Austin Morton
Regional Reporter
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Austin Morton is an Oklahoma native, so the trip to Kansas wasn’t a far one. He is now the Regional Reporter for KWCH, stationed out of Hays.
Austin is a recent college graduate, and during his time at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, he worked for his school's broadcast department, NWTV7. Here he helped revamp the program and its social media accounts, as well as anchoring for the weekly newscast.
On his days off, Austin enjoys playing video games with his fiance, taking his cat Trippy on walks, or watching the Chiefs on Sundays.
Going to school for Mass Communication, Austin enjoys engaging with communities and letting their stories be told.
Updated: Sep. 27, 2023 at 6:54 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton
Some in Hays are voicing concerns about the new high school’s bathrooms, set to be private, non-gendered stalls.
Updated: Sep. 25, 2023 at 9:13 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton
An investigation continues in the southwest Kansas town of Ulysses, where, last Friday, police detained a staff member at the school and recovered a firearm the teacher possessed.
Updated: Sep. 21, 2023 at 6:11 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
The small Barton County community of Pawnee Rock is working to preserve history with the sale of its century-and a-half-old opera house that’s in desperate need of repair.
Updated: Sep. 19, 2023 at 6:07 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
A new initiative partnering Kansas State University and Fort Hays State University aims to help grow small businesses across the state.
Updated: Sep. 18, 2023 at 7:58 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
The shore along Wilson Lake has become overgrown with an invasive plant species.
Updated: Sep. 14, 2023 at 7:49 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
An oil leak just west of a federally-protected area has government officials working quickly to stop the contamination from moving down stream.
Updated: Sep. 13, 2023 at 7:45 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
The addition of a seven-foot mustang statue puts school spirit on display at Salina Central High School.
Updated: Sep. 7, 2023 at 6:09 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
In honor of hers son, a Kansas woman is making a solo trip on horseback across three states to raise awareness for suicide prevention.
Updated: Sep. 5, 2023 at 5:47 PM CDT
|By KWCH Staff and Austin Morton
Park guides at Fort Larned are bringing a new spotlight to the national historic site. They’ve launched a podcast in hopes of teaching more people about a piece of Kansas history.
Updated: Aug. 29, 2023 at 7:46 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton
Attracting visitors to small towns can be difficult, but with the grant, Kansas Tourism is aiming to make that easier.
Updated: Aug. 28, 2023 at 6:17 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
The June fire left the district with few options to make sure students had a place to learn.
Updated: Aug. 25, 2023 at 4:17 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
For many rural communities, getting mental health services can be difficult.
Updated: Aug. 21, 2023 at 10:29 PM CDT
|By KWCH Staff and Austin Morton
Some residents in Decatur County will vote on a bond issue next week not expected to exceed $29 million.
Updated: Aug. 17, 2023 at 6:48 PM CDT
|By KWCH Staff and Austin Morton
Students at Park Elementary School in Great Bend will return to class next week despite significant storm damage to their school building.
Updated: Aug. 15, 2023 at 9:12 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
With many western Kansas communities struggling to get adequate internet service, the library in Plainville has support in its effort to keep its visitors connected.
Updated: Jul. 31, 2023 at 5:44 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
With dangerous heat continuing throughout Kansas, it’s making life difficult for cattle and challenging ranchers responsible for keeping them healthy.
Updated: Jul. 27, 2023 at 7:43 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
Some small Kansas towns are receiving some much-needed help bringing life back to local parks.
Updated: Jul. 26, 2023 at 8:27 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton
Fraudulent checks are making the rounds in parts of southwest Kansas.
Updated: Jul. 20, 2023 at 9:26 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
Great Bend is addressing one of the town’s biggest issues with the construction of a new child care center.
Updated: Jul. 14, 2023 at 7:15 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
-The 50th Kansas Shrine Bowl kicks off Saturday in Hays.
Updated: Jul. 13, 2023 at 4:36 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton
Student absenteeism is a serious problem for the Russell school district reported 26% of its students are chronically absent, meaning they’ve missed 16 or more days in a year.
Updated: Jul. 12, 2023 at 7:34 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
With keeping students safe in schools a top priority, the Hays Police Department participated in active-shooter training at Hays Middle School.
Updated: Jul. 11, 2023 at 6:11 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton
Recent storms also dumped destructive hail that for some, erased the hope the rain brought.
Updated: Jul. 10, 2023 at 9:20 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
A group in Victoria is working to help its small town thrive by renovating a shuttered assisted living facility and community center that was a key part of the small Ellis County town for decades.
