info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Commissioners discuss bridge proposal

info2019-12-01T17:57:02-06:00December 1st, 2019|

When they met this week, Leavenworth city commissioners considered a request for support for a project that could result in the construction of a new bridge across the Missouri River. But city officials suggested following a process that would bring together various stakeholders and look at other transportation alternatives. The issue was discussed Tuesday as city commissioners reviewed a letter sent from commissioners in the Leavenworth County government. (Read more: Leavenworth Times)

Mayor, council to consider approving downtown TIF district

info2019-12-01T17:53:45-06:00December 1st, 2019|

The school board for Topeka Unified School District 501 loomed last October as a potential threat to the creation of a tax-increment financing district to encourage development in downtown Topeka. But that no longer appears to be the case as Topeka’s mayor and city council prepare Tuesday to consider establishing the Dynamic Core TIF District in an area bounded generally by S.W. Topeka Boulevard, S.W. 17th Street, S.E. Adams Street and the Kansas River. The USD 501 board voted 6-1 on Nov. 21 to support creation of that district, provided the proposal involved is revised to include specific wording requested by [...]

Topeka Metro bus service to reduce routes beginning Monday

info2019-12-01T17:51:11-06:00December 1st, 2019|

The last trip of the day for Topeka Metro buses will come one hour earlier beginning Monday. Those buses will finish their final runs between 6 and 7 p.m. instead of between 7 and 8 p.m., as they do now, Topeka Metro general manager Bob Nugent said Wednesday. He acknowledged some people who currently use the day’s last bus to get to or from work will consequently no longer be able to do so. (Read more: Political - The Topeka Capital-Journal)

Reno County will continue mosquito trapping in 2020 using local funding

info2019-12-01T21:29:46-06:00December 1st, 2019|

State funding for mosquito monitoring won’t be available to Reno County next year, so the county health department plans to fund continued trapping of the insects from its budget. Local health department officials, meanwhile – at the request of state health officials – plan to travel to Topeka during the upcoming session to make pitches to the governor and state lawmakers to add funding to the state’s fiscal 2021 budget to support mosquito monitoring and testing for mosquito-borne viruses. (Read more: Local - The Hutchinson News)

New Beginnings Inc. building tiny houses to address big needs

info2019-12-01T21:30:26-06:00December 1st, 2019|

In Hutchinson, it’s an economy house, not a tiny house. “Tiny houses” conjures up images of the HGTV show and a house on wheels, according to Hutchinson associate planner Aaron Barlow. “We use the term economy home,” he said. The Hutchinson-based New Beginnings Inc., which addresses housing needs, envisions building three economy homes on a vacant lot at 15 W. 8th Ave. that it recently purchased from the Hutchinson Land Bank. “We’re now in the design process,” said Shara Gonzales, president and CEO of New Beginnings. “We had to get the property first.” (Read more: Local - The Hutchinson News)

Big settlement offered to wind farm foes

info2019-12-01T21:28:01-06:00December 1st, 2019|

Expedition Wind, the company approved Nov. 15 to develop a wind farm in the southern portion of the county, has sent letters offering settlement to plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit opposing the project. The company offers various settlements, some as much as buying their property for 1½ times its value. The offer would apply only to plaintiffs of a suit filed Aug. 14 in district court. The property purchase offer is only for those who live within the footprint of the wind farm. Plaintiffs who live within a mile of the wind farm were offered an initial payment of $5,000 and [...]

Reno County in running for regional opioid response grant

info2019-12-01T21:37:58-06:00December 1st, 2019|

Besides the CDC grant announced last week, the Reno County Health Department is also in the running for a $750,000 two-year multi-county grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The grant would be used jointly by Reno, Harvey and Barton counties to address the opioid abuse crisis regionally, said Health Department Director Nick Baldetti. “It’s not a sure thing, but we’ve got a legitimate shot at it,” Baldetti told the Reno County Commission on Tuesday. That confidence comes from the fact the department was recently contacted by the federal agency to provide audited financials, to show it can manage a grant [...]

High-dollar art installations commissioned by the City of Lawrence begin to take shape

info2019-11-26T22:01:29-06:00November 26th, 2019|

After a competitive process, artists have been selected to create some of the city’s highest-dollar public artwork in recent years. The City of Lawrence has budgeted about $450,000, as part of its Percent for Art program, for three art installations at the newly renovated building that houses Fire Station No. 1 and the Senior Resource Center; the new police headquarters in northwestern Lawrence; and the new transit center on Bob Billings Parkway. Artists have been selected for the first two projects, and the selection process for the transit center is forthcoming. The city has a long-standing resolution, enacted in 1986, that [...]

Infighting part of the founding of Chanute

info2019-11-26T21:46:38-06:00November 26th, 2019|

The famed unification of four towns to create the city of Chanute is a well-known tale that is actually a little more complicated than most know, according to Chanute history expert Jim Whaley. “I discovered in my research there are some differences in the stories told about the formation of Chanute,” Whaley said. “The facts stay the same, but the circumstances surrounding those facts are different.” Whaley’s research yielded a different account of the four towns and how one of those, Alliance, came to be as a result of other infighting amongst the local communities competing for the chance to be [...]

Aquatic center a part of DRC discussion heading into 2020

info2019-11-26T18:47:44-06:00November 26th, 2019|

Upon completing its Strategic Master Plan in 2018, the Derby Recreation Commission saw the interest in a new indoor aquatic center remain very high. After gauging feedback from community members about the possibility of a steering committee, the DRC plans to engage the subject in more detail in 2020. DRC Superintendent Chris Drum said that the finishing touches and opening of the new Hubbard Arts Center remain a priority, but it’s not deviating from the interest of additional aquatic space. (Read more: Derby News | derbyinformer.com)

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