Damara Hale

1 week ago | fourstateshomepage.com | Damara Hale

PARSONS, Kan. — It’s been a week since a community movie theater reopened to the public. The Parsons Theatre reopened its doors last Thursday with a busy start. Since then, roughly 1,200 guests have come for shows. RR Entertainment CEO and Parsons Theatre operator Rob Mayer says a combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2023 Writers Strike led to a decline in business, forcing the doors to close.

1 week ago | fourstateshomepage.com | Damara Hale

Posted: Jun 20, 2025 / 05:30 PM CDT Updated: Jun 20, 2025 / 05:30 PM CDT SHARE LABETTE COUNTY, Kan. — A southeast Kansas food pantry teams up with farmers to help “Meat the Need”. Crosstimbers Food Pantry and the Labette County Farm Bureau are working with area farmers, ranchers and producers to provide meat to families in need.

1 week ago | fourstateshomepage.com | Damara Hale

PARSONS, Kan. — The Parsons community continues its tradition of commemorating Juneteenth. June 19 is a day set aside to honor the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. It is celebrated in the community with a multi-day event in Parsons. Festivities kick off with a parade through downtown to municipal auditorium. Today, Dr. Levi Watkins, Sr., the principal of Douglass School was honored. Dr. Watkin’s son Dr. Donald Watkins was there to accept the award in his honor.

1 week ago | fourstateshomepage.com | Damara Hale

PARSONS, Kan. — A mural project is returning a piece of Parsons history to downtown. The Parsons drive-in mural will one of the last to be completed in downtown as part of a beautification project. It’s about 2-thirds completed but weather has pushed back the project. Located at the corner of 18th and Broadway, the 45-thousand-dollar project is funded through a combination of state and local funds. Each feature is symbolic, representing the Parsons Drive-In, which closed in 1988.

1 week ago | fourstateshomepage.com | Damara Hale

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Mo. — Repeated rounds of heavy rain damage roads in a southeast Kansas county. Crews from the Cherokee County Road and Bridge Department have stayed busy in the wake of recent storms. They say gravel roads making up most of the rural roads in Cherokee county have taken the hardest hit. Department superintendent Cody Zook says the crews will finish repairing washed out roads, only to see them washed out again when another round of heavy rain moves in.