info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Administrator’s contract is for one year; judge found multi-year contracts improperly binds future boards

info2019-02-11T13:34:08-06:00February 11th, 2019|

A new contract for the Leavenworth County administrator is for a term of one year. But it will automatically renew each year unless county commissioners give a sixth-month advance notice. ... In 2017, county commissioners filed a lawsuit to challenge the validity of several multi-year contracts that had been approved by a former commission. Under these contracts, the employees would have continued receiving their salaries after being terminated. Last year, the County Commission reached settlements in the lawsuit with two former county employees. In December, a judge ruled that the contract of a third former county employee was invalid. Kansas Senior [...]

Ice storm wreaks havoc on Miami County

info2019-02-11T06:28:04-06:00February 11th, 2019|

After a sleet and ice storm laid a white carpet across the region Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 6-7, J.R. McMahon said this winter has been unlike any other in his 35 years working for Miami County. “In Miami County, this has never happened before as long as I’ve been around — we’ve been in a blizzard warning, we’ve been in a winter storm warning and now we’ve been in an ice storm warning,” said McMahon, director of the Road and Bridge Department. “That usually doesn’t happen in the same year, and this thing started in November. We had snow storms in [...]

Park City to unveil new city flag

info2019-02-08T13:09:46-06:00February 8th, 2019|

The City of Park City announced this week it will unveil a new city flag later this month. Leaders said the flag will be a symbol of community pride, celebrating all Park City has accomplished and what it will become. "Park City is a city of resilience," said Mayor Ray Mann. "Over the past several decades, we've celebrated successes and worked together through challenges and adversity. Our hope is that the flag will continually remind us of our collective strength and encourage us toward greater unity." The flag design was the result of a collaboration between the city and Gardner Design, [...]

Valley Center blocks wind turbines

info2019-02-08T13:09:06-06:00February 8th, 2019|

The trucks will stop — for now. The Valley Center City Council on Feb. 5 directed city staff to deny haulers permission to bring heavy wind turbine sections through the city for at least two weeks. Council members wanted to learn more about the effects the loads are having on city streets and the potential safety issues they create around the railroad tracks near Meridian and Ford (77th North). "Our infrastructure is not set up for this type of load," said Josh Golka with the city's engineering firm, PEC. Read more: Ark Valley News.

Florence closer to signing water lease agreement

info2019-02-08T13:05:24-06:00February 8th, 2019|

Florence city council members moved another step closer to resolution on the Crystal Springs lease agreement Monday. Mayor Bob Gayle said the document is being reviewed for final details. ... The council did not discuss the reason to pursue eminent domain several months ago. Local business owner Sarah Dawson asked whether it would be addressed at the special meeting.The special meeting will be exclusively for signing the lease agreement, but the council will set a future meeting to answer residents’, Gayle said. (Read more: Marion County RECORD)

Mayor launches program to offer free WiFi to Wichitans

info2019-02-08T13:01:55-06:00February 8th, 2019|

Wichita is trying to narrow the digital divide between rich and poor neighborhoods by offering free Wi-Fi hotspots for check-out in two low-income neighborhoods. More than 16 percent of Wichitans were below the Census Bureau’s poverty line in 2017, which for a family of four was $25,094. And more than one out of four homes are without internet, according to a study cited by Mayor Jeff Longwell at a news conference Thursday. A hotspot is a pocket-sized mobile device that provides wireless internet access to Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as a laptop computer or a smartphone. They are typically password protected. Anyone [...]

City’s pilot project to put internet access in more homes

info2019-02-08T07:06:53-06:00February 8th, 2019|

Wichita residents will be able to borrow internet hotspots for two weeks under a city pilot program partnering with T-Mobile. Hotspots are available at the Atwater Neighborhood Resource Center, 2755 E. 19th Street, and Colvin Neighborhood Resource Center, 2820 S. Roosevelt. Borrowers must be 18, have identification and proof of address. The T-Mobile devices are designed for better coverage within buildings and in rural areas, the city said in announcing the program. About 26 percent of Wichita homes do not have internet access. The city said a study prior to the program's introduction showed Atwater and Colvin were best-suited to house [...]

Manhattan Public Works says infrastructure holding up well against Mother Nature

info2019-02-08T07:03:44-06:00February 8th, 2019|

Despite frigid conditions this winter, the city of Manhattan has gotten by with minimal impacts to the city’s water system. Water main breaks can be more common in the winter months in extreme cold, given the age of the infrastructure. Manhattan Assistant Public Works Director Randy DeWitt says fluctuating weather conditions can impact underground utilities. Other cities across the region, such as Topeka and Emporia have already battled multiple water main breaks this season. Thawing after a winter storm can also wreak havoc on city streets in the form of potholes like the one in the above photo from late November. [...]

Topeka City Council to hold special meeting to discuss capital improvements

info2019-02-08T07:01:56-06:00February 8th, 2019|

Millions of dollars worth of City Hall improvements are among items to be discussed when the Topeka City Council holds a special meeting from 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday regarding city manager Brent Trout’s proposed 2020-2029 Capital Improvement Plan. No action is to be taken at the meeting, which is open to the public and will be held in the first-floor conference room at the city’s Holliday Building, 620 S.E. Madison. It will be broadcast live on the city’s Facebook page and on City4, its cable TV channel. Expenses in Trout’s proposed CIP total nearly $408.94 million over the first five [...]

Kansas law enforcement officers make case for ‘Brandon’s Law’

info2019-02-08T12:59:28-06:00February 8th, 2019|

Master Deputy Brandon Collins was conducting a traffic stop Sept. 11, 2016, when a truck slammed into his Johnson County Sheriff’s Department patrol car and engulfed it in flames. The tragic death of Collins was drawn into the conversation Wednesday at the Capitol during a House committee’s hearing on a bill elevating prison sentences for people convicted of causing injury to employees of a law enforcement, fire protection, public works or emergency management agency. “I am as disgusted today as the day Brandon’s killer received such a light sentence,” said Sgt. Christopher Mills, of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department. “I could [...]

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