info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

After nine years, could Kansas school funding lawsuit be over? Justices will decide

info2019-05-10T08:54:33-05:00May 10th, 2019|

Justices on the Kansas Supreme Court appear ready to wrap up a legal fight over school funding that lawmakers have been trying to end for nearly a decade. The high court heard arguments Thursday over whether public schools in Kansas are now constitutionally funded after the Legislature approved a $90 million increase in April. The boost is the latest in a series of moves aimed at complying with court orders to appropriate more money for schools. The plaintiff districts – Wichita, Kansas City, Dodge City and Hutchinson – argued the newest finance plan falls about $270 million short of complying with [...]

Water, water everywhere in Pratt county

info2019-05-10T08:52:58-05:00May 10th, 2019|

Persistent rain continues to fall in and around Pratt causing flooding problems on the Ninnescah River and at several road locations in the county. Tim Branscom, Pratt County Emergency Manager, said the Ninnescah River crested at 11.06 feet Wednesday and that is two feet above the nine feet minor flood level. The Ninnescah reached 14.66 feet during the Labor Day flood of 2018 when the river overtopped the Pratt County Veteran’s Memorial Lake, causing damage to the lake facilities and the inflow and outflow valves and other damage to the lake. The lake was being drained to make repairs on the [...]

Horton Commission moves toward nursing home resolution

info2019-05-10T08:50:23-05:00May 10th, 2019|

Commissioners and city employees have been working hard behind the scenes over the past month to prevent the closing of the town’s only nursing home. The progress has been reported at a handful of recent city commission meetings, as the commission works with current Manor board members to navigate a handoff in ownership and management. At the April 15 commission meeting, Interim City Administrator John Calhoon announced that multiple entities had expressed interest in managing the manor. At the direction of Mayor Bryan Stirton, City Attorney Kevin Hill drafted an Asset Purchase Agreement to present to the Mission Village Living Center [...]

Miami County Commissioners mull election equipment options

info2019-05-10T08:45:27-05:00May 10th, 2019|

Miami County commissioners seemed in agreement during their April 24 study session that Election Systems & Software of Omaha, Neb., was the preferred vendor to supply the county’s new election equipment. But commissioners didn’t prefer the company’s price quote. Depending on which option is selected, the county would spend in the ballpark of $550,000 to $680,000 for equipment and software, based on the current ES&S quote. Financial Director Steve Lyman said the county has budgeted $400,000 for new election equipment. The initial cost does not include annual maintenance and license fees of about $55,000. ES&S serves 27 counties in Kansas with [...]

Oswego hospital closure effects linger

info2019-05-10T08:43:05-05:00May 10th, 2019|

Last month, Labette Health opened its new Oswego Clinic & Express Care facility, providing some relief to patients who had been in health care limbo since the February closure of Oswego Community Hospital. Not all of the disruptions to people’s lives and medical care issues in Oswego have been resolved by the clinic’s opening, however. Dusty Jones, clinic coordinator for the new Labette facility in Oswego, says she is “one of the luckiest” former employees of Oswego Community Hospital, where she had been working as both a billing specialist and admissions clerk until the hospital, once operated by troubled Kansas City [...]

Pittsburg awarded Kansas Historic Preservation Fund grant

info2019-05-10T08:40:14-05:00May 10th, 2019|

From aging signage to old documents the Kansas State Historic Preservation Office will begin research on Pittsburg’s history thanks to a grant. The City of Pittsburg was awarded a $16,000 Kansas Historic Preservation Fund Grant from the Kansas State Historic Preservation Office. Pittsburg was one of seven Kansas communities to receive a SHPO grant this year. The grant funds will be used to hire a consultant who specializes in historic preservation to research some of the oldest Broadway-facing buildings downtown. The research will begin in the fall and at the end of the project, the city will have a formal report [...]

Levee and flood gates keep Halstead “high and dry”

info2019-05-10T08:38:42-05:00May 10th, 2019|

Officials at a Kansas town are working to keep flood waters out as many of the major roads into and out of the town are closed. Flooding along the Little Arkansas River in Harvey County has led to closures of four of the six main roads into Halstead, and city crews and volunteers have closed one of three gates along a flood control levee. Halstead city administrator Ethan Reimer said the flooding is mostly along the river to the north and east of town. “In the city we are high and dry,” he said. “The levee system is working as designed [...]

Flooding, damage upends region

info2019-05-10T08:35:45-05:00May 10th, 2019|

Massive flooding Wednesday across south-central Kansas led to multiple road closings that forced semi and commuter traffic into Cowley County, which itself was soaked by dangerous levels of water that led to at least three rescues, a sandbag operation to save a business, and warnings from emergency personnel to stay away from flooded areas. Copious amounts of water fell in a short period Tuesday night into Wednesday, causing flash floods and long-term flooding throughout Cowley County. A significant number of highways and roads were closed early Wednesday morning, including the I-35 Kansas Turnpike, south of Wellington, where Slate Creek spilled across [...]

Scott City weighs new policy for citizen issues

info2019-05-10T08:22:40-05:00May 10th, 2019|

If you’re accustomed to contacting a Scott City Councilman about an issue and expecting them to bring it up at the next meeting, that’s about to change. The council is in the process of adopting policy which would require citizens to appear in person at meetings when they have issues they would like the city to address. Mayor Everett Green says the change isn’t about preventing citizens from having grievances heard at the council table, but to establish better accountability. Read more: Scott County Record.

City of Topeka advises people to avoid waterways due to excess water in storm, sanitary sewer systems

info2019-05-09T11:04:05-05:00May 9th, 2019|

The city of Topeka has advised Topeka residents to avoid contact with waterways flowing through the city because of heavy rains causing excess water in storm and sanitary sewer systems. In a news release, city spokeswoman Molly Hadfield said storm water can enter the sewer system through illegally connected residential sump pumps and roof drains. The excess water is causing areas of the system to flow into nearby waterways, Hadfield said. Hadfield said the advisory doesn’t affect tap water. (Read more: Local Government - The Topeka Capital-Journal)

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