Roxie Hammill

Johnson County's transit service sees about 379,000 riders a year on fixed routes, compared to 32,800 microtransit riders and 84,100 paratransit riders. County commissioners are considering adjusting fares and services to attract more riders.

Entitled “Fire Keepers Circle," the installation represents the route that the Potawatomi people were forced to take from Indiana to Kansas nearly two centuries ago. Dozens of people died, mostly children and the elderly.

After Lenexa shot down Johnson County's plan to build a low-barrier homeless resources center, commissioners voted to use those federal funds instead on several other housing initiatives — including a Habitat for Humanity project and support for a cold weather shelter.

Shawnee Mission North High School teacher Jennifer Caedran Sullivan alleged that the district violated her freedom of speech and religion after she spoke in opposition to required diversity and inclusion trainings.

Denton Loudermill Jr. is suing three conservative Missouri senators for defamation after they falsely claimed on social media that he was an "illegal alien" and the shooter at the Super Bowl parade in Kansas City. He refiled his federal lawsuits in Missouri after a Kansas court dismissed them.

Howe was able to weather controversies over his handling of the officer-involved killing of John Albers in 2018 and the FBI investigation that brought national attention to the case.

Byron Roberson, the Prairie Village Police Chief, is the first Democrat in years to hold the position of Johnson County Sheriff. Incumbent Calvin Hayden, a Republican, lost in the August primary to Doug Bedford.

Kansas Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids is running for reelection against Republican Prasanth Reddy for the U.S. House 3rd District. In their only scheduled debate, the two candidates shared sharp exchanges over abortion rights, the border and other issues.

With the election for Johnson County Sheriff now between Democrat Byron Roberson and Republican Doug Bedford, polarizing issues that Calvin Hayden had campaigned on — election skepticism and immigration for example — have dropped in prominence.

Before she served as the first publicly elected chair of the Johnson County Commission, Annabeth Surbaugh had a long history of public involvement in Johnson County.