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 [email protected]
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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 Parks and Recreation awarded grant

On Thursday, the Johnson County Park and Recreation District was presented with a $48,500 Kansas Tourism Attraction Development Grant to launch Big Bull Creek Park as the gateway to the Passport to Public Art.

The project will support installation of Picnic, a prairie-inspired sculpture celebrating the landscape and wildlife of Big Bull Creek Park, along with interpretive signage and wayfinding to welcome visitors beginning their Passport journey.

The Passport to Public Art will connect artworks across multiple JCPRD parks, encouraging visitors to explore trails, discover public art and experience Johnson County’s parks.

The sculpture and the passport will be revealed on May 9 at the 11 a.m. ribbon cutting at Big Bull Creek Park.

Monticello Trails holds mock interviews

Prairie Village gets more composting cans

Prarie Village has received three new Community Smart Cans have been added to the KC Can Compost program to help with composting throughout the city. They can be found and used at Porter, Franklin and Taliaferro parks.

The cans be used to collect food scraps that, instead of rotting in a landfill, can be used as nutrient-rich compost that is feeding future local harvests.

Since the Prairie Village’s Community Program launched the program in July 2025, residents have saved more than 63,000 pounds of food waste, according to the city.

Shawnee Fire Department welcomes new recruits

There will be some new faces responding to fires and emergency calls in Shawnee.

This week, the Shawnee Fire Department welcomed new fire recruits Austin Unterreiner, Nick Woltjer, Nick Ferguson, Brevon Lee, Ty Gardner, along with Firefighter Carson Pitts.

They are currently training in the Shawnee Fire Department’s internal academy alongside seasoned veterans to prepare to serve our community.

Overland Park Police visit Westridge Middle School

Officers with the Overland Police Department visited Westridge Middle School to talk about their careers in law enforcement and answer questions from students.

On March 10, officers stopped by the middle school to talk with students and show off their gear.

The police department thanked the middle school for hosting them on social media.

Olathe West High School finds success with special choir class

This school year, Ryan Olsen, director of choirs at Olathe West High School, has seen success with a new choir program created specifically for students with special needs who are interested in music.

Inspired by his brother, who had special needs, and his love for music, Olsen created a new class where students with neurodivergent or special needs could engage with music through songs, read and played rhythms, and melodies.

The program has been positively received, Olsen said in a video on social media.

“It’s been a really fun and rewarding environment where they’re getting a chance to sing and play music and play various instruments and do a whole bunch of musical activities just as a way that we can really focus on taking musical therapy to another level,” he said.