There Was No ‘Imaginary Fence’ Keeping Coronavirus Out Of This Rural Kansas County

Wallace was one of the last two counties in Kansas to see positive COVID-19 cases. Even so, life hasn’t changed much, right down to the low unemployment rate.

Henry Crawford demonstrates to Wallace County schoolkids during a field trip in September how to load the antique cartridges once used for buffalo hunting on the Kansas plains. Esther Honig/For the Kansas News Service
Henry Crawford demonstrates to Wallace County schoolkids during a field trip in September how to load the antique cartridges once used for buffalo hunting on the Kansas plains. Esther Honig/For the Kansas News Service

WALLACE, Kansas – Wallace County is at the western edge of Kansas, on the border with Colorado. It’s the second-least populated county in the state, and for the first half of 2020, life here maintained a sense of normalcy while the rest of world dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sure, businesses closed in March and stay-at-home orders went into effect, just like the rest of the state. But by summer…