Blu-Jay Junior Aiden Patrick picks up medals in the high jump and 100-meter dash at the state track meet. (Pleasanton Schools USD 344 Facebook page) By Roger Sims, Journal staff linncountyjournal@icloud.com Pleasanton High School athletes turned in good performances at the Kansas State Championship Track and Field Meet on Friday and Saturday, May 29-30. Two boys had top-10 finishes in three events and the girls relay team broke a school record. junior Aiden Patrick accounted

Jayhawk Brea Dawson picked up a medal with her finish in the 100-meter hurdles. (Jayhawk USD 346 Facebook page) By Roger Sims, Journal staff linncountyjournal@icloud.com Three Jayhawk-Linn athletes had top 10 finishes at the Kansas State Track and Field Championship meet on Friday and Saturday, May 29-30 Senior hurdler Brea Dawson ended her high school career with a seventh-place finish in the 110-meter finals. Teammate Kiera McGrew also placed ninth in the discus with a thro

Prairie View junior Carter Browning prepares to release a throw in the Class 3A javelin competition. (Prairie View Buffalos Facebook) By Roger Sims, Journal staff linncountyjournal@icloud.com A pulled hamstring and maybe a little nerves from competing at the Kansas State Championship Track and Field Meet on Friday and Saturday, May 29-30, left the three athletes from Prairie View with only one top-10 finish. However, the results in the Class 3A division at state as well as th

In the wake of the sentencing of Damon Leonard in Bates County, Mo., last week, new and more serious charges have been filed in Kansas. (Photo by Bates County, Mo., Sheriff's Office) Journal staff report Update: The Kansas Attorney General's office on Tuesday, June 2, confirmed that additional charges have been filed against Damon Leonard in the death of a 13-year-old neighbor Airen Andula. The announcement came after Leonard received a four-year sentence in Bates County, Mo.

Jayhawk-Linn adds second veteran-guardian team, Prairie View to send five veterans and five guardians Veterans and student "guardians" from seven area high schools gather at Lyndon High School on Sunday, May 31, to prepare for the whirlwind two-day tour of Washington, D.C., as part of the Honor Flight program. Both Prairie View and Jayhawk-Linn high schools will be sending veteran-guardian teams on the journey. (Honor Flight 2026 Facebook) By Kathleen Hinrichs 2026 Honor Flig

By Charlene Sims, Journal staff LCJeditor@icloud.com MOUND CITY – After going into an executive session for job performance for non-elected personnel requested by Public Works Administrator Jesse Walton on Monday, June 1, Linn County Commissioners Jason Hightower and Jim Johnson announced that they needed to advertise the position of Public Works Administrator. Commission Chair Alison Hamilton was not at the meeting. No final date was discussed for Walton's employment, and Jo

Pleasanton Blu-Jays head out to the state track and field meet on Thursday, May 28. (Pleasanton Schools USD 344 Facebook) By Roger Sims, Journal staff linncountyjournal@icloud.com Update: Pleasanton officials have posted that the girls 4x400 team set a new school record with a time of 52.13 seconds. We will post official results when they are available. Seven Pleasanton High School athletes will be headed to the Class 1A state championship track and field meet on Friday and S

The Jayhawk-Linn track team with coaches heads out to the state meet in Wichita. (Jayhawk USD 346 Facebook) By Roger Sims, Journal staff linncountyjournal@icloud.com Eight Jayhawk-Linn athletes will be headed to the state track and field championships at Wichita State University on Friday and Saturday following their success at the Class 3A regional at Fredonia on Friday, May 22. The girls will be sending a larger contingent to state, but the two boys headed to Wichita includ

Prairie View junior Laramie Stevens tried throwing the javelin for the first time this season. She now holds the school record, is the regional 3A champ and is headed to state with her sights set on a gold medal. (Prairie View Buffalos Facebook) By Roger Sims, Journal staff linncountyjournal@icloud.com Three Prairie View athletes will head to the state championship track meet at Wichita State University on Friday and Saturday, hoping to bring home gold in the Class 3A events.

A Pleasanton man is proposing that city officials step in to apply for a "quiet zone" for trains on tracks running through the town. (Photo by Jad Limcaco / Upsplash) By Roger Sims, Journal staff linncountyjournal@icloud.com PLEASANTON – With the exceptions of Mound City, Blue Mound and Linn Valley, every city in Linn County is a railroad town. Whether it’s the Union Pacific tracks running down through Parker and Centerville or the BNSF (Burlington Northern Santa Fe) tracks t

The Linn County Commission on Tuesday, May 26, approved a resolution intended to keep power lines from a solar development project in Missouri from connecting with the La Cygne Generating Station's grid. (Journal file photo) By Charlene Sims, Journal staff LCJeditor@icloud.com Update: Linn County has rejected a building permit to install high-voltage lines from Missouri solar farms to the La Cygne Generating Station in Linn County, according to Jennifer Cummings, county zonin

