The Rooks County Free Fair is coming up fast, so the Fair Office is now open in anticipation of the annual event! Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon and 12:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Please go to www.rookscountyfreefair. com or call 785-425-7189 for information and updates about this year’s Fair!

Sign up now for the Main Street Christian Church Vacation Bible School at 602 Main Street in Stockton! The event will be held Wednesday, July 26th through Friday, July 28th from 5:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Parents can sign up children ages PreK through fifth grade this fall by email at mscc602@gmail.com or before any session at the Main Street Christian Church. Please be on time for registration and the FREE MEAL at 5:15 p.m. since the programs will start at 5:30 p.m. There will be games, skits, music, crafts, and a Bible story every day!

There’s a new queen in town! Cheyene Carlson of Stockton began her year-long reign as Plainville Rodeo Queen when the coronation ceremony was held to open the Plainville Rodeo on Saturday, June 10th. She will now be the ambassador for her sport of rodeo, her local sponsoring rodeo, and her community.

The Stockton Recreation’s 4th annual 3-Man Scramble Golf Tournament is Saturday, July 22nd, at the Rooks County Golf Course. Now is the time to sign up for $150.00 per team.

The Swing Into Summer Festival and Car Show was held in Stockton on Friday, June 16th and Saturday, June 17th. The vintage cars, trucks and motorcycles were lined up under the canopy of shade trees at the Stockton City Park on Saturday for the public to enjoy. The announcement of winners was held at 3:00 p.m. Here is the winning lineup!

Midwest Energy was recently awarded $580,800 for upgraded natural gas leak detection devices through a federal grant under 2021’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Midwest Energy was the only entity in Kansas to receive funding under a nationally competitive process administered by the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Before Rooks County Commissioners Kayla Hilbrink, Tim Berland, and John Ruder worked on the 2024 County budgets at the June 27th meeting, they conducted the business portion of their morning session. The commissioners first met with economic development director Roger Hrabe, who presented them with a Kansas Department of Commerce grant opportunity.

The U.S. Postal Service has announced another postage increase for July 9 that again sends Periodicals postage into the double-digit zone for annual increases. This midyear hike will be 8.8% for Within County newspapers and 8.1% for Outside County newspapers.

Heartland Community Foundation, a philanthropic organization dedicated to enriching the lives of individuals and communities in the Ellis, Rooks, and Trego counties, is pleased to announce the appointment of five new members to its esteemed Advisory Board. The addition of these highly accomplished individuals will further strengthen the foundation’s mission of fostering positive change and supporting local initiatives.