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Latest News
Local scientists seek solutions for Kansas lakes battling harmful blue-green algae
Blue-green algae blooms have always been a natural, and safe, part of Kansas lakes. But within the past decade, algal amounts have increased to where it can cause the surface of a lake or pond to look like an ugly, putrid-smelling matte of green paint. And it’s a problem affecting dozens of Kansas lakes.
Like COVID-19, the burden of air pollution is not evenly shared in Kansas and Missouri
Early research suggests a correlation between positive cases of COVID-19 and deaths in areas with higher levels of ground-level ozone pollution and other types of air pollutants, like particulate matter. Communities most impacted by poor air quality in Kansas City are located near industrial areas and highways — areas that are more likely to house Black and Latinx people. Those same communities are also the hardest hit by the coronavirus.
How invasive plants could overrun America’s largest remaining tallgrass prairie
America’s last stand of tallgrass prairie — primarily located in the Flint Hills of eastern Kansas and extending to the north and south — is being overgrown by non-native plants. The worst are Old World bluestem grasses and sericea lespedeza, robbing ranchers like Klataske of prime grazing lands and wildlife of special habitat.