Fort Scott, Kansas

City and county officials are working to save ER services in the southeast Kansas community. If that doesn't work, they're trying to prepare by hiring more ambulance drivers.

Tirrell Williams, 19, died two years ago from heat-related injuries at Fort Scott Community College. On Tuesday, a federal judge approved a settlement with the teen’s mother.

Tirrell Williams died after collapsing during a preseason workout. The federal lawsuit alleges former Fort Scott Community College head coach Carson Hunter and the school’s Board of Trustees violated Williams’ civil rights.

The chairman of the community college's board of trustees says the board hasn't received a detailed briefing or been involved with any safety changes following the death of 19-year-old Tirrell Williams.

The family of Tirrell Williams is still searching for answers after the 19-year-old lineman collapsed during an August 2021 football practice at Ft. Scott Community College. Williams' death is similar to that of Braeden Bradforth, who died of exertional heat stroke at Garden City Community College in 2018.

The casual attitude toward the dangers of COVID worries health care leaders in Fort Scott, Kansas.

Anger and fear have turned to pragmatic hope in the year since the people of Fort Scott, Kan., lost their hospital to corporate downsizing. A community health center remains. So far, so good.

The 7,800 residents of Fort Scott are reeling from the loss of their 132-year-old community hospital that was closed at the end of December by Mercy, a St. Louis-based nonprofit health system.