info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

New infrared laser technology to help Shawnee police work efficiently

info2018-09-19T13:30:30-05:00September 19th, 2018|

New technology that could save some of your tax dollars is coming to the Shawnee Police Department. The Shawnee City Council recently approved about $70,000 to buy a Faro 3D Laser Scanner. It will help officers map crime and crash scenes faster, with better accuracy. The Faros are infrared lasers. They collect scene measurements on a cloud, with accuracy of plus or minus one millimeter. Essentially, it does all the work by taking "pictures," and takes out room for human error, making for a more efficient process. "If we put the scanner out there we can get all the data we [...]

Riley County police director injured in bicycle crash, taken to hospital, officials say

info2018-09-19T13:29:30-05:00September 19th, 2018|

The director of a Kansas law enforcement agency has been injured in a crash while he was riding a bicycle, officials said. Emergency crews were dispatched to a crash with injuries at around 12:55 p.m. Tuesday in the 2700 block of Moehlman Road, a rural area about 2 miles south of Manhattan, the Riley County Police Department said in a Facebook post. Riley County police Director Brad Schoen was riding a bicycle when he was involved in a crash with another vehicle, RCPD officials said. He was taken to Via Christi Hospital. The Kansas Highway Patrol is investigating the crash, RCPD [...]

Open Streets ICT block party, a surprise hit last year, returns even bigger this weekend

info2018-09-19T13:25:25-05:00September 19th, 2018|

It was just something that Wichita Park & Recreation Director Troy Houtman wanted to try, an idea he’d seen presented at a conference. So last September, not knowing how it would work out in Wichita, he and his crew closed down four miles of Wichita’s main downtown thoroughfare, filled it with food trucks and entertainment and invited Wichitans to ride their bikes over to enjoy it. He wasn’t sure anyone would come. But they did — by the thousands. By the end of the event, organizers Wichita Park & Recreation and the Wichita Park Foundation estimated, 18,000 people had biked or [...]

Kansas Supreme Court-appointed committee presents recommendations on municipal court practices

info2018-09-19T12:56:31-05:00September 19th, 2018|

An ad hoc committee appointed by the Kansas Supreme Court a year ago to review bonding practices, fines, and fees of Kansas' municipal courts presented its recommendations at a news conference Wednesday. The 18 committee members were appointed by Chief Justice Lawton Nuss in an order signed September 6, 2017. Of the 18 members, 16 are municipal judges, one a city attorney, and one an attorney from the League of Kansas Municipalities. The Supreme Court directed the committee to study current municipal court practices, examine the practices in other courts across the country, and recommend best practices for Kansas municipal courts. [...]

Wheels set in motion to celebrate Belleville’s 150th anniversary in