info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Hutch City Council considers plan for Human Rights Commission

info2018-09-26T07:25:37-05:00September 26th, 2018|

Hutchinson City Council is set to move forward on a plan to either enforce or amend the city’s policy on its Human Relations Commission, something the city hasn’t acted upon for the better part of the past decade. Council members discussed the future of the 20-year-old commission during a study session Tuesday, although a majority acknowledged they couldn’t make decisions without input from affected groups in the city. “While we represent the people of the city, we’re a group of white people, and I have a hard time speaking for those who are affected by this, because they have a different [...]

New park in Augusta will have soft surface in the future

info2018-09-26T07:00:10-05:00September 26th, 2018|

Augusta City Council discussed the completion of the construction on the Dalton Palmer Memorial Downtown Park. City Manager Josh Shaw advised that the recent rains had caused a 10 day delay, but additional crews assisted in getting the work done. The mulch has been installed, but the Council decided the long term goal would be to install a rubberized surface. Shaw shared that the wood fiber requires a small drainage system and timbers have been purchased, but in keeping with the long term goal of a softer surface, he asked if Council wished to proceed with the installation of the timbers [...]

Abandoned property evolves into new venue in Wathena in Doniphan County

info2018-09-26T06:58:49-05:00September 26th, 2018|

Kay Hewins had a vision for her corner of Doniphan County when she and her husband bought an abandoned building off U.S. Highway 36. Last year, the couple took ownership of the old Bob’s Bargain Barn, a former thrift store that closed in 2011. After months of renovations, Hewins opened Glacial Hills Venue. “I have always wanted this building and never told anyone, not even my husband,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to put something like this venue in here. Because there’s nothing over here in Doniphan County except for community buildings and they have one look and people may want [...]

Rural Riley County had $1.35 million in damage during flood

info2018-09-26T06:56:42-05:00September 26th, 2018|

A flood on Labor Day caused $1.35 million in damage in rural Riley County. County emergency management director Pat Collins told county commissioners during their Monday meeting that 28 homes outside of Manhattan were damaged. Officials announced earlier that the flooding caused $17.2 million inside Manhattan city limits. The Manhattan Mercury reports Collins said the Red Cross helped 327 people in 139 homes in the region and between 15 and 30 people stayed at their two shelters each day. Nearly 9 inches of rain fell during the Labor Day weekend, causing Wildcat Creek to overflow its banks and forcing more than [...]

Merriam council OKs smaller outdoor pool. Angry crowd boos councilman’s pep talk

info2018-09-26T06:54:35-05:00September 26th, 2018|

A divided Merriam City Council has approved a new community center design with a smaller outdoor pool, despite a crowd’s pleas at City Hall to pause and reconsider the project. Critics vowed Monday night to continue a petition drive in hopes of stopping the planned demolition of the existing outdoor pool, which could begin in early October. Some people said that this summer’s community center debate has served to divide, rather than unite, the community. Following an intense three-hour discussion Monday, the council voted 5-3 in favor of the proposed design for a new center, plus indoor and outdoor pools, in [...]

Marion Interim EMS director introduced

info2018-09-26T06:52:37-05:00September 26th, 2018|

The Marion County Commission introduced Robert “Bob” Church as its interim EMS director during the Monday meeting, and following the resignation of Ed Debesis, who served about 18 months as the director. Church said he was hired by Debesis in June 2017 to serve as a full-time paramedic in Hillsboro, adding he also is a registered nurse. After accepting the full-time position in Hillsboro, Church said he split his time at Via Christi Hospital St. Francis in Wichita, where he worked for 11 years, before taking an RN job at St. Luke Hospital in Marion. (Read more: Hillsboro Free Press)

Goessel City to Erect Additional Stop Sign; discuss new welcome sign

info2018-09-26T06:50:45-05:00September 26th, 2018|

The Goessel city council met on September 17 and discussed the intersection of Church Street and the baseball diamonds. Because of safety issues, west-bound traffic will now have to stop. The council authorized a stop sign at that intersection. Turning their attention to another sign, the city discussed replacing the Goessel sign that is near the highway. The council expressed appreciation for the current sign, which was from the Goessel Lions Club, and has lasted many years. After all of those years, the sign is showing wear, and parts of it have fallen down from time to time and had to [...]

Perpetual improvement: Seward County Community College invests $2.4 million in updates

info2018-09-26T06:42:34-05:00September 26th, 2018|

Any homeowner knows maintenance goes a long way — until it doesn’t, and that long-deferred roof or plumbing upgrade can’t wait any longer. The campus of Seward County Community College, coming up on 50 years, is no different. That’s why the Board of Trustees set out to update, repair, and improve many areas of campus over the past two years, to the tune of $2.4 million. Projects included necessary upgrades to heating and cooling systems, the college vehicle fleet and activity bus, and roofs. Some improvements were necessary for safety benchmarks, such as the new bleachers in the Greenhouse gymnasium, elevator [...]

Reno County Commission voices support for Northwest Passage highway project

info2018-09-26T06:37:04-05:00September 26th, 2018|

The Reno County Commission Tuesday approved a letter of support for continuing development of the K-96 Northwest Passage, which will be sent to a joint legislative transportation task force considering future highway improvement funding. The commission approved a letter to the Joint Legislative Transportation Vision Task Force – which was requested by the Hutchinson /Reno County Chamber of Commerce and drafted by Meagher – that indicates the county’s continued support for the project which would build a new super-two highway from Hutchinson northwest to Lyons, and eventually Interstate-70. The project, which would have exits for Nickerson and Sterling, but otherwise route [...]

Free WiFi in Wichita neighborhoods? It’s a definite possibility

info2018-09-26T06:30:27-05:00September 26th, 2018|

City Hall is contemplating providing free wireless Internet service in some of the community’s poorer areas to try to close a digital divide between rich and poor neighborhoods. Service could be piggybacked on the deployment of so-called 5G wireless technology. The city is planning to use 5G — 100 times as fast as current 4G Internet service — as a platform for a plethora of new technologies such as street-light synchronization, parking control, real-time monitoring of air and water quality, and ultimately even autonomous vehicles. (Read more: Wichita Eagle)

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