info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Atchison weigh skatepark plans

info2018-09-21T07:44:13-05:00September 21st, 2018|

Progress continues on Jeremy Watkins and Pam Cline's project to provide a home for skaters around the region at Reisner Park. The couple, parents to the late Joshua Kinsman, who died in January, met with city officials, supporters and local residents on Sept. 15 at the park to discuss the costs, benefits and implications of a new skatepark. Kinsman had a lifelong dream of leading the construction of a skatepark in Atchison, which as been without a dedicated area for skaters for the last decade. After his tragic death, his parents formed the Skate High With Hope Joshua Kinsman Foundation to [...]

Manhattan estimates flood damage to be in the millions

info2018-09-21T07:41:46-05:00September 21st, 2018|

The City of Manhattan has come out with estimates of the damage caused by the Labor Day Wildcat Creek flood — and the cost is in the millions. Manhattan City Manager Ron Fehr was on Tuesday’s edition of KMAN’s In Focus and said the flash flooding caused $17.2 million in damage. He broke that down into private and public real estate damage — $14.5 million of which was sustained by private structures while $2.7 million was sustained by city property. Additionally, Fehr said that a dozen properties suffered damage amounting to “50 percent or more” of the property’s value or had [...]

Earth is finally moving at Mission Gateway. But council is delaying one more thing

info2018-09-21T07:36:14-05:00September 21st, 2018|

Preliminary site work is finally underway at the long-awaited Mission Gateway development, but the City Council has also approved a delay in the start of a tax incentive for the project. Korb Maxwell, a Kansas City attorney working with the developer, told the City Council on Monday night that the required development milestones are being met. He said earth-moving equipment is working at the site bounded by Shawnee Mission Parkway, Johnson Drive and Roe Avenue. The development agreement required New York-based Cameron Group to start work by Oct. 31 on the first of three phases of the $200 million project. That [...]

Pretty Prairie USD’s headcount surges; Haven USD’s numbers plummet

info2018-09-21T07:28:36-05:00September 21st, 2018|

Two neighboring rural school districts in Reno County reported major swings in student numbers this year, as schools across the state conducted the annual student headcount Thursday. Haven USD 312 experienced a drop of 52 students, as its headcount went from 813 a year ago to 761 this year. Haven USD closed Partridge Elementary School in May, and about 20 of 45 Partridge students are no longer attending Haven schools. Pretty Prairie USD 311′s headcount jumped from about 259-260 a year ago to 295 students in kindergarten through Grade 12. Pretty Prairie’s growth comes partly from the enrollment of former Partridge [...]

Shawnee County moves into next phase of Kansas Expocentre improvement project

info2018-09-21T07:27:36-05:00September 21st, 2018|

Shawnee County on Thursday entered the construction document development phase of a high-dollar project to renovate the Kansas Expocentre. The planned $45 million Expocentre improvements are to be financed using revenue from the November 2014 approval by Shawnee County voters of a ballot question extending for 14 years — until Dec. 31, 2031 — a countywide half-cent sales tax used to raise revenue for economic development and infrastructure improvements. County Commissioner Archer made reference Thursday to the county continuing to lack a funding source for an estimated $3.5 million worth of costs for the project. County counselor Jim Crowl responded that [...]

Kansas River weir project costs turn out to be $2.5 million above estimate

info2018-09-21T07:25:05-05:00September 21st, 2018|

Costs that turned out to be nearly $2.5 million higher than expected have held up work on a project by Topeka’s city government to improve the safety of its Kansas River weir, where three people have drowned since 2007. Former Topeka Mayor Larry Wolgast, a member of the Topeka and Shawnee County Riverfront Authority, described the development Thursday as a “major setback” and said it was “extremely disappointing.” City officials had intended last month to start work on the project at the concrete weir, located north of the city’s water treatment plant at 3245 N.W. Waterworks Drive. But while the city’s [...]

Sedgwick County Election Office checks machines after water leak

info2018-09-21T07:21:55-05:00September 21st, 2018|

The Sedgwick County Election Office is making sure the voting machines are working properly following a water leak Thursday. Officials don't believe any machines were damaged. They plan to work with the vendor to ensure proper functionality. The city says the machines were properly stored so it is likely only the wheels at the bottom of the machines got wet. (Read more: KWCH News)

After pushback from neighbors, Lenexa council rejects Vistas at Canyon Creek apartment project

info2018-09-21T07:01:49-05:00September 21st, 2018|

A group of homeowners living near a proposed apartment complex in western Lenexa gathered nearly 200 petition signatures and sent a flurry of emails to City Council members in opposition to the project, and many showed up in force at Tuesday’s council meeting. In the end, the council unanimously rejected the project. The Vistas at Canyon Creek, proposed for the northwest corner of Canyon Creek Boulevard and Kansas Highway 10, would have required rezoning for the construction of 294 apartments in 12 buildings and a convenience store with gasoline pumps. At its July 17 meeting, the council remanded the proposal to [...]

Overland Park moving forward with plan to install 37 new bike racks in downtown OP

info2018-09-21T06:59:38-05:00September 21st, 2018|

Bicyclists stopping by downtown Overland Park will soon have many more places to hitch up. The city is in the process of getting 37 new racks to be distributed throughout the downtown area. “Downtown is a natural destination for bikes but there are really very few racks,” said Doug Johnson, of the city’s planning and development department. That will change with the acceptance of a proposal from BikeWalkKC that the city council approved Monday night. The bike racks come at no cost to the city. Instead, the $9,270 to install them will come through the Johnson County Department of Health and [...]

New sports complex in Parsons still in planning stage

info2018-09-21T06:57:59-05:00September 21st, 2018|

Planning is well underway for a sports complex on the north end of town, but the new fields probably won’t be ready for games until 2020. Former NFL quarterback Shaun Hill, a Parsons High School alumnus, has pledged $250,000 through his charitable foundation for the sports complex that will include two multi-use fields. The fields will be large enough to divide into four youth soccer and flag football fields or used as two tackle football or adult soccer fields. The complex also will include a parking lot, a building for storage, concessions and restrooms, fencing and bleachers. Eventually lights and a [...]

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