info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Clay County Commission agrees to renew NRP

info2019-04-29T10:17:55-05:00April 29th, 2019|

County Commissioners agreed Monday to continue a tax abatement program as an incentive for commercial development after receiving feedback on the program. County Appraiser Danny Mesalles met with commissioners Monday morning to discuss the continuation of the Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) on commercial Property in Clay County. Mesalles said he contacted several of the entities and they are still interested in having the NRP program, according to the minutes of Monday’s meeting. (Read more: www.ccenterdispatch.com - RSS Results in news,local/* of type article)

Hays mayor encourages homeowners to be involved in 37th St. extension as part of roundabouts project

info2019-04-29T10:56:12-05:00April 29th, 2019|

Before the Hays city commission voted 3-1 Thursday night to approve an engineering design supplement to the North Vine Street Corridor roundabouts project, two residents spoke during citizen comments against a portion of the project affecting 37th Street. The $49,904.65 supplement agreement with WSP Engineers, Lenexa, includes the scope and fee for services related to right-of-way property acquisition. The original $396,895.26 engineering contract was approved May 25, 2018 with WSP. Both will be funded out of the Convention and Visitors Bureau contingency fund. Four traffic roundabouts are to be constructed on Vine Street/U.S. Highway 183 at 32nd/33rd, 37th, 41st Streets, and [...]

Main Street Kansas: Sedgwick coffee shop provides place for teens to meet

info2019-04-29T11:22:44-05:00April 29th, 2019|

Perhaps the only thing sweeter than the drinks and treats served at a coffee shop in Sedgwick is the community spirit that started it all. "A few families just coming together and starting to dream how to make a difference in the lives of kids," said Damon Young, president of the non-profit called Sedgwick Meeting House, Incorporated. "For the longest time, except for the two restaurants in town, there wasn't a place in town for kids to hang out, and there needed to be," said board member, Kelley DeGraffenreid. The DeGraffenreids bought an old building in town, and the brainchild of [...]

Banned in Kansas, kids can still use Missouri’s tanning salons. Will that change?

info2019-04-29T10:10:56-05:00April 29th, 2019|

A friend from Overland Park was telling Amy Holdman recently about driving her daughter across the state line to go to a tanning salon, because Kansas bans anyone under 18 from those businesses. The friend had apparently forgotten that Holdman, a skin cancer survivor, had testified for the Kansas law. “I was like, are you kidding me? You’re telling ME this story,” Holdman said with a laugh. If the American Cancer Society and survivors like Holdman have their way, teens soon won’t be able to just cross the state line to tan. Missouri legislators are considering two bills like the one [...]

Planeview residents celebrate their community

info2019-04-29T10:08:31-05:00April 29th, 2019|

Community pride...that's what nearly a thousand Wichitans celebrated all day long as part of the love your community event. City leaders, law enforcement, students and more got together in the Planeview neighborhood for a big block party. It started with a neighborhood clean-up, then a parade. Those who have lived in the area all their life say it's a chance to show the city there are good people in all areas of Wichita. "I grew up here. most people who grew up here realize it's a family community," Misty Loyd, a Planeview resident, said. "Most people knew people back then on [...]

Leawood to commemorate first shopping area

info2019-04-29T10:06:52-05:00April 29th, 2019|

Leawood will salute its first commercial development – a little shopping area at Lee Boulevard and Somerset Drive – with the dedication of a bronze plaque at 6 p.m. May 9. George Martin and his cousin, Cliff Brisbois, built the Leawood Shops in 1951, the city said, and it was among the first shopping centers south of the Plaza. Martin and his wife Dorothy operated Martin’s Finer Foods, which anchored the center, until they retired in 1980. Martin’s customers could run a tab at the grocery -- a convenience in the days before ubiquitous charge cards. Parents could dispatch a child [...]

Overland Park Orchestra, set to perform season’s final concert, a little-known secret

info2019-04-29T10:05:38-05:00April 29th, 2019|

For 46 years, the Overland Park Orchestra has been striking a chord in Johnson County. The symphonic group will play its last concert of the season May 5. Featured in the concert is a new work, “Cassini Overture,” by Timothy Rolls, an assistant professor of music at Fort Hays State University. It will have its world premiere the day before in Hays, but the Overland Park Orchestra got the chance to give it a Kansas City area premiere because conductor Shah Sadikov commissioned it for the Hays Symphony Orchestra. “This is a great opportunity for the orchestra. It’s always super exciting [...]

Ecotourism benefits ranchers, communities and prairie chickens

info2019-04-29T06:55:04-05:00April 29th, 2019|

The birdwatcher set her eyes upon the lesser prairie chicken for the first time and her eyes lit up. She was looking at a creature she thought she might never see. The tourists — known as birders — headed out from Scott City before the sun rose that morning, wheels pointed toward the Hoeme family ranch. The lesser prairie chickens were already conversing in their unique chatter as the group settled into the blind. Hunting has long drawn outsiders to Kansas, but wildlife like the lesser prairie chicken offers a new style of outdoor tourism. “Kansas has the market cornered on [...]

Pawnee County, McNett sued by former county official

info2019-04-29T06:52:57-05:00April 29th, 2019|

A Pawnee County Health Administrator who accused the county of mishandling grant dollars, and who notified the Kansas Department of Health and Environment about her concerns, was fired by the county in 2017 and now has filed a federal lawsuit. Robin Rziha’s suit names the Board of County Commissioners of Pawnee County and County Attorney Douglas McNett. She seeks damages over $75,000 and wants a trial by jury in Wichita. During 2015, 2016, and 2017, Rziha claimed, the county mishandled federal grant dollars through the Aid to Local Program. Those dollars pass through KDHE to carry out various programs, such as [...]

City Hall to enter the curbside bike rental business, taking over Bike Share ICT

info2019-04-29T06:49:38-05:00April 29th, 2019|

The next time you rent a bike to cruise through Wichita, you’ll probably be renting it from city government. City Hall has agreed to a friendly takeover of Bike Share ICT, shifting the curbside bike rental program from the nonprofit management that started it to more of a partnership between government and the private sector. The program had been run by Becky Tuttle at the Greater Wichita YMCA. But Tuttle resigned from the Y in January when she was appointed to the City Council. Now, Bike Share ICT is following her to city government. “We realized through what’s going on in [...]

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