The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office receives a Local Safety and Security Equipment Grant.

The grant came from the Kansas Governors Grant Program and is over $163,000. Sheriff David Groves says they applied for the LSSE Grant in hopes they would receive funds to transition their radio system from a 400 megahertz system to an 800 megahertz. He says there are several areas in the county where the current radios do not work correctly or consistently and that inability to communicate can pose a considerable risk to their deputies and investigators.

The new system will not only alleviate those dead zones but will also enhance communications with other entities from surrounding jurisdictions. The Sheriff's Office hopes to deploy the new mobile and portable radios by the first quarter of 2024.