Kansas town opens first public library after mystery donation

CBS Saturday Morning Mysterious donation gives small Kansas town its first public library .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-cbs-mornings-saturday.jpg'); } By Aubrey Violeta Gelpieryn, Aubrey Violeta Gelpieryn Aubrey Gelpieryn is a producer with CBS Mornings. Read Full Bio Aubrey Violeta Gelpieryn, Elyssa Candiotti April 4, 2026 / 9:37 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google  For over 140 years, the small town of Frontenac, Kansas had almost everything its 3,000 residents needed – except a public library. All that changed when city administrator John Zafuta got an unexpected phone call in 2019. "It was a surprise," Zafuta said. "An attorney told us that we were the sole beneficiary of the Tavella family trust."Richard and Jeanette Tavella had both grown up in Frontenac before moving north to Kansas City, where Jeanette worked as a librarian until her death in 2019. Richard had died the year before. The couple wanted to use their parting gift to write a new legacy in their hometown. The town would receive $4.6 million from their estate, and use it to build Frontenac's first public library.  But an "obscure law" quickly complicated matters, Zafuta said. The statute limits the amount of money cities can receive for libraries. During the coronavirus pandemic, he had to testify to a state legislative committee to see if the rule could be overturned. The final vote was unanimous, clearing the way for the town to break ground on the project. "At first, thinking about creating a library from the ground up, it was pretty overwhelming. But once we got started, things just really fell into place," said City Clerk Jayme Mjelde.  The Frontenac Public Library under construction. Frontenac Public Library Building a space for community Seth Nutt, a teacher, historian and Frontenac native, was brought on as the library's director.  "Whenever I saw this opportunity to pour my heart back into...