info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Prairie Village advances idea of regulating drone use in the city

info2019-01-24T06:53:14-06:00January 24th, 2019|

The Prairie Village governing body will consider a city-level ordinance that would regulate drone usage in the city — but some city councilmembers are skeptical of the need for a new law. On a 6-4 vote Tuesday, the council directed staff to bring a draft ordinance crafted in conjunction with city attorneys back to the governing body for a formal vote at a later date. At present, Mission Hills is the only northeast Johnson County city with an ordinance on the books restricting drone usage. The question of whether and how to regulate drone usage in Prairie Village has been an [...]

‘Border war’ in KC metro has raged for years. Missouri wants a truce. Does Kansas?

info2019-01-24T06:48:03-06:00January 24th, 2019|

Missouri taxpayers spent around $151 million over the last decade luring companies from Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas a few miles across the state line to Jackson County. And according to research by the Hall Family Foundation, Kansas reciprocated by spending $184 million enticing border-hopping companies to flee Jackson County for Johnson and Wyandotte. It’s an economic border war that’s raged for years in the Kansas City metro. And to its critics, it’s long past time for a truce. “We’re using [economic development incentives] to divide the pie,” said Bill Hall, president of the Hall Family Foundation and longtime Kansas [...]

Roeland Park council updates ‘1% for the arts’ policy to allow installations throughout city, not just on commercial project sites

info2019-01-24T06:44:21-06:00January 24th, 2019|

Commercial developers building in Roeland Park will now have the option to make a financial contribution for public art instead of incorporating art into their project. Roeland Park’s “1 percent for art” resolution requires business developers to spend 1% of total project costs on art, and previously these funds could only be used for art projects displayed on the development’s property. The resolution change was prompted by a request from Aldi to donate funds for art rather than incorporate an art piece into the $3.6 million teardown/rebuild plans for their store located at 4801 Roe Blvd. Originally the city thought the [...]

Douglas County commissioner: As in case of jail expansion, duty may not always align with public opinion

info2019-01-23T11:13:58-06:00January 23rd, 2019|

Douglas County Commissioner Nancy Thellman said one hard part of being an elected official is sometimes having to make decisions that don’t entirely align with public opinion. Expanding the local jail may be one of those decisions. As the Journal-World reported earlier this week, some vocal opponents to previous jail expansion plans amounting to $44 million have not changed their minds about scaled-down plans, which preliminary estimates peg at $23 million. But county leaders and local law enforcement have been pushing for the move for several years now. “I don’t know that there’s ever going to be reconciling those two stands,” [...]

Winton Hinkle, prominent Kansas bond counsel, passed away recently

info2019-01-23T09:31:21-06:00January 23rd, 2019|

Winton Hinkle co-founded Wichita's second-largest law firm, Hinkle Law LLC, and became what many considered to be the expert in municipal finance, bond law, and tax and securities codes. For 16 years, Winton served as Bond Counsel for the City of Wichita. Winton directly contributed to the growth and development of many important Wichita-area businesses, including Beech Aircraft, Cessna Aircraft Co., the Coleman Co., the Via Christi hospital system, Wesley Medical Center, and many, many others. Winton Hinkle's obituary.

Couple seeks Douglas County’s approval for agritourism event venue; neighbors oppose what they call ‘party barn’

info2019-01-23T08:41:35-06:00January 23rd, 2019|

Plans for a wedding venue and agritourism site in rural Douglas County have drawn some concern from neighbors — namely, in regards to increased traffic and potential for issues involving gunfire. Kyle and Codi Wentzel filed plans with the county to construct a barn-style event venue for weddings, corporate events, family reunions and the like. The couple would also live on-site. The site, 1173 North 150 Road, is about 12.5 miles south of Kansas Highway 10’s interchange with Iowa Street, or just southwest of U.S. Highway 59 and North 300 Road, near Baldwin City. The venue would accommodate 150 people, and [...]

Lawsuit filed against city of Lawrence over Queens Road taxing districts

info2019-01-23T08:41:34-06:00January 23rd, 2019|

The debate about who should pay for the multimillion-dollar reconstruction of Queens Road is moving from City Hall to the courthouse. A homeowner in the special taxing districts set up to pay for the project has filed a lawsuit against the city and is asking that the project be halted so that the case can be heard. The lawsuit, which was filed by Kurt Schaake in Douglas County District Court last week, claims the taxing districts, under which property owners near Queens Road would pay most of the cost of the improvements, are inequitable and not in line with state law. [...]

Ford County clerk names polling locations

info2019-01-23T06:58:48-06:00January 23rd, 2019|

The end to the polling location fiasco may be nearing its end as Ford County Clerk Debbie Cox announced on Tuesday that two locations have been named for polling locations in Dodge City. The Hoover Pavilion located at 108 4th Avenue and The Knights of Columbus Hall located at 800 W. Frontview Street will be the locations for the 2019 local elections. “As previously announced, my office will now be maintaining at least two polling places for Dodge City voters in all elections (i.e., both national and local elections),” Cox said in a press release. “Beginning with this year’s local elections [...]

Reno County Commission puts moratorium on wind discussion pending NextEra recommendation

info2019-01-23T06:56:14-06:00January 23rd, 2019|

The Reno County Commission began its meeting Tuesday advising proponents of restrictions on wind development in the county that they could no longer speak during the public comment period at the beginning of commission meetings, at least until resolution of the NextEra application. Commissioner Bob Bush, who’d been absent from the commission for the past several weeks for health reasons, brought up the issue and asked County Counselor Joe O’Sullivan to explain why. “For almost three months the public comment session of the agenda has been dominated by the wind energy conversion system issue, particularly the prospective NextEra project,” O’Sullivan noted. [...]

Splash Aqua Park to join Camping World, Gander Outdoors in south Wichita this summer

info2019-01-23T06:52:09-06:00January 23rd, 2019|

Developer Jeff Lange already made a splash by landing Camping World and Gander Outdoors stores for his new Steeple Bay mixed-use development at I-235 and Seneca. Now, he’s making a literal splash with a deal for the new Splash Aqua Park that will open on the 14-acre lake on the north side of the 80-acre development. “It’s a big playground . . . of inflatables that we anchor on the bottom of the lake,” said Cole Kalkbrenner, who is opening Splash with his wife, Erin. There will be swings, slides, trampolines, jumps, bridges and other inflatable fun, all connected by inflatable [...]

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