info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Kansas Cosmosphere reopens

info2020-05-26T06:59:13-05:00May 25th, 2020|

The Kansas Cosmosphere has reopened in time for Memorial Day weekend. The space and science center in Hutchinson has taken steps to help keep visitors and staff safe and prevent possible exposure to Covid-19. All staff will be wearing masks and visitors are encouraged to as well. Disposable masks will be available for visitors and temporary Plexiglas shields have been installed at all points of sale. There are markers on the floor at 6 feet intervals to allow visitors to maintain social distancing and hand sanitizing stations have been set up across the facility. Seating inside the Digital Dome Theater, Dr. [...]

US communities face tough choices on opening public pools

info2020-05-26T06:59:29-05:00May 25th, 2020|

Public pools will look very different this summer if they open at all with the coronavirus threat still looming, as teenage lifeguards will be tasked with maintaining social distancing and spotting COVID-19 symptoms in addition to their primary responsibility of preventing drownings. Pools that do plan to open will take precautions, including screening temperatures on entry, requiring lifeguards to wear masks and significantly reducing the number of swimmers allowed in the water and locker rooms, said Dr. Justin Sempsrott, the medical director for the lifeguard certification program Starguard Elite and executive director of Lifeguards Without Borders, which works to reduce drownings [...]

‘We’ve got to know who they are’: Contact tracing vital as county reopens

info2020-05-26T06:59:44-05:00May 25th, 2020|

Who were you with on Mother’s Day? Did you go to a restaurant? Did you carpool to work with someone? These questions may seem personal, ones that you would most likely discuss with a friend or family member. But for contact tracing nurses to accomplish their job, these are inquiries they must make to determine who is a potential contact for a positive COVID-19 case. Contact tracing nurses have to be nosy. To successfully slow the spread of COVID-19, nurses must learn how to be a detective and dig into every minute of someone’s life. It is not a cutting-edge method [...]

Merriam police officers save owl stuck in soccer net

info2020-05-26T07:00:31-05:00May 25th, 2020|

Merriam police officers demonstrated their ability to adapt to any situation last weekend and saved an owl stuck in a soccer net at Waterfall Park, 5191 Merriam Drive. After a concerned citizen alerted the police department about the owl, four officers responded to the scene as there were no animal control officers on duty at the time, Captain Chris Brokaw said. The officers took it upon themselves to free the owl, although saving wild animals isn’t a regular occurrence for police, he said. “Nothing in our day is routine, you just never know what you’re going to get,” Brokaw said. “I’m [...]

Newton Rec Commission eyes June 15 opening of municipal pool

info2020-05-26T07:04:32-05:00May 25th, 2020|

The hopes of swimming in the municipal pool this summer are treading water — delayed, it seems, by each new announcement from Gov. Laura Kelly as she has signed executive orders moving the state through a phased reopening plan in attempts to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. But, published in black and white on a revised reopening plan, there is a date for the pool to reopen. The plan given to the Newton Recreation Commission by Rec Commission staff lists June 15 as the day to get into the water. If the plan stands, the pool will be open [...]

Neosho County to assist Erie 101 district

info2020-05-26T07:06:29-05:00May 25th, 2020|

Neosho County Commissioners voted Thursday evening to assist the Erie school district with improperly-installed air conditioning at the high school. Erie’s USD 101 Superintendent Troy Damman requested assistance from the funds Apex Clean Energy, developer of the Neosho Ridge Wind electric generation project, is paying in lieu of property taxes (PILOT funds). Commissioners voted to provide $200,000 to correct improper installation of Erie High School’s ground-source heat pump. The funds will also assist with curriculum and textbook updates and safety at the Galesburg Middle School, which is part of USD 101. (Read more: www.chanute.com)

Survey finds 32 states withholding CARES aid to local governments

info2020-05-26T07:08:11-05:00May 25th, 2020|

The National League of Cities reports that 32 states are withholding federal funding to local governments that was approved under the CARES Act that was signed into law March 27. The survey completed May 18 found most municipal governments have received “no indication when, or if, funds will ever be made available,” the NLC said. Many congressional lawmakers have been under the impression that local governments already have received a share of the CARES Act funding, but that’s not the case. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act established a $150 billion Coronavirus Relief [...]

Centura Health – St. Catherine Hospital, LiveWell Finney County work together to distribute much-needed supplies

info2020-05-26T07:08:20-05:00May 25th, 2020|

With the number of positive COVID-19 cases continuing to rise rapidly in several southwest Kansas communities, Centura Health – St. Catherine Hospital saw a growing need for supplies and community outreach in the region. After identifying the need, Centura Health, a health system covering Colorado and western Kansas, rounded up supplies to the tune of 25,000 masks, 2,000 eight-ounce bottles of hand sanitizer, and gloves and deployed them to Garden City. In Saturday and Sunday, a team of leaders and caregivers from Centura Health-St. Catherine Hospital and representatives of LiveWell Finney County rolled up their sleeves and began distributing the supplies, [...]

April passenger traffic decreased 95% at Eisenhower National Airport

info2020-05-26T07:08:32-05:00May 25th, 2020|

Wichita's Eisenhower airport reports a 95% decrease in airline traffic in April of 2020, compared to the same time period in 2019. The monthly passenger total this April was 7,363 people. Last year's April numbers stand at 136,125. For the year, passengers are down 36%. COVID-19 has devastated air travel around the country and the world as passengers have virtually stopped traveling. Fear of catching the virus, stay-at-home orders and closures have kept people home. As required by the CARES ACT, airlines reduced flights to a bare minimum. At ICT, capacity for quarter two of 2020 has been slashed 50% compared [...]

Kansas unemployment surges to 11.2% in April, number out of work up 130,000 from year ago

info2020-05-26T07:08:45-05:00May 25th, 2020|

The Kansas unemployment rate quadrupled in April to 11.2% as coronavirus infection and the government’s response to the pandemic reverberated through the state’s economy, officials said Friday. The Kansas Department of Labor reported unemployment in Kansas escalated as COVID-19 spread. The state’s jobless mark was 2.8% in March. The comparable figure was 3.2% in April 2019. The seasonally adjusted estimate showed total Kansas nonfarm jobs declined by 130,400 from March. Private-sector employment, which is a subset of total nonfarm jobs, fell by 121,600 from the previous month, while government decreased by 8,800 jobs. (Read more: Local - The Topeka Capital-Journal)

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