Linn County has received a $2 million grant to replace the old, one-lane military bridge on the north edge of Mound City. This photo is from a year ago after rains in late May deposited branches against a support column. (Photo by Roger Sims / Linn County Journal) By Charlene Sims, Journal staff LCJeditor@icloud.com MOUND CITY – Public Works Director Jesse Walton told the Linn County Commissioners on Tuesday, May 26, that he will be having one more meeting with the Kansas Dep

Lifeguards are hired and the La Cygne pool is set to open – as soon as repairs can be completed. City officials hope the work is complete so that the pool will open by sometime next week. (La Cygne Swimming Pool Facebook) Journal staff report Update: La Cygne pool officials have posted on the pool's Facebook page that it will not open for the season until Monday, June 8 or later. The officials posted a flyer that they "plan" to open on that date with water aerobics at 9:30 a.

The new fishing pond at Mound City features a gazebo, accessibility for handicapped anglers and a horse-show shape to provide plenty of shoreline. After recent rains, the pond is at its peak capacity. (Photo by Roger Sims / Linn County Journal) By Roger Sims Journal staff MOUND CITY – More than 200 people, including about 70 young anglers turned out for the 2026 Mound City fishing derby at the city lake west of the city on Saturday, May 16. It was one of the best turnouts yet

Brooke Clearwater's baked goods sold well on the first Saturday morning of the Linn Valley farmers market. By 11 a.m. she was down to a few cookies and a couple loaves of bread. (Photos by Roger Sims / Linn County Journal) By Roger Sims Journal staff LINN VALLEY – It is still a little early for many locally grown vegetables, but the farmers' market for the Linn Valley community got under way on Saturday, May 23. And while the lone vegetable producer supplemented her selection

The family of the late Irvin Endecott gathers for a photo at the ceremony. A plaque honoring Endecott's service will hang in the Prescott City Hall. (Submitted photo) Reporting by Raquel Beltz Special to the Journal PRESCOTT – Area residents and family members gathered at Prescott City Hall on Saturday , May 23, for the Prescott Memorial Day Service of Remembrance that is held every year. James and Raquel Beltz coordinate the service each year, and Raquel presided over the e

La Cygne-area residents join in singing "God Bless America" led by Bill Foil, right. Dozens attended the Memorial Day service Monday morning at Oaklawn Cemetery. (Photos by Roger Sims / Linn County Journal) LA CYGNE – Dozens of area residents gathered for the Memorial Day service at Oaklawn Cemetery on Monday, May 25, in a tribute to veterans both living and those who had made the ultimate sacrifice. David Houston was master of ceremonies for the event that featured a speech

Linn County receives a $2 million grant to replace the old military bridge on the north side of Mound City. This photos from June 2025 shows brush and logs piled up on the south side of the pier following a rainy May. (Photo by Roger Sims / Linn County Journal) By Charlene Sims, Journal staff LCJeditor@icloud.com MOUND CITY – Public Works Director Jesse Walton told the Linn County Commissioners on Tuesday, May 26, that he will be having one more meeting with the Kansas Depar

This memorial at Fort Scott National Cemetery commemorates the 15 Black soldiers killed in May 1863 near Sherwood, Missouri. (Photo by Max McCoy/Kansas Reflector) By Max McCoy Kansas Reflector FORT SCOTT — At the national cemetery there is peace. There is no news to report, no current affairs to parse, no urgent interview requests awaiting any of the 8,000 inhabitants. All the battles have been fought, the costs tallied, the names and the dates etched into marble stones 13 in

With two of the three commissioners present, the Linn County Commission has approved a moratorium on high voltage power lines. The lines target the lines coming from a solar farm in Missouri into Kansas. (Stock photo by Andrey Metelev / Upsplash) By Charlene Sims, Journal staff LCJeditor@icloud.com MOUND CITY – With just two commissioners in attendance and no county counselor available, Linn County Commissioners Alison Hamilton and Jim Johnson voted to approve a temporary mor

Deadline to file for political office and township offices is Monday, June 1, at noon. (Wix file photo) By Roger Sims, Journal staff linncountyjournal@icloud.com MOUND CITY – With the noon filing deadline on Monday, June 1, less than five business days away, the list of candidates for several state and federal offices is growing longer in some but not all cases. Several candidates who are running campaigns have not formally filed with the Kansas Secretary of State’s office in

A news organization's lawsuit in Linn County, Kansas, argue a relatively new state law violates the First Amendment rights by denying access to court records. (iStock via Getty Images Plus) By Anna Kaminski Kansas Reflector TOPEKA — When reporters at a Kansas newspaper heard about the gruesome death of a local 13-year-old boy in December, one tried to get the court records that could establish an official account of how the boy died. A Linn County News reporter asked a court