established in 1879 in Buffalo, KS. The one on the ground behind Mary came from my Dad’s farm in Humboldt, KS. All three farms had sheep in their livestock history,” Matt  Brock said.

 

Brock Farms comprises 300 acres near Redfield and currently has 100  hair sheep ewes raising around 150 lambs yearly. They have four dairy goats. The family works together to care for the herds.

“We started with cattle and switched to sheep in 2010,” Matt Brock said. “When we sold cattle, we got 30 Kiko breed goats and 30 Katahdin hair sheep. We decided that hair sheep is what we preferred to put on our pasture. The dairy goats are more of a hobby farm.”

They give about two farm tours a month, he said.

A farm tour visitor, Rex Brull, feeds a lamb. Submitted photo.

 

Fort Scott, Government

Rock Creek Lake Work Continues For Reopening the Best Fishing Holes

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Brush crowds out the fishing spot in this “before” photo. Submitted photos.
Following the removal of brush around this same fishing spot, it has better accessibility. Submitted photos.
Seth Simpson’s work crew is getting all of the best fishing holes reopened at Rock Creek Lake just in time for the 4th of July weekend.
In the last year, the maintenance of Fort Scott Lake and Rock Creek Lake has come under the airport supervisor.
 “I’m not exactly sure of the exact time that the airport got the maintenance of the lakes,” said Seth Simpson, Fort Scott’s Airport and Lakes Supervisor.  “I was on orders to Germany for a year for the military.  I believe it was about six to nine months ago.” Simpson is in the Missouri National Guard.
 “Our duties at the Fort Scott and Rock Creek lakes include feeding the fish at the rearing pond, mowing, weed eating, trimming trees, maintaining the structures that the city owns, emptying trash cans and picking up loose trash, setting up and taking down the swim ropes, and maintaining the beach area.”
This city crew is cleaning up some former fishing spots that have been covered up with brush.
“We are clearing out brush and grass to open up spots that were previously inaccessible due to overgrowth so that people can walk to the water’s edge and be able to cast a line,” Simpson said. “We will continue to open up more spots around the lake as we have time.”
The submitted photos are before-and-after pictures of areas cleared on June 30, near the entrance just off Jayhawk Road near the bridge.
Another overgrown spot at Rock Creek Lake. Submitted photos.
The same spot after clearing the brush for better lake accessibility. Submitted photo.
To get to Rock Creek, take Jayhawk Road and turn onto 195th Street and go down until you see the parking lot on the west side of the road.
The new fishing spots are on Jayhawk Road and near the bridge with a gravel parking area.

To learn more, the Facebook page is Fort Scott Airport 

Bourbon County, Health Care

Emily Bolinger: New Nurse Practitioner at Uniontown Clinic

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Emily Bolinger, the new Nurse Practitioner at Girard Medical Center of Uniontown.

Emily Bolinger, 42, is the new Nurse Practitioner at Girard Medical Center of Uniontown, as of June 1.

“I’m excited to be local and help take care of people in this community,” she said.

She attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the University of Missouri at Kansas City and has been a Registered Nurse since 2007. She earned a master’s degree from UMKC in 2014 and has practiced all around Southeast Kansas. Her hometown is Olathe.

Her resume includes experience in primary care, urgent care, and School-Based Health as a Nurse Practitioner at Pittsburg High School and the Bryant Student Health Center at Pittsburg State University.

At the Uniontown Clinic, her duties will be primary care that includes same-day appointments, urgent care, along with Kansas Department of Transportation physicals and sports physicals.

She and husband Dustin have lived in the Uniontown area for six years, and their son Keaton will be going to Uniontown Junior High.

“He is involved in sports and is a percussionist,” she said.

She helps out with Keaton’s baseball team and gives fast-pitch softball lessons to young girls in the community.

Bolinger played softball while at the universities in Omaha and Kansas City.

An exam room in the Girard Medical Center of Uniontown clinic.

The clinic is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with lunch from noon to 1 p.m.

The former Uniontown Clinic provider, Nurse Practitioner Stephanie Hallacy, has transitioned to the Girard Medical Center Clinic at Arma, where she lives. Her last day in Uniontown was June 24.

Entertainment, Fort Scott, Schools

2025 Fort Scott High School  All-Classes Reunion Is This Weekend

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The alumni reunion board, from its Facebook page.

