11 Apr 2024

Enabling the warfighter: Fort Riley barracks renovations help to improve quality of life for soldiers

Fort Riley, a U.S. Army installation located in north central Kansas, is known for many things: storied home of “The Big Red One,” early duty station of the infamous Gen. Custer, former home to two Buffalo Soldier regiments and once home of the prestigious Cavalry School in the early 20th century, just to name a few. Drive around the installation and it doesn’t take long to feel transported back in time. When you reach what is known as “main post,” the buildings transition from the standard red brick and beige concrete seen on many military installations, to native limestone, which was used for constructing the installation in the 1800s. Fort Riley’s Main Post Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, and includes 294 buildings, structures and monuments.

21 Feb 2024

Sunken treasure: Fish Attractor Program at Pomme de Terre Lake benefits environment and recreators alike

On an unseasonably warm day in February, the sun was shining and hardly a cloud could be found in the sky. Staff at Pomme de Terre Lake, along with staff from the Missouri Department of Conservation, were hard at work. The task? Sinking piles of cedar trees into the lake to create fish habitat. Attracting anglers from across the state and region, Pomme de Terre Lake’s partnership with MDC is vital to maintaining a healthy fish population. For the last 32 years, the Kansas City District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and MDC have been working together to provide habitats for fish at Pomme de Terre Lake through its Fish Attractor Program.

6 Feb 2024

Innovative project receives 2023 Department of the Air Force Design Award

When you hear the word ‘merit’, you probably think of a great achievement or outstanding accomplishment. Both of those things could be used to describe the work of the Whiteman Air Force Base Resident Office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District on the Consolidated Operations Building at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. The civil engineering team at Whiteman has done great work on this building, and their effort was recognized. The Combined Operations Building was selected as the recipient of a Merit Award for the 2023 Department of the Air Force Design Awards at the 14th annual Design and Construction Partnering Symposium, sponsored by the Air Force Civil Engineer Center.

2 Feb 2024

First meeting of task force set to address issues in the Kansas River Basin

This month, a dedicated group of professionals took an important step for the health of Kansas water resources. On Jan. 18, 2024, the Kansas Reservoir Sedimentation Task Force, made up of representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City and Tulsa districts, the Kansas governor’s office and the Kansas Water Office met for the first time as a formal working group in Topeka, Kansas. The group was assembled to collaborate on a solution for a major challenge facing the Kansas River Basin — sedimentation in reservoirs across the basin.

9 Jan 2024

Missouri River navigation restoration efforts hit major milestone despite challenges

2024 will mark five years since the historic flood of 2019 in Kansas City and the surrounding region. Water levels on the Missouri River reached heights not seen for decades and caused an estimated $2.9 billion in damages across the Midwest. While the historic flooding impacted many in the area in ways they will likely not soon forget, it might be hard to believe that just a couple of years after the historic flooding, the region entered a period of historic drought. With water levels now at historic lows, repairing the river’s navigation channel to its pre-flood condition has not been an easy feat.