Over 413,000 Kansas birds have been impacted by a bird flu outbreak across the nation at the beginning of 2026.

Kathryn Nadine (Neff) Wedermyer January 2, 1933 — January 7, 2026 Kathryn grew up on the farm with her three younger siblings near Big Creek and loved roaming the creek as it was her job to bring in the milk cows every evening. Her first 8 years of elementary school was in a one room country school. Kathryn always delighted in school and graduated Trego Community High School with National Honor Society.

Barbara Ann (Pryer) Burch-Engel January 14, 1940 — January 5, 2026 Sharon Springs, KS

Lisa Diane Schroeder April 15, 1966 — January 11, 2026 Lisa Diane (Kough) Schroeder, daughter of Harry “Conrad” Kough and Betty Ann (Ryan) Kough, was born April 15, 1966, in Scott City, Kansas. She passed away peacefully at her home near Colby, Kansas, surrounded by her family, on January 11, 2026.

Lois D. Cossman - May 26, 1934 - January 6, 2026

𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐍𝐖𝐊𝐒 𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚! We'll keep you updated on our NWKS Radio stations, 100.3 The Ride, RockIt 102.5, FlyOver Country 97.9, and KXXX 790

Linkon Cure’s first season of Division I football at Kansas State was anything but ordinary. The former Goodland standout joined The Morning Blitz  to reflect on a year filled with new challenges, injuries, position changes, and memorable moments, all while navigating major changes within the Wildcat football program. For Cure, the adjustment to college football went beyond the field. “The hardest adjustment, honestly, wasn’t football,” Cure said. “It was learning how to use

The Sunflower Festival is officially coming back to downtown Colby in 2026, and organizers are once again expanding it into a two-day celebration. The 2026 Sunflower Festival will take place Friday, August 21, and Saturday, August 22, landing on the fourth weekend of August as the event has done since 2018.

Bradley Billingsley, 71, of La Crosse, KS, died Wednesday, December 30, 2025, in Colby, KS. He was born November 19, 1954, in Hays, KS to Wayne Billingsley and Althea Marie (Orth) Bieker.

Angel G. Salinas August 3, 1957 — December 29, 2025 Angel Gonzales Salinas, 68, of Colby, died Monday, December 29, 2025. He was born and raised in Urireo, Guanajuato, Mexico. He was the son of Luz Salinas and Ofelia Gonzales and completed his primary education in his hometown through the sixth grade. He was part of a large family with six brothers and four sisters.

Alvin “Alvie” Bieker, Atwood’s Chief Ambassador, was born in Hays, KS on January 12, 1953, the son of John and Alvina (Degenhardt) Bieker. He came to the Prairie Development Center (PDC) when it opened in Atwood in 1975, coming from the Kansas Neurological Institute in Topeka, KS. Then the PDC was an affiliate site of Homer B. Reed Adult Training Center in Hays, which was the cornerstone of DSNWK.

Dean Harvey Schemm, 95, eldest son of H.F. and Lena Schemm was born December 22, 1930 in Hays, KS. Dean departed this life on January 1, 2026 at Hope Springs in Sharon Springs, Kansas. He was baptized on January 18, 1931 in Wakeeney, KS, and confirmed in the Sharon Lutheran Church on September 8, 1946.

Goodland Police Department released a Press Release on their Facebook page this afternoon regarding a stabbing in Goodland on January 3rd, 2026. Press Release is below:

Steven Dale Kramer - October 19, 1957 - December 25, 2025, Bethune, Colorado

Patricia Ann Hansen - January 15, 1943 — December 29, 2025. Goodland, Kansas

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) today applauded the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announcement that Kansas will receive $222 million for the first year of the Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program. This allotment will be awarded for 2026, the first year of the five-year program. The RHT was created in the Reconciliation Bill to direct CMS to work with states to identify the root challenges facing rural health providers and invest in solut

Goodland Police Department shared a Press Release this evening about this morning's incident on their Facebook page. They also thanked ever

Goodland’s 730 Gold KLOE has gone silent after extreme December wind storms caused the station’s historic broadcast tower to fail and ultimately fall. KLOE served northwest Kansas for more than 75 years as a trusted source for local news, weather, and community programming. While the station will not return to the air, NWKS Radio and Kansas Broadcast Company remain committed to Goodland and the region through continued local broadcasting and community focused coverage.

Alice Theresa Blackwell June 13, 1951 — December 25, 2025 Goodland, Kansas A full obituary will be posted once it becomes available.  No services will be held at this time. Koons Russell Funeral Home

Police activity in Goodland late Sunday night prompted temporary road closures and a shelter-in-place advisory near 4th, 5th, and Caldwell. According to the Goodland Police Department, the suspect is now in custody, roads have reopened, and no injuries were reported. The incident remains under investigation, with no further details released at this time.