The 2025 Fort Scott All-Classes Reunion committee has planned an extraordinary number of events to help former students reconnect this weekend.

“This reunion has been going on since 1961,” said board member Craig Campbell. “It’s a chance to get together and reconnect with not only your class, but the ones before and after.”

There was a hiatus in 2020 because of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the event was changed to 2022.

“We decided to continue every five years on the 5 and O years,” he said.

New this year is a golf scramble, a fun event that will help raise money for FSHS scholarships.

“The Woodland Hills Golf Course is a gem, a great course,” Campbell said. “Please register as soon as possible for a lunch count for the event at www.fshsalumni.org

Registration

Registration for the alumni weekend will be at the FSHS Gym through the east side entrance of the building from 9 am to 4 p.m., according to the group’s Facebook page.

Golf cart transportation will be available for those who need assistance getting from their parking spot to the building.

FSHS t-shirts will be available for purchase, as well as other vendor information, at registration.

Parade

The parade kicks off the weekend at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 27. The parade emcee will be David Brown, a former Fort Scott Middle School Principal. There is still time to register to be in the parade. Please go to the website http://www.fshsalumni.org  to do so.

Parade line-up starts at 5 p.m. this Friday near the Fisher Park Concession Stand. Registrants will be given a lineup number. Everyone else is behind the horses in the parade.

The parade will start from 6th & Main, north to Wall Street, then west to National Avenue, and south to 6th & National. Each class is encouraged to participate in the parade; the parade organizer is Craig Campbell, and he can be reached at [email protected] or via phone at 620-224-0167.

Food

Food trucks will be available at 3rd & Main both Friday
night and Saturday. There will be several options available, including local restaurants. There will not be a traditional chicken dinner this year because it has declined in popularity in recent years, so there is
something different for 2025.

Music

The All-Star Reunion Band will be performing at the Liberty Theater from 8 p.m. to midnight, with a cash bar available. This is a reunion tradition!

Additionally, Bourbon County Revival will be live music at 3rd & Main. A cash bar will also be available in this area.

Saturday night’s activities will be focused on 3rd & Main with music by the Teresa Deaton Band and food trucks.

Main Street will be closed to traffic to allow alumni to move between the food trucks and outdoor music.

Entertainment will begin at 8 p.m., and all entertainment is free of charge.

The City of Fort Scott is allowing you to bring in your own beverages (no glass containers, please) during these events; however, a cash bar will be available as well.

Luncheon and Reception

There will be a luncheon for the classes of 1963 and earlier at the FSHS commons area starting at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 28. The Tigers Honors Luncheon is hosted by the Reunion.

The Fort Scott KNEA will be hosting the Retired Teachers’ Reception on Saturday, June 28, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the FSHS Commons area. Come back and visit with a favorite teacher.

A commemorative reunion photo will be taken under the new City entrance arch on Wall Street near 69 Highway.

The reunion board will have a roving photographer taking candid shots of the reunion weekend.

 

 

2025 Fort Scott High School  All-Classes Reunion
Schedule of Events

Friday, June 27
9 am – 4 pm Registration FSHS Gym
6 pm Parade Downtown
8 pm – midnight 80s Classes Party Memorial Hall
8 pm – midnight All Star Reunion Band Liberty Theatre
8 pm – midnight Bourbon County Revival 3rd Street Stage (3rd & Main)
Saturday, June 28
7 am 1st Annual Alumni Golf Tournament Woodland Hills Golf Course
9 – 11 am Registration FSHS Gym
11:30 am Honors Tiger Luncheon FSHS Commons Area
1 – 3 pm Theater/Debate Improv Show FSHS Auditorium
3 – 5 pm Teacher/Employee Reception FSHS/FSMS TBD
8 pm – midnight Teresa Deaton Band 3rd Street Stage (3rd & Main)

 

The planning board is comprised of:

President (2025): Rhonda Dunn, graduate of 1984
Vice-President /President-Elect: Sydney Cullison, 2015
Past President (in 2022): Lori Potter Farmer, 1983
Recording Secretary: Haley Jones, 2013
Corresponding Secretary: Ronette Center, 1984
Treasurer: Gina Findley Shelton, 1997
Parade Chair: Craig Campbell, 1977
Registration Chair: Debbie West, 1976

