They dream of sprawl.

• Position: Stateline - Brief Article

How do you grow a town? You give land away. That's what's happening in Marquette, Kan., where the population was declining so much residents feared losing their high school. So town leaders purchased 50 acres of wheat fields for $100,000, divided the land into 80 lots and started giving them away to anyone willing to move there and build a home. Twenty-one lots are already gone, and 20 more kids are expected to enroll in the schools. A few other central Kansas...