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It took her longer than she planned, but Jamie Wiseman is realizing her dream come true as Bentley’s newest police officer. Growing up, Wiseman watched her mom (postmaster) and dad (mechanic) don a uniform every morning and work hard for their family, so she thought that’s what she would do. She picked a police officer. In 2021, she attended the Citizens Police Academy in Wichita and began volunteering for events throughout the year. In 2023, she attended the Wichita Police Academy, where she qualified on handguns and shotguns, the tools on her duty belt, and completed the case law, among other [...]

Now that the news of the Kansas City Chiefs’ move from Arrowhead Stadium to a new facility in Kansas has begun to sink in, many Kansans are reflecting on the tax incentive package used to get them here, say some state lawmakers. As the Kansas Legislature geared up for the session opening this week, members of the state Legislative Budget Committee said they have been flooded with constituent questions about the particulars of the Sales Tax and Revenue (STAR) Bonds that will make up a significant portion of the funding. Legislators passed those questions on to a representative of the state [...]

On a lot of minds lately is the large jump in property taxes for 2026. County resident Roger Lomshek has been making the rounds among the county commission, USD 250 Board of Education, and the Pittsburg City Commission trying to convince them to reopen their 2026 budgets and possibly offer a rebate to taxpayers. USD 250 flatly refused. Crawford County and Pittsburg have been discussing the issue. At Tuesday night’s city commission meeting, Pittsburg commissioners agreed to investigate whether it is legal to reopen and redo the budget and explore possible options. Read more: -Morning Sun

A year of hard work has paid off. Captain Steven Dryzmalla of the Hesston Police Department completed a year-long Law Enforcement Leadership Academy through the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center and the University of Kansas. To complete the course, Dryzmalla had to complete a capstone project, and he did exactly that. Dryzmalla has been working for HPD since 2011. The course was for command staff and above, usually lieutenant and above. Dryzmalla said the class covered topics from leadership to budgeting, to even working on recruitment or retention and a succession plan. The course even covered how to present projects to [...]

Although Lenexa officials last year approved an over 66% increase in the number of places available at Project 1020, the county’s only cold-weather homeless shelter, the facility at the Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church has been full to overflowing every day this season since it opened Dec. 1, say organizers. On Thursday, advocates for people without housing asked for and got help from county commissioners in the form of funding of up to $25,000 for vouchers for hotel or motel stays — at negotiated rates — to help those residents who get to the shelter after it fills up. The funding [...]

Hillsboro is fielding increasing complaints about feral and stray cats damaging property and straining relations between neighbors. But city administrator Matt Stiles told city council members Tuesday that the city has limited capacity to respond. Police mainly deal with stray dogs. Stray cats and other small animals are handled with live traps lent to residents and a local resident who helps on a case-by-case basis, he said. Read more: Marion County RECORD

County commissioners Tuesday delayed a decision on imposing a moratorium on commercial battery energy storage systems to add language proposed by Commissioner Clarke Dirks offering reasons for the moratorium. County counsel Brad Jantz, who was not at the meeting, drafted the same resolution for Harvey County but did not include rationale mentioned by Dirks. Dirks said data centers and battery storage used tremendous amounts of energy. Read more: Marion County RECORD

St. Luke Hospital is considering whether to change how hospital board elections are conducted. “We have historically pretty low participation in our elections from the general public, unless there’s something controversial going on,” chief executive Alex Haines said. Elections are conducted during the hospital district’s annual meeting in May. Read more: Marion County RECORD

The Hutchinson City Council is taking the next steps toward renovating some of the city’s most iconic structures. The council unanimously approved a STAR bond project plan Tuesday evening after holding a public hearing. The proposal uses sales tax revenue to improve three key sites in hopes of drawing more tourists to Hutchinson. “What is helpful about STAR bonds is that it allows municipalities to make investments into our community into those attractions that, in turn, will bring in more visitors,” Dave Sotelo, Hutchinson’s director of strategic growth, said in an interview with KSN before the City Council meeting. The STAR [...]

A new Amazon facility is up and running in the Wichita area. Last week, the company opened a last-mile facility in Bel Aire that has about 150 employees, plus more than 130 drivers for the delivery service partners. The location is about the size of three football fields, according to Amazon. Read more: KSN-TV