Art, Business, Exercise, Fort Scott

New Self Defense Classes Offered in Fort Scott

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Brandon Pfannenstiel and Noah Terry. Submitted photo.
For those interested in learning self-defense techniques, a new business has opened for teaching those techniques.
The Fort: Bjj and Self Defense co-founders and owners, Noah Terry and Brandon Pfannenstiel, opened to the public on May 8.
“We offer Jiu Jitsu classes for both kids and adults,” Terry said. “We also offer MMA and striking classes as well. All with an orientation towards self-defense.”
For those unfamiliar with these martial arts, here are explanations.
“Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact combat sport that allows a wide variety of fighting techniques and skills from a mixture of other combat sports to be used in competition. The rules allow the usage of both striking and grappling techniques while standing and on the ground. Competitions allow athletes of different disciplines of martial arts to compete under a set of unified rules,” according to https://www.ufc.com/intro-to-mma
“Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a predominantly ground-based martial art, using the principles of leverage, angles, pressure, and timing, as well as knowledge of the human anatomy, to achieve a non-violent submission of one’s opponent. Unlike other martial arts that focus on strikes and/or kicks, jiu jitsu focuses on close-contact grappling holds and techniques, and the application of chokes and joint manipulations,” according to https://www.essentialbjj.com/about-us/what-is-jiu-jitsu/
“I started training four years ago out of a desire to better myself through discipline and technique,” Terry said. “Brandon started training his sophomore year of high school at a gym called Mid-America Martial Arts. He walked in untrained and eager to learn at the age of 15. This was about 2003. He gathered an 11-1 amateur and 7-1 pro MMA record, and received his black belt in February 2025.”
Lessons are taught at 123 S. National Avenue at a converted church building.
‘

 

The current schedule is:
JIU JITSU: Monday through Friday from 6-7 a.m.
Sparring class: Tuesday is  6:15 – 7:15 p.m.
Open mat: Saturday from  7 to 8 a.m.
KIDS CLASS: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m.
MMA: Monday is from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m.
STRIKING CLASS: Thursday, 6:15 to 7:15 p.m.
 Contact: (913) 475-4321 + www.thefortfs.com
Business, Fort Scott

The After Affect Has A New Building In the Works

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From left, owner Shelly Bradley and long-time employee Debi Fritter stand in front of the current salon site. A new building for the salon is being constructed about 14 blocks east.

Shelly Bradley, owner of The After Affect Salon, said the business will have an “18 and on-our-own party” to celebrate the relocation of her business to a newly constructed building.

“We hope to be open in August (at the new site),” she said. “August will be the salon’s 18th anniversary, and we want to have a party to celebrate.”

“My husband, Zach, had tried to talk me into buying or building a new salon, to invest in our own property, and have our own parking.”

The current salon is located in the Historic Downtown Fort Scott district at 14 E. Wall, and parking can be competitive at times.

The new shop is being built and is located at 1416 E. Wall.

Shelly Bradley opens the door to her new salon at 1416 E. Wall on June 18. Completion is slated for August 2025. The salon door is on the east (left) and the other services door is on the west (right) of the front of the building.

“My Grandma Martha Cook offered to sell a lot next to her house to me. The time was right. God’s timing is perfect, and everything fell into place.”

The new 40-foot-by-40-foot building will have parking for 13 cars.

This will be needed with the additional services she will be offering in the shop: red light therapy, and tanning services, including stand-up, lay-down, and automated. All will have their private work room and additionally, two bathrooms, a utility room/kitchen/storage room, a room for retail products, and a waiting room. In addition, there will be a designated nail technician room.

“I feel so blessed with our amazing clientele that has made this a possibility and can’t wait to offer more for our community,” she said. “I am blessed that my husband has the talent and patience to help me build my dream. And I’m excited to be next door to my Grandma’s house.”

Those working on the build are Gieger Plumbing, KTK Electric, and Thomas Concrete and Construction, all of Fort Scott. She has been working with the City of Fort Scott on an economic development grant.

Bradley started the business in 2007, and Debi Fritter started offering services with her in 2010.

Riley Findley will be the new nail technician, and Debi’s daughter, Dani, will help in the tanning area.

