LATEST NEWS

With a 4-3 vote, the Great Bend City Council decided to continue to ban the harboring of chickens within city limits. Following a citizen, living on Broadway Avenue, addressing the governing body in May about a police officer telling her she needed to remove your backyard chickens, the council discussed the topic as an official agenda item Monday night.

Traffic was reduced to two lanes at 10th and Frey Street in Great Bend early Monday morning as police officers worked an accident involving an overturned pick-up truck. No further details are available at this time, and the traffic reduction appeared to be temporary as of 7:40 a.m.

BOOKED: Franklin Nunez on Barton County District Court warrant for Failure to Appear, no bond set; and on Barton County District Court case for Interference with LEO, No Headlamp, and No Driver's License, bond set at $5,000 C/S. BOOKED: Michael Warren on Barton County District Court case for Criminal Threat...

The 'Why' film is an important resource for people living with dementia and their caregivers. It provides an accurate and compassionate portrayal of the disease, and it offers hope for the future. The 'Why' film is a short documentary about early-stage dementia, produced by the KU Alzheimer's Disease Research Center.

The Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo mentioned that they see lead poisoning from time-to-time in wild raptors. When hunters or fishers use lead shot or sinkers, birds of prey can ingest these animals or fish and end up with lead poisoning. Zoo Curator Ashley Burdick said staff will test vultures...

Convoy of Hope trucks are like a box of chocolates: you never know what you're going to get. Tuesday evening, a 53-foot Convoy of Hope trailer provided 38 pallets of food and goods to Great Bend's Live Like Jesus Today Ministries. Ministry Founder Buzz Birney and his helpers are distributing those goods to various food banks, churches, schools, and prisons around the area.

First United Methodist Church, 2123 Forest Ave., will offer tours of its 99-year-old church building as part of the church’s 150th Anniversary Celebration. The tours are set for 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Saturday, June 10. The public is invited. Those coming for a tour should enter the northeast doors for Noah’s Ark Preschool.

Jun. 5—"Youth-led action in creating positive change." That was the mission statement created by members of Youth Crew, a local nonprofit group that celebrated its second year of existence on Monday. Youths from throughout Barton County gathered for a meal, award presentations and prizes. Tyler Morton, prevention advocate for...

Tickets are on sale now for the Bike Brew Q Craft Brew Fest in Great Bend on July 29. There are 17 breweries signed up so far. Only 50 VIP tickets are available and that gets you into the brew fest early, which means access to exclusive beers, first grab at swag and a gold-rimmed taster.

Monday, June 5 - 6:30 p.m. The council meeting will be livestreamed for the public to view on the city council Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/gbcitycouncil/. Building Inspection staff feel it is important to have regulations in place for short-term rentals within the City of Great Bend. Staff proposes to change the zoning regulations allowing short-term rentals to be classified as a permitted use rather than a conditional use in designated zoning districts. Staff also proposes creating and implementing a licensing and inspection program for short-term rentals.

Anatomage Inc, a market leader in medical imaging technology, is delighted to announce the winners of the highly anticipated Anatomage Outstanding Teacher Award. The award recognizes educators who have demonstrated exceptional dedication and innovation in teaching anatomy and medical sciences. The Anatomage Outstanding Teacher Award, in its first year, received...

An ordinance on whether or not chickens will be allowed within city limits of Great Bend will go before the Great Bend City Council on Monday, June 5. At the last meeting in May, the council heard from residents pleading their case to allow chickens in town with the current ordinance not abundantly clear. There were six community members that spoke at the last meeting stating the benefits of owning chickens.

On June 1, 2023, just before 2 a.m. a Barton County Sheriff’s Office deputy stopped a vehicle on US 281 Highway, near milepost 102 just south of the City of Great Bend, for an equipment violation. During the course of the traffic stop deputies became suspicious of potential drug activity. Sheriff’s Office K9 Maxx was deployed and the dog alerted to the presence of controlled substances.

TOPEKA – Main Street America has announced that Kansas is one of 10 states selected to participate in the Equitable Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in Rural Main Streets Program, supported by the Kauffman Foundation. The program aims to spur economic development in rural Kansas not just by fostering entrepreneurship but by building out entire ecosystems.

Hear this week's County Edition show with Eagle Radio's Cole Reif and Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir that aired June 1, 2023. The County Edition program airs every Thursday at 11:05 a.m. on 1590 KVGB & 95.5 FM.

The City of Great Bend currently has no clear definition of what creates a vacancy or any procedure to address when a person is elected to a position on the city council but fails to accept the office or attend the meetings. This either leaves a portion of the citizenry not fully represented or leaves the city with only the cumbersome and expensive processes of ouster or a recall election.

Equity Bank has announced the hire of Shawn C. Powelson as Regional President of its Central Kansas Region. Since April 2023, Mr. Powelson has been overseeing all operations at the five Equity Bank branches in his territory, which includes two locations in Great Bend, and one in each Larned, St. John and Macksville.

Barton County Sheriff’s Office Incident Log (6/1) At 12:37 p.m. a driving complaint was reported at E. K-4 Highway & NE K-156 Highway in Claflin. At 1:05 p.m. a theft was reported at SE 40 Road & SE 100 Avenue. Cattle Out. At 1:59 p.m. a report of cattle...

From the Great Bend Economic Development... Kiley Stevenson has competed and won in Barton County’s Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge the last three years, and this summer she is interning at Great Bend Economic Development (GBED). GBED welcomes Kiley Stevenson as their intern for the summer before she heads off to...

Barton County staff will see many changes over the coming six weeks as part of the $4.2 million HVAC and renovation project at the courthouse. While most offices are expected to change locations from June 15 through July 15, the Barton County Attorney's Office is already calling 1520 Main Street its new home. Wednesday morning, County Administrator Matt Patzner discussed some concerns with county commissioners regarding the cost of the move.