Updated: Jul. 7, 2023 at 6:10 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
A man who gave his life for his country nearly 80 years ago finally received a proper burial in a ceremony in Garden City.
Updated: Jul. 6, 2023 at 7:48 PM CDT
|By KWCH Staff and Austin Morton
This Friday and Saturday, Taylor Swift will be at GEHA Field in Kansas City to perform both nights.
Updated: Jun. 29, 2023 at 9:57 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
Proceeds from the stands popped up throughout the community will benefit a local park expansion, allowing the play space to become more inclusive.
Updated: Jun. 27, 2023 at 5:52 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
Community members in the small Ellsworth County town of Wilson are a little more than a month out from taking a vote in an effort to save their school.
Updated: Jun. 22, 2023 at 6:28 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton
Cheyenne Bottoms is seeing the return of wildlife and water
Updated: Jun. 15, 2023 at 5:38 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton
After more than four decades in law enforcement the Larned Police Chief, Charles Orth, is calling it a career.
Updated: Jun. 14, 2023 at 10:56 PM CDT
|By KWCH Staff and Austin Morton
Fort Hays State University welcomed Governor Laura Kelly to town Wednesday morning for a ceremonial signing of the strategic affiliation bill.
Updated: Jun. 9, 2023 at 5:05 PM CDT
|By KWCH Staff and Austin Morton
The Rawlins County School District released photos on Friday showing damage caused by a fire inside the Junior Senior High School on Monday.
Updated: Jun. 6, 2023 at 7:25 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
This week marked the beginning of a summer meal program for Great Bend schools, allowing students in all grades to have free lunches throughout the week when they’re not in school.
Updated: Jun. 2, 2023 at 5:20 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
The 2023 high school track season didn’t end the way the Quinter Bulldogs wanted.
Updated: May. 31, 2023 at 5:20 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
Over the past few weeks, pats of northwest Kansas, including the Oakley area, have seen some much-needed rain, giving lawns and crops a chance to grow.
Updated: May. 22, 2023 at 8:55 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton
AndBe Home, a nursing home in Norton, is expanding its services to include assisted living.
Updated: May. 18, 2023 at 5:11 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
For the third year, the northwest Kansas town of Lucas is being nominated in USA Today’s “Best Small Town Art Scene in America.”
Updated: May. 16, 2023 at 7:11 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
As the drought continues, the impact on cattle grows, especially in Western Kansas.
Updated: May. 15, 2023 at 8:50 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
The City of Lyons is using a state grant to launch a unique construction project toward its goal of drawing more visitors to its community.
Updated: May. 12, 2023 at 5:25 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
With help from surrounding communities, people of the small northwest Kansas town of Weskan spent Friday cleaning up after a destructive tornado tore through the area, leaving extensive damage in its wake, including to Weskan’s K-12 school.
Updated: May. 11, 2023 at 8:56 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton
The replica that travels across the country every year, before this week, hadn’t been in Kansas since 2017.
Updated: May. 9, 2023 at 4:06 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
A group from Wilson isn’t giving up in the fight to keep the town’s high school open.
Updated: May. 4, 2023 at 6:52 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
Larned, a small town in western Kansas, is planning some big renovations to its downtown after receiving a state grant worth $750,000.
Updated: May. 3, 2023 at 5:39 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
The town of Wilson is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the movie “Paper Moon.”
Updated: May. 2, 2023 at 10:23 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
In a few weeks, La Crosse High School senior Anniston Anderson will be getting her high school diploma and the equivalent of an associate’s degree. The opportunity comes from attending a special program, the Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science (KAMS) Program, at Fort Hays State University.
Updated: Apr. 26, 2023 at 8:56 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
Parents in a Central Kansas school district are working to keep their children’s school open.
Updated: Apr. 25, 2023 at 7:34 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
It was a welcome, overdue sight in southwest Kansas: measurable rainfall.
Updated: Apr. 24, 2023 at 3:22 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton
A bridge, over 100 years old, collapsed into a local creek in the city of Ellis on Sunday.
Updated: Apr. 21, 2023 at 5:35 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
The Northwest Kansas Down Syndrome Society hosted the annual “Tee It Up for Down Syndrome” fundraiser.
Updated: Apr. 20, 2023 at 8:05 PM CDT
|By Austin Morton and KWCH Staff
The honor is a career achievement for Gloria Blackwell, but even after 48 years, she doesn’t plan to retire yet.