In July, we were thrilled to announce that the Post had been selected for the first cohort of the Google News Initiative’s Growth Catalyst Program, which provides financing and operational support to help successful newsrooms expand.
In our case, that means a push to bring our trusted community coverage to Johnson Countians who live outside our established footprints in the Shawnee Mission and Blue Valley areas — and ultimately serving all of Johnson County and its 600,000 residents.
That expansion effort began in earnest this week with the arrival of our new Olathe beat reporter, Kate Mays.
Kate joins us from KCUR, where they demonstrated a knack for local government coverage as the station’s fall/spring news intern. Among their standout work at KCUR was ongoing coverage of the controversy over the Platte County Commission’s decision not to enact a tax that voters had approved to fund mental health services. Kate also produced revelatory coverage of efforts to oppose the abortion legalization referendum in Missouri last fall as well as the tensions over the future of Joe D. Dennis Park in Westwood.
And members of Olathe’s bustling contingent of bingo enthusiasts may recognize Kate from their trip to the American Legion’s weekly game earlier this spring.
A native of Lenexa and a graduate of Shawnee Mission Northwest, Kate got their undergrad degree from the University of Kansas and then spent several years working in the podcast sector in Los Angeles before returning to Johnson County. Kate recently completed a master’s degree in journalism from New York University.
Kate won’t have any shortage of options for stories to cover in Olathe. Johnson County’s second-largest city has seen its population grow faster than surrounding municipalities in recent years, with people from across the region drawn to its highly ranked schools, its extensive parks system, its dynamic business community and its excellent quality of life.
We’re so excited to welcome Kate to our staff and to begin covering Olathe more fully.
Olathe residents, let us know what you want to see covered! Send your story suggestions to us at stories@johnsoncountypost.com.