 

 

Bourbon County, Government, Kansas

Bourbon County Is In the Ask For Disaster Declaration

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Kelly Administration Requests Major Presidential Disaster Declaration for May 18-19 Severe Weather


TOPEKA – Yesterday, Governor Laura Kelly sent a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) asking for a major presidential disaster declaration due to damages caused by a series of severe thunderstorms accompanied by straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding during the period of May 18-19, 2025. Multiple counties sustained damage to utility infrastructure, roads, and government-owned buildings.

“Small towns like Plevna and Grinnell are the heartbeat of our state, and I am committed to providing and ensuring these communities, and the region, have the resources they need to rebuild and thrive,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Since day one of the recovery process, my administration has coordinated the deployment of technical, logistical, health, and environmental resources, in addition to advocating for recovery needs to relevant federal agencies like FEMA and the SBA.”

Governor Kelly made the request to seek federal assistance through the Public Assistance Program. The program provides funds on a cost-share basis to repair damaged public infrastructure, such as roads and bridges.

In the month since the severe weather, the Kelly administration has been a proactive partner in the response and recovery efforts of the impacted communities. These efforts have thus far resulted in Governor Kelly visiting Grinnell on May 22; Governor Kelly requesting U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loans be made available on May 28 which were subsequently made available on May 31; formally issuing a state of disaster emergency proclamation on June 4; initiating a joint Public Assistance Program Preliminary Damage Assessments (PDA) conducted by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on June 5; and on June 17, formally requesting a major presidential disaster declaration.

During the night of May 18-19, 2025, severe thunderstorms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding affected the counties of Bourbon, Cheyenne, Edwards, Gove, Kiowa, Logan, Pratt, Reno, Scott, Sheridan, and Stafford.

The Kansas Division of Emergency Management (KDEM) began their response in coordination with local officials on May 18, and continues to be an active partner to the impacted communities. KDEM is facilitating damage assessments, human service needs coordination with volunteer organizations, technical recovery assistance, and coordination with federal partners like SBA and FEMA.

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) quickly mobilized the night of the tornadoes to close Interstate 70 (I-70) to clear debris and downed powerlines. After removing debris, KDOT organized traffic control for I-70 lane reductions to facilitate the installation of new power lines until May 21.

The Kansas Highway Patrol provided augmentation to local law enforcement, traffic control, and aerial reconnaissance of the damage path from tornadoes.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) on May 20, issued a Disposal Without a Permit (DWOP) to Grinnell for on-site burial of disaster debris; and in Plevna, KDHE issued a fee waiver to the Reno County landfill, waiving the $1 per ton state tipping fee for disaster related debris. On May 21, KDHE suspended fee assessments to obtain certified copies of birth and marriage certificates for impacted Gove County residents until July 18, 2025; and fulfilled a Gove County request for tetanus vaccines to be distributed through Gove County Emergency Management and KDEM. KDHE also provided staff to the multi-agency resource center created on May 22 to connect impacted residents with resources.

The Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) participated in the multi-agency resource center to assist residents in signing up for assistance programs administered by DCF.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced on May 31, after receiving a request from Governor Kelly on May 28, a disaster declaration for Gove, Graham, Lane, Logan, Ness, Scott, Sheridan, Thomas,  and Trego counties, which makes available low interest federal disaster loans to Kansas small businesses, private nonprofits, and residents to offset physical and economic losses from the May 18 storm and tornado. On June 6, SBA announced that Harvey County was eligible for SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, which provides working capital to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, and private nonprofits impacted by financial losses directly related to the disaster.

Governor Kelly issued a state of disaster emergency proclamation on June 4 for Bourbon, Cheyenne, Edwards, Gove, Kiowa, Logan, Pratt, Reno, Scott, Sheridan, and Stafford counties, activating the disaster response and recovery portions of the Kansas Response Plan. The Kansas Response Plan outlines the process by which disasters are responded to, mitigated, and recovered from; a process which recognizes that disaster recovery efforts are led at the local level.

On June 5, Kansas initiated the joint Public Assistance Program Preliminary Damage Assessments (PDA), conducted by FEMA Region VII and KDEM. PDA teams assess damages to public infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, and utilities, to determine if those counties meet federal damage thresholds to qualify for federal disaster assistance. The PDA is the next step in determining if damage reaches the threshold needed for a state to formally request a Presidential disaster declaration.

On June 17, Governor Kelly sent a letter to FEMA asking for a major presidential disaster declaration.

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