Hey, Johnson County! Twice a month, the Post shares a collection of some of the good news that entered our inboxes or popped up on our social media pages.
How to tell us your good news:
If you have good news to share, let us know. You can share it in a number of ways, such as:
- Email us at stories@johnsoncountypost.com
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- Or comment at the bottom of this story.
And now, here’s a look at the latest roundup of good news!
Johnson County Spelling Bee ends with co-champions
The 2026 Johnson County Spelling Bee, hosted by Gardner Edgerton USD 231, ended after 57 total rounds — and with co-champions.
Jiya Bhavsar, from Indian Hills Middle School, and Purvik Byregowda, from Pleasant Ridge Middle School, are the co-champions headed to the Kansas State Spelling Bee.
Bhavsar has won the county bee twice before, including last year, when Byregowda was the runner-up.
The 2026 spelling bee drew more than 100 Johnson County elementary and middle school students to compete across three preliminary rounds, according to a press release.
The top four contestants from each preliminary round then participated in the championship round that same afternoon.
Other top spellers included:
- 3rd Place, Camden Lindsy from Overland Trail Middle
- 4th Place, Reyansh Kaul from Aspen Grove Elementary
- 5th Place, Tristan Ludwig from Spring Hill Middle
- 6th Place, Kassaye Liya from Trail Ridge Middle
- 7th Place, Aiza Shah from Liberty View Elementary
- 8th Place, Aakash Chalamalasetti from Aubrey Bend Middle
- 9th Place, Lincoln Dunlay from Prairie Trail Middle
- 10th Place, Matteo Besa Neckelmann from Indian Woods Middle
- 11th Place, Caspian Karstens from California Trail Middle
- 12th Place, Hudson Topp from Arbor Creek Elementary
Tyler’s House KC meets year-end fundraising goal
Tyler’s House KC, a Mission-based nonprofit that benefits teenagers in the area, raised at least $34,000 before 2025 ended — $4,000 more than its stated goal.
This allows the nonprofit to launch programming and provide additional resources for teenagers, according to its newsletter.
In 2025, Tyler’s House KC served more than 220 teenagers and served more than 2,300 meals to students, as well.
On average, teenagers each spend more than 250 hours per year at the nonprofit gathering space on Johnson Drive in downtown Mission, participating in more than 185 program sessions.
The nonprofit’s programming ranges from visual arts and graphic design to culinary experiences, mindfulness and movement.
A Holocaust survivor receives an award
Sonia Warshawski, a 100-year-old survivor of the Holocaust, received the OP Award from the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce during its annual winter meeting on Dec. 5.
The award is intended to “recognize ordinary people who do extraordinary things for … the community,” according to a news release.
A seamstress by trade, Warshawski — who survived three Nazi death camps, a gunshot wound and other horrors — has shared her story throughout her life to counter Holocaust deniers.
Known as “Big Sonia,” she was the subject of a 2016 documentary of the same name about her life and legacy.
Gardner Edgerton teacher recognized with Horizon Award
Eighth-grade math teacher Katie Whittley of Wheatridge Middle School in the Gardner Edgerton School District was recognized as a Horizon Award recipient.
The award, given out annually by the Kansas State Department of Education, recognizes accomplished first-year educators.
Whittley will be formally recognized during the February Kansas State Board of Education meeting.
PVPD helps local children buy gifts for Christmas
The Prairie Village Police Department, through the Prairie Village Foundation, helped children from 10 local families buy holiday gifts during its “Shop with a PV Cop” event on Dec. 10.
The children are identified by school counselors, principals and the D.A.R.E. officer for elementary schools serving Prairie Village students.
Each child who participated also ate dinner at the police department after shopping, and in the meantime, the gifts they picked out were gift wrapped.
Olathe’s virtual city hall gets a shoutout
Olathe earned fifth place in its population category in the Center for Digital Government’s annual Digital Cities Survey.
The city got special kudos for its Olathe Connect platform, which the city uses as a virtual city hall for residents to access resources and give feedback.
Lenexa scores high on resident survey
Lenexa residents seem to love the city they live in.
Last week, the latest Lenexa citizen survey results were unveiled at the Lenexa City Council meeting, showing residents are highly satisfied with the services the city provides, outpacing both regional and national averages.
Every two years, the survey, which is conducted by the ETC Institute, asks residents to assess their satisfaction with the delivery of major city services and to help determine the community’s priorities as part of its ongoing planning process.
It showed 95% of the 835 residents surveyed were satisfied with their overall quality of life, 97% recommended Lenexa as a good place to live and 94% liked the overall appearance of the city, among other survey results.
