info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Baldwin City to host 62nd annual Maple Leaf Festival this weekend

info2019-10-17T22:29:55-05:00October 17th, 2019|

Baldwin City has spent the last week putting on its festival face. Crews have been placing orange “no parking” placards along downtown streets, as well as portable toilets and ready-to-assemble barricades at key intersections. They’ve marked off the sites for the hundreds of vendors whose wares will be for sale to the more than 30,000 expected visitors Saturday and Sunday to the annual Maple Leaf Festival. Founded in 1958, Maple Leaf has grown to be one of the largest fall festivals in the state. Read more: LJWorld.com.

City of Pittsburg officials see positive outcome in switching health plans

info2019-10-17T22:00:10-05:00October 17th, 2019|

A local city is reaping the benefits of a self-funded employee health plan. A spokesperson with the company that offers the City of Pittsburg employee health insurance plan, IMA, recently gave city commissioners an update on the plan that went into place back in 2015. She says employee premiums haven’t increased in five years and claims are currently running 24 percent lower than expected. City manager Daron Hall says that’s a far cry from the situation they were in before the city switched providers. (Read more: KSNF/KODE – FourStatesHomepage.com)

New electronic-voting machines unveiled to local government officials

info2019-10-17T21:59:34-05:00October 17th, 2019|

Local voters will be seeing new voting machines at polling places this year. New electronic-voting machines were unveiled to local government officials during a meeting Thursday afternoon. The old machines have been replaced simply because the technology being used needed to be updated. “We started those (the previous voting machines) in 2006,” Rich Vargo, the clerk for Riley County, said. “Their life cycle was projected to be eight years, so we got an extra four years out of them. They had gone beyond their life cycle. And of course with anything new (technology-wise), there’s newer security measures.” Each machine costed a [...]

DA asks Wichita Mayor Jeff Longwell to report past gifts; won’t file charges

info2019-10-17T22:01:52-05:00October 17th, 2019|

Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett is not filing charges against Wichita Mayor Jeff Longwell. But he is asking him to report past gifts he received from a company that’s helping design Wichita’s new water treatment plant. Bennett’s investigation into Longwell’s gifts started after an Eagle story said that Longwell steered what could become the largest contract in the city’s history to his friends and golf partners. Those friends and their companies spent hundreds of dollars entertaining the mayor. (Read more: Politics & Government News |)

Douglas County no longer will prosecute simple marijuana cases

info2019-10-17T22:28:19-05:00October 17th, 2019|

Responding in part to what he described as changing societal attitudes, Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson announced Thursday his office no longer will prosecute simple marijuana offenses. According to a news release, Branson said he made the decision after examining policies in several cities including Lawrence, Wichita and Kansas City, Mo. “I do not feel it is fair or just for Douglas County to criminally charge citizens with something they can do with virtually no penalty in the city of Lawrence and other surrounding communities,” Branson said. (Read more: Local - The Topeka Capital-Journal)

Wells launches write-in campaign for Wichita mayor

info2019-10-17T21:58:56-05:00October 17th, 2019|

Lyndy Wells, third-place finisher in the August primary, announced his write-in candidacy Thursday for the upcoming mayoral election. And he’s convinced he can win, he said. “I am confident that I can win this. Otherwise, I would not do it. And I have been counseled by friends and supporters who have said don’t do this,” he said at a news conference Thursday afternoon in front of the Historic Sedgwick County Courthouse. (Read more: Local News |)

A new life found: Five siblings came to Newton on an ‘Orphan Train’

info2019-10-17T21:58:05-05:00October 17th, 2019|

Don Schroeder had quite a story to tell this week at Newton Public Library, one he told in front of a standing-room-only crowd. His father, John A. Lingenfelter, was one of five children who were treated at Bethel Deaconess Hospital in May of 1919. Those five children, four girls and one boy, came to Newton on an “Orphan Train.” “These are stories I have heard all of my life,” Schroeder said. (Read more: News - Butler County Times Gazette)

Hutch trail system to expand

info2019-10-17T21:57:02-05:00October 17th, 2019|

Hutchinson’s trail system will add a link. ... According to a memo by City Director of Parks and Facilities Justin Combs, the new concrete trail will extend approximately a thousand feet from the playground to the east, on the south side of East 43rd Avenue. It will continue under K-61 and end at the driveway of 3103 E. 43rd Ave. (Read more: Local - The Hutchinson News)

Wichita middle school technology teacher receives national award

info2019-10-17T18:51:22-05:00October 17th, 2019|

Wichita Public Schools announces a national award for a middle school technology teacher. Stephen Smith, a technology teacher at Allison Traditional Magnet Middle School will receive a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST), the district says. The National Science Foundation administers the award on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The Wichita school district says the award "recognizes outstanding teachers for their contributions to the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and/or computer science." Smith's recognition include's a citation signed by President Donald Trump and a $10,000 award from the [...]

USD 428 trying to get bond information out to everyone

info2019-10-17T21:56:39-05:00October 17th, 2019|

After Terry Wiggers with SJCF Architecture passed along survey results from what voters liked and disliked about a failed $44.87 million school bond, many of the USD 428 Board of Education members were surprised that some residents were not aware of the bond issue details. Several comments from the online survey at greatbendschools.net mentioned they were not educated on the purpose of the bond. With 55-percent of the vote against the first bond question, the district and SJCF will be tasked with figuring out how to get information to everyone, and not just those following on social media, reading the newspaper, [...]

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