While fireworks are a fun addition to Independence Day festivities, user error and device malfunctions can cause harm to both people and property.

Get ready for the smell of barbecue – the 37th Annual Great Lenexa BBQ Battle is on June 23-24 at Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park in Lenexa. This popular event draws more than 180 teams from around the country to Lenexa each year to compete for the title of Grand Champion.

The Lenexa City Council will review the recommended 2019 Budget during two upcoming sessions. The budget workshop sessions take place on Tuesday evenings, June 12 and June 26, in the Lenexa City Hall Prairie Star Conference Room. Sessions begin at 6 p.m. and are open to the public.

Want to burn some vegetation or build a camp-style fire using cut firewood? First, you need a burn permit from the Lenexa Fire Department.

With more than 1,200 residences and businesses within a half-mile radius of the Old Town Lenexa railroad crossings, the need for noise reduction is critical. BNSF Railroad has two crossings in the area. The train tracks are adjacent to Santa Fe Trail Drive, with crossings at Pflumm Road and Noland Road. To address the noise issue, the Lenexa City Council recently approved $350,000 to install a wayside horn system in Old Town.

Enjoy nature and help out a good cause by participating in one our city stream cleanups! Two events are scheduled for this summer: Saturday, June 30, and Wednesday, July 11, from 9 to 11 a.m. at Little Mill Creek Park.

Lenexa City Hall and the Lenexa Rec Center, both located on the new civic campus in Lenexa City Center, were recently awarded the Silver Level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Certification (LEED).

Spring and summer are popular times to do home improvement projects. You probably spend time considering style, color, and whether you’ll need to hire a contractor or architect. But don’t forget to find out whether your project needs a building permit.

Lenexa Deputy City Administrator Todd Pelham received the Public Administrator of the Year Award for Local Government from the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration.

The Lenexa Fire Department (LFD) continues to be recognized as one of the top-rated fire protection agencies in the world. For the second time in four years, the LFD has been named an Insurance Services Office (ISO) Class 1 community. Lenexa originally earned the Class 1 rating in 2014 and recently learned that the department maintained the top rating after ISO conducted a redetermination study. The ISO system measures the quality and effectiveness of municipal fire protection.

You will find a wide variety of products at the Lenexa Farmers Market, including produce, wine, honey, dairy, meat, baked goods, flowers, plants and microgreens. Produce is seasonal, so you can expect to find a variety of different items throughout the season. We know it is important to be confident where your produce comes from

The weather is warming up and that means Lenexa’s outdoor pools will soon be open! Starting on Saturday, May 26, all three outdoor pools -- Ad Astra pool, Flat Rock Creek pool and Indian Trails Aquatic Center – will join the Rec Center’s indoor pool in helping you and your family find relief from the summer heat. In order for you to take advantage of all four of these great pool sites, we have compiled some of the most important information below. However, for even more detailed information about hours, amenities and memberships, you can visit lenexa.com/pools.

Ready to tackle some spring landscaping projects? Consider installing plants and projects that help naturally treat rain runoff and are eligible for reimbursement through Lenexa's Cost Share Program. Through this program, funded by a grant from Johnson County Stormwater Management and matching city dollars, we will reimburse you up to 75 percent of your costs for eligible items related to:

If you live in the Neighborhood Revitalization District (NRD) in eastern Lenexa, the Exterior Grant Reimbursement Program can help you make a wide range of improvements to your home.

Looking for a fun, free activity to do this summer? Grab the kids and get outside to solve the Playground Passport puzzle. It’s easy! Simply visit each of Lenexa’s 27 playgrounds, find the secret letter and number and complete the puzzle. You can participate in three ways:

A thousand miles west of Lenexa, artist Joe O’Connell is creating an interactive outdoor sculpture for the new Lenexa civic campus. At first glance, it might look like the sculpture’s two spheres have rolled out of the Rec Center and come to a stop on the Commons. But with a closer look, visitors will see that the spheres are an artistic interpretation of the original vision of Lenexa’s new downtown – a place where people come together and create community.

Road construction season has arrived, and sections of five major thoroughfares, about 15 subdivisions and a trail are slated to receive new surface treatments and other repairs as part of Lenexa’s 2018 Pavement Management Program. For 2018, Lenexa is investing approximately $5 million in pavement maintenance work, which consistently ranks as Lenexa’s top priority in community surveys. The blend of projects will improve the rideability of streets and help prevent major costly, disruptive repairs down the road.

The design-build process has begun on a new section of Ridgeview Road that will connect Kansas Highway 10 to Prairie Star Parkway. Once this project is completed, the new road will provide a vital transportation connection and open up the surrounding area to new development opportunities.

Now is your opportunity to shape the future of Lenexa by being part of the Vision 2040 strategic planning process. Vision 2040 is the third visioning process Lenexa has undertaken to guide our community’s progress. The first two, Vision 2020 and Vision 2030 set goals and priorities – some of which have already come to fruition.