I-70 EXIT 127, NORTHWEST KANSAS| Motoring deeper into the Sunflower State, we drought-chasers are filling the back seat with some local newspapers along the way.

These are from this week’s front pages so far:

The Marysville (Kan.) Advocate: “After days of scorching, dry weather, a countywide burn ban is in full effect here again…

“So far, city officials have not put water use restrictions in place in the county, but state officials have put limits on local irrigators in the Big Blue River basin, and Nebraska officials have shut down irrigators north of the Kansas-Nebraska line along the river.”

Salina Journal: “The sun is baking the ground, causing it to shift, and the city’s water pipes, unfortunately, don’t shift with it. Water mains are breaking at a record rate this year, and at a record-breaking cost.”

Ellsworth County Independent Reporter: “Ellsworth’s more than 1,000 residential and commercial water customers have been ordered to stop outdoor watering until further notice.”

Hays Daily News: “In its weekly crop condition report, Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service said that 66 percent of the corn crop is in poor to very poor condition. Twenty-four percent is in fair condition, with 9 percent rated good and only 1 percent rated in excellent condition.

“About 2 percent of the corn acreage has been harvested for grain, in the earliest start to the corn harvest in Kansas history. Other major crops are not faring much better, with many strands withering…”

As we chase further west and south, the conditions will get worse.

|Rick Montgomery, rmontgomery@kcstar.com.