In 2017, data from the group Kansas Health Matters showed Finney County in southwest Kansas with the second highest rate of STDs in the state behind Wyandotte County. Finney County health officials say increasing drug abuse and sex trafficking are among the root causes behind the spike in gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia and HIV cases.

Smartboards have been replacing chalkboards in Kansas for more than a decade. Yet districts are still trying to figure out tech’s place in the classroom.

It can be hard to keep smiles healthy in rural areas, where dentists are few and far between and residents often are poor and lack dental coverage. Efforts to remedy the problem have produced varying degrees of success. The biggest obstacle? Dentists.

For some people with mental illnesses, getting advice from a peer can be more helpful than getting counseling from a licensed therapist or a doctor. Peer support specialists in Kansas don’t have a professional license. What they do have is personal experience with mental illness, which they can use to help others, as we hear in this report from the Kansas News Service.