info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

A small Kansas town gets its own bakery and cafe in an unexpected spot

info2018-10-17T08:09:58-05:00October 17th, 2018|

Hesston, population 4,000, isn’t exactly overrun with restaurants. So when a slick new one opened, it got some attention. But the fact that Hesston Bakery & Cafe is the small town’s only bakery isn’t the only thing that makes it unique. Its location is a bit unusual, too. The cafe has opened at Schowalter Villa, an assisted living community owned by Bluestem Communities. And while its managers hope that it will enhance the lives of its residents, they stress that the bakery is a business like any other and is open to the public. Read more here: Wichita Eagle.

Water drops and so does number of rescues, road closures in Reno county

info2018-10-17T07:21:53-05:00October 17th, 2018|

First responders were called to a possible water rescue on Tuesday in the 2500 block of North Pennington Road and to people trapped on top of a pickup truck in flood waters the day before at 56th and Pennington roads. Water levels of Cow Creek and the Arkansas River on Tuesday afternoon showed at least a 2.5-foot drop from the peaks last Thursday. First responders need the levels to drop even further before the damages can be assessed. Reno County Emergency Management listed 37 road closures on Thursday, but the dangerous situations that led to six water rescue calls last Thursday [...]

NASA astronaut and Hoxie native describes close call following failed launch

info2018-10-17T07:18:58-05:00October 17th, 2018|

The NASA astronaut who survived last week’s failed launch and emergency landing knew he needed to stay calm. Air Force Col. Nick Hague, a native of Hoxie, Kan., on Tuesday described the closest call of his career: His space capsule violently ripped from his damaged rocket shortly after liftoff, then with lights flashing and alarms sounding, plunged steeply back to Earth with punishing force. Hague said he and his commander, Russian Alexei Ovchinin, were flung from side to side and shoved back hard into their seats, as the drama unfolded 50 kilometers (31 miles) above Kazakhstan last Thursday. One of the [...]

Garden City Commission OKs input plan for Big Pool

info2018-10-17T07:14:23-05:00October 17th, 2018|

Changes in some capacity are coming to the Big Pool after its 2019 season, and the City of Garden City is turning to the public to see exactly what those might be. At its Tuesday meeting, the Garden City Commission unanimously approved a long-term community input process that will gather feedback from community members and local entities regarding the future of the historic, though ailing and expensive, Big Pool. Following up on her report on the pool earlier this month, Assistant City Manager Jennifer Cunningham told the commission that last summer the pool cost approximately $3,337 per day in utilities over [...]

St. John grocery store opens for business

info2018-10-17T07:12:40-05:00October 17th, 2018|

Loyd Ratts cruised down the aisles of White’s Foodliner in St. John, Kansas, and thought of his childhood. Ratts was the first customer of the new grocery store, which opened Wednesday morning. The grocery store is the two-year culmination of efforts by community groups, led by Stafford County Economic Development, operator of the new establishment. Funding for the $3 million project came through a sales tax approved by voters and multiple grants, including a $780,800 federal grant from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which the county received a year ago. “I think it is an important part of a [...]

Chanute Chief of Police and Neosho County Attorney address concerns about homeless camp north of Chanute

info2018-10-17T07:10:38-05:00October 17th, 2018|

Why are there so many people living in tents on the north side of town and why won’t the police do anything about it? Is there criminal activity going on there? According to Chanute Chief of Police Raymond Hale, both city and county law enforcement are aware of the situation. The location of the tents, on North Washington Ave., is outside of Chanute city limits and the county has no specific zoning that says people can’t camp or live there. Neosho County Attorney Linus Thuston noted that the original owners of the land are deceased and at least one of the [...]

Wichita City Council extends deadline on Downtown Hilton after pool takes 8 months

info2018-10-17T07:06:10-05:00October 17th, 2018|

The developers of the Hilton Garden Inn in Downtown Wichita asked the city council for an extension on its project completion date and the ability to get more money after a late-addition rooftop pool shut down the project for eight months. Wichita Downtown Hotel LLC also asked city council to lift the $930,000 cap on incentives because of the costs of the re-design, which includes the pool, a rooftop bar and commercial space on the first floor of the Hilton at 401 E. Douglas. City council approved the extension to March 31 but left the cap in place. This is the [...]

Wichita’s new ball park expected to fit thousands more fans than Lawrence-Dumont

info2018-10-17T06:51:50-05:00October 17th, 2018|

By the end of the year, Lawrence-Dumont Stadium will be a pile of rubble, clearing room for a ball park that will fit thousands more fans, according to a draft agreement awaiting city approval. Wichita’s yet-to-be named stadium will have seating for 10,000 fans, the agreement says. That’s 3,600 more than 84-year-old Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. Of those seats, 6,500 to 7,000 will be fixed seats. “Party and group” areas will fit 3,000 to 3,500 more fans, moving the number of available seats to around 10,000 for minor league baseball games, the draft agreement says. Seating, financing and a rough timeline were among [...]

New Hutchinson police chief begins duties Wednesday

info2018-10-17T06:49:34-05:00October 17th, 2018|

The new police chief for the city of Hutchinson begins his duties Wednesday. Jeff Hooper will take over the department from Dick Heitschmidt, who recently retired. Hooper has served as a captain with the joint Riley County-Manhattan Police Department. That included 27 years in law enforcement and 14 as captain. He was actually a finalist for the chief’s position with that department, but withdrew his name from consideration to take the job in Hutchinson. (Read more: Hutch Post)

Is there hope for Brookridge? OP Council raises serious doubts about incentives

info2018-10-17T06:48:17-05:00October 17th, 2018|

The fate of the massive Brookridge golf course redevelopment remains in serious doubt after the Overland Park City Council decisively trounced a proposal Monday night to negotiate tax incentives to make the project a reality. The Council voted 8-4 against a request to have city staff negotiate a tax-increment-financing and STAR bonds package for the huge office, apartment and retail development, which is planned southeast of 103rd Street and Antioch Road on the golf course property. It was a significant defeat, because any final vote on incentives would require nine of the 12 council votes, and this early rebuff showed supporters [...]

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