info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Planning board lauds wind regulation proposal

info2020-08-03T07:58:44-05:00August 3rd, 2020|

Limits on noise and shadow flicker would determine how close a turbine could be to a home — rather than set distances — in a draft of proposed commercial wind energy regulations reviewed by the Reno County Planning Commission last week. The sound and flicker limits proposed are a compromise between more stringent requirements sought by homeowners who have weighed in on the debate and those developers have proposed. Planning commissioners praised the work of a subcommittee that drafted the regulations, suggesting only several minor changes during a nearly three-hour meeting when the document was reviewed a paragraph at a time. [...]

‘Culture of innovation’: Topeka looks to capitalize on Plug and Play partnership

info2020-08-03T07:56:38-05:00August 3rd, 2020|

In coming weeks and months, Topeka’s Plug and Play accelerator program, which was announced last year, is expected to gain serious momentum. Additional founding partners are set to be announced throughout August. Then, those founding partners will help select the first group of startup companies to participate in the accelerator. And this fall, they’ll begin a three-month program aimed at helping the startups make connections, perfect their products and form partnerships with area corporations. Then, at some point this year, results of a viability study to determine the future home of an innovation campus will be revealed, leading to the creation [...]

Revisiting Rice County during the 1950s

info2020-08-03T07:52:18-05:00August 3rd, 2020|

For Rice County native, Larry Meredith, growing up during the 1950s in rural Kansas was special – no internet, lots of friends and lots of room to roam.In his newest book, "Real, Rural: Growing Up Rural in the 1950s," Meredith tells tales about Bushton, the 1950s and his graduating class of 12."Nobody worried about the competition between the two grocery stores on Main St. and they drove to Lyons or Great Bend to do their serious shopping," Meredith wrote. (Read more: State News - Morning Sun)

“Keeping residents and businesses healthy”: City of Wichita hopes to clarify owners’ concerns

info2020-08-03T07:51:49-05:00August 3rd, 2020|

Bars, night clubs, and some restaurant just wrapped up another weekend of shutdowns and early closures under a county health order. Monday, the city of Wichita will host a meeting to talk with owners to find ways to get them some help. KSN news spoke with Mayor Brandon Whipple about bar owners concerns. With that meeting, the city says it wants to make sure it’s helping bar and restaurant owners the best that it can. The owner of Quincy’s bar and grill says dealing with shutdowns and early closures has been tough. The same amount of people are out and about, [...]

City of Hutchinson and Reno County both mark record July sales tax receipts

info2020-08-03T07:57:52-05:00August 3rd, 2020|

Federal stimulus checks and continuing stay-at-home orders are credited with helping the City of Hutchinson and Reno County both experience record sales tax receipts for July. It was a second consecutive month that receipts exceeded collections compared to the same month last year, at a time when local government officials had been expecting shortfalls due to layoffs and closures forced by the novel coronavirus. “It looks like vehicle sales were up and home improvement-type store sales as well,” said Angela Richard, Hutchinson’s finance director. Also experiencing increase sales, she said, were grocery, sporting goods and hobby stores. (Read more: Local - [...]

New micro-hospital in Topeka offers alternative to traditional hospital setting

info2020-08-03T07:55:56-05:00August 3rd, 2020|

A lead physician at the recently opened Topeka ER & Hospital says the facility offers an alternative to traditional hospital settings where some people may not feel comfortable. Topeka ER & Hospital, which officially opened July 27, is the first independently owned "micro-hospital" in Kansas, according to Jared Schreiner, chief medical officer and emergency medicine physician. "The whole design of the micro-hospital started maybe a decade ago," he said, "and the purpose was to build hospitals in communities, because we found that patients were avoiding care because they didn’t want to drive to the city, to fight parking, to fight traffic, [...]

Fairway approves removal of diseased feature tree in right-of-way on Suwanee Road

info2020-08-03T07:54:51-05:00August 3rd, 2020|

The Fairway City Council on Tuesday morning unanimously approved the removal of a feature tree in the right-of-way along Suwanee Road. City staff had KC Arborist, the city’s long-time arborist, evaluate a 43-inch round tree with a large cavity about 20-feet off the ground. The arborist determined the tree to be structurally compromised as the result of a disease, and recommended its removal as soon as possible. (Read more: Shawnee Mission Post)

Treasury Department: States, local governments spend only 25 percent of CARES Act subsidies

info2020-08-03T07:53:45-05:00August 3rd, 2020|

As deliberations continue in Congress over how to allocate another $1 trillion worth of stimulus money, governors and mayors say they need more than the $139 billion already allocated to their states in March to cover revenue shortfalls. A total of $150 billion was allocated to help state, local and tribal governments with specific COVID-19 response programs. But according to a new report published by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General, states have spent only 25 percent, or roughly $34 billion of $139 billion allocated to states through the CARES Act. (Read more: The Chanute Tribune)

COVID-19 sapped councilman’s energy during 12-day fight

info2020-08-03T07:49:37-05:00August 3rd, 2020|

Tony Emerson’s first three days with COVID-19 weren’t so bad, he says. The local contractor and Topeka city councilman felt some soreness and had a mild fever. Still, he could talk on the phone and work on his computer. "I was like, ‘This is nothing. This is just a walk in the park. My gosh, what’s the big deal?’ " he recalled. But Emerson, 51, said he then felt horrible for about a week, including being nauseous for all his waking hours. "You think it’s never going to end," he said. (Read more: Local News | Topeka Capital-Journal)

Kansas hopes sewage will provide advance warning of future COVID-19 surges

info2020-08-03T07:49:15-05:00August 3rd, 2020|

Want to know if the novel coronavirus is in your town? The answer might be in the sewers. Researchers at the University of Kansas are teaming up with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to track the coronavirus pandemic by measuring virus particles in wastewater. The technique, called wastewater surveillance, may provide an early warning system to give Kansas communities advance notice of future COVID-19 surges. Wastewater surveillance also helps fill in gaps in COVID-19 clinical testing, which can be limited, costly, and plagued by slow turnaround times. “The amount of positive cases that are reported understate the actual extent [...]

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