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Paola PD to host Children’s Fall Festival

info2021-10-04T00:11:08-05:00October 4th, 2021|

The Paola Police Department will host a Children’s Fall Festival on Saturday, Oct. 2. The festival will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Paola Justice Center, located at 805 N. Pearl St. The event will feature a free lunch, children’s face painting, fingerprint ID cards, games and more. Children will also be able to check out emergency vehicles from the Paola Police Department, Miami County Sheriff’s Office, Paola Fire Department and Kansas National Guard. Bicycles will be raffled for multiple age groups. Winners must be present for the drawing at 2:30 p.m., according to a news release. Source: [...]

Atchison sees rise in tourism for haunted attractions

info2021-10-04T00:09:42-05:00October 4th, 2021|

On a late September weekend, the city of Atchison was bustling with tourists looking for a good scare. With fall beginning and the return of Halloween season, the city of about 11,000 people becomes a hot spot for out-of-town tourists and national publications like BuzzFeed. Kaycee Slough, director of marketing at the Atchison Chamber of Commerce, said it’s one of the most thrilling times of the year for the city. “We know that people are so excited about everything that Atchison has to offer, specifically the haunted aspect, and so really delivering on all of those things is something that’s really [...]

Shawnee Tribe and City of Fairway will investigate the Shawnee Indian Mission boarding school

info2021-10-04T06:37:59-05:00October 4th, 2021|

At a press conference Thursday to mark Orange Shirt Day — a memorial to the thousands of lives lost at Indian residential schools — the chief of the Shawnee Tribe announce a partnership with the city of Fairway to investigate the history of the Shawnee Indian Mission, while calling on the federal government to research U.S. Indian boarding schools nationwide. Earlier this year, the Department of Interior announced an initiative to find out the inner workings of federally-operated Indian boarding schools. Places like Shawnee Indian Mission, which was an Indian boarding school from the 1830s to 1860s on 2,000 acres of [...]

Kansas county fixing systems after ransomware attack

info2021-10-04T00:06:52-05:00October 4th, 2021|

Computer systems are being restored in an eastern Kansas county after hackers launched a ransomware attack on Sept. 17, county officials said Friday. Pottawatomie County resolved the attack by paying less than 10% of the hackers' original demands, County Administrator Chad Kinsley said in a statement. The eastern Kansas county did not disclose the amount it paid, WIBW-TV reported. “We are a small county with small resources,” Kinsley said. “With the extraordinary demands that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on local governments like ours, we wanted to make sure that the hackers understood that there was no way we could even come close [...]

City of Lawrence bans airsoft, BB and paintball guns in parks after hearing community concerns

info2021-10-04T00:03:44-05:00October 4th, 2021|

As a parent who visits the playground at Brook Creek Park regularly with her child, Jamie Benvenutti felt surprised last week to learn that BB and compressed air guns were permitted in city parks near areas where children and families congregate. “Shouldn’t there be a sign posted at each public park so parents can decide if they feel safe enough to bring their children to a place where it’s OK to shoot BB guns? I know I certainly don’t feel OK taking my child to a park where shooting guns is allowed,” Benvenutti said in an email late last week. Benvenutti’s [...]

Local governments struggle to hire public sector workers

info2021-10-04T00:02:23-05:00October 4th, 2021|

Some local Kansas governments are operating with 10% of their positions unfilled, making it hard to deliver the services that citizens expect. Across the state, Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that Kansas has seen a 4.7% drop in the number of public sector workers, which translates into about 12,000 vacant jobs, but some towns are being hit harder. The pandemic has made the situation worse because the competitive labor market makes it hard to replace older employees who decided to retire. Source: KSN-TV

Local governments struggle to hire workers; some are operating with 10% of positions unfilled

info2021-10-04T06:44:18-05:00October 2nd, 2021|

In Concordia, City Manager Amy Lange has gotten a lot of mileage out of the “Kansas strong, Kansas nice” mindset. The north-central Kansas city is down six workers. While that may not seem like a lot, it accounts for about 10% of the city government’s workforce. Residents might not notice the impact unless they’re paying attention. Potholes don’t get fixed quite as quickly, and it might take a bit longer for questions about taxes to be answered. But Lange said this obscures the real impact, noting her staff is having to cover for vacant positions — even though they are already [...]

Can you pronounce these 10 city names correctly? If so, there’s a good chance you’re from Kansas.

info2021-10-02T08:38:45-05:00October 2nd, 2021|

"The one thing I really love about language is how language can point to our history of human contact, relationship and movement," said Mary Kohn, an associate professor at Kansas State University, who holds a doctorate degree in linguistics. "That's very true for Kansas, as well. "Whenever we look at place names or pronunciation, what we're getting is a cultural representation that reflects our history, and I think that's really beautiful." When it comes to pronouncing the names of places in Kansas — cities, counties, and even local and regional landmarks — native residents of the state may have a leg [...]

Kansas tax collections beat estimate by $162.2 million, indicate growing economy and business profits

info2021-10-02T08:37:06-05:00October 2nd, 2021|

Kansas state officials reported more tax revenue was collected than expected over the past month, indicating a growing economy and improved profit margins for businesses. September total tax receipts were $876.5 million, beating the estimate by $162.2 million, or 22.7%. The revenues also beat September 2020 collections by $147.6 million, or 20.2%. "Our tax collection numbers continue to show promising growth," Gov. Laura Kelly said in a Friday news release. "In the months ahead, we must maintain fiscally-responsible policies to strengthen our growing economy." The additional revenue was primarily due to individual and corporate income tax collections, as well as retail [...]

JFK’s hearse brings visitors to Hill City museum

info2021-10-02T08:36:25-05:00October 2nd, 2021|

There is just one week left to view the 1964 Cadillac Hearse that transported President John F. Kennedy’s body from Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas to Air Force One on that fateful day in 1963. The infamous automobile arrived in Hill City in April. It was part of the opening of the Graham County Auto and Art Museum, a new tourist attraction that is bringing visitors to the city. ... By bringing a destination museum into this town of less than 2,000, Hill City is giving its downtown a small boost. Source: Hutch News

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