info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Analysis: Labette County can mine, crush rock cheaper than it can buy it

info2018-10-24T10:29:42-05:00October 24th, 2018|

A study by a Pittsburg State University graduate student concluded that it’s cheaper for Labette County to mine and crush its own road rock than it is to buy the rock from a quarry operator. The Labette County Commission paid John Botts $1,000 to analyze the county’s road rock mining and crushing operation. Botts was to find out if it’s cheaper for the county to crush road rock or buy it on the open market. Botts is working toward a December graduation from PSU with a master of business administration degree. The county purchased a rock crusher in the mid-1990s and [...]

FCC Says Rule Change Could Boost 5G Internet, But Critics Say It Could Hurt Rural Broadband

info2018-10-24T10:26:32-05:00October 24th, 2018|

The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-1 on Tuesday to undo Obama-era rules intended to help small companies provide faster wireless internet service. The FCC said the decision will foster more investment and use of the 3.5 gigahertz band, a radio frequency spectrum that can be used for 5G internet service. But small wireless internet service providers said the decision could shut smaller players out — limiting their ability to bid on licenses and deliver broadband in rural areas. (Read more: )

City council reviews denial of ‘erotic’ sports bar

info2018-10-24T10:23:30-05:00October 24th, 2018|

The Wichita City Council chambers became a courtroom Tuesday for several hours, as the council held a hearing for an appeal filed by a south-side “erotic bar.” Vixen’s Erotic Sports Bar has been closed since the city decided not to renew its license to operate. That decision came from a recommendation by the Wichita Police Department. Investigators cited a series of incidents at Vixen’s in the past year, including two homicides and an unrelated undercover investigation involving possible prostitution. The hearing included testimonies from officers who patrol the area, and the bar which they knew all too well. The city’s legal [...]

Under the surface: the fight for water rights in central Kansas

info2018-10-24T10:20:46-05:00October 24th, 2018|

On the surface, it looks like there is plenty of water to go around in parts of Stafford and Pratt counties, especially with recent rains flooding an area known as the Rattlesnake River Basin. But farmers and ranchers who have lived in the area are getting ready to fight for their rights to use water far under the ground, threatened by a complaint from federally-controlled Quivira Wildlife National Refuge. Concerned about federal laws taking away state rights to regulate water use, a group of Stafford County area residents has joined forces to form the non-profit “Rattlesnake Basin Cause.” They are focused [...]

Oak Park Mall isn’t like other malls — it’s not dying. Here’s what its future holds

info2018-10-24T10:19:34-05:00October 24th, 2018|

When American fashion designer Rachel Roy was looking for a place to open her first pop-up this fall, she picked Overland Park’s Oak Park Mall for its “vibrancy.” Alchemy Bath Co. in Lawrence also opened its first storefront there this year, hoping the “traffic and exposure” would raise the profile of the home-based business. And Cupcakin Bakery did so well as a holiday pop-up, it opened a permanent location and added an event space for children’s parties. Heading into the holidays, mall vacancies nationally hit 9.1 percent in the third quarter from 8.6 percent in the second quarter, the largest one-quarter [...]

Topeka to once again be ‘Topikachu’ for one day

info2018-10-24T06:58:52-05:00October 24th, 2018|

Topeka on Saturday will again be known as “Topikachu” for a day. Mayor Michelle De La Isla read a proclamation at Tuesday evening’s City Council meeting announcing the temporary move, which will take effect on a day when Nintendo will provide the public a free preview opportunity to play two new Pokémon games for the Nintendo Switch. The “Pokémon Let’s Go Road Trip” experience will be offered from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the parking lot of the Topeka Zoo at Gage Park. Festivities planned for Saturday at the zoo are welcome news “for nerds like me who play Pokémon [...]

New life for Great Mall of the Plains property

info2018-10-24T06:57:47-05:00October 24th, 2018|

Two years after the Great Mall of the Great Plains in Olathe succumbed to the wrecking ball, a Salt Lake City-based company has unveiled a $271 million mixed-use project that will replace the retail behemoth with offices, restaurants, apartments and a 4,000-seat arena and ice hockey center. Woodbury Corporation on Tuesday announced plans for the project, to be called Mentum, adding that it is under contract to buy the 100-acre site at Interstate 35 and 151st Street from current owners VanTrust Real Estate LLC. The developers said the project would include 250,000 square feet of entertainment, retail and restaurant space, two [...]

Downtown Salina overhead structures could go from four to two

info2018-10-24T06:54:15-05:00October 24th, 2018|

A compromise on how many overhead structures to be installed in downtown Salina was discussed during Monday’s city commission meeting. Commissioner Joe Hay Jr. proposed that the anticipated four overhead structures be cut down to two with one being placed at the intersection of North Santa Fe and Ash Street and the other near the First Bank Kansas on South Santa Fe. Hay, who likes the overhead structures, said the suggestion came after speaking with many individuals during the Oct. 10 Downtown Streetscape Progress Party. “I went on a walk with some of them and we discussed the different perspectives,” he [...]

Pair of Reno County county residents request commission impose moratorium on wind development

info2018-10-24T06:49:19-05:00October 24th, 2018|

Two Reno County women, one living within the zoned portion of the county and one outside, appealed to the Reno County Commission Tuesday to impose a six-month moratorium on development of wind farms in the county. The Commission last week sent the issue of a proposed countywide zoning layer for certain commercial uses, including wind farms, back to the Reno County Planning Commission to draft a proposal. While recognizing it would take 3 to 6 months to get new zoning in place, however, officials declined in the meantime to put a moratorium on development. “The planning commission indicated there is a [...]

People of Caney, Kansas, Mostly Glad To Have The Federal Goverment Come Clean Things Up

info2018-10-23T11:33:32-05:00October 23rd, 2018|

The federal government recently tore up Debbie and Tony Morrison’s front yard in the small southeast Kansas town of Caney. And the two are happy about it. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency came in, scraped away contaminated dirt, replaced it with clean soil and spread sod on top. “It actually looks very good,” Morrison said. “After they put the new grass in, they came down and they faithfully watered and cared for it continually until they felt like it had taken hold.” The Morrisons and hundreds of other Caney residents were living on contaminated lots — the legacy of two lead [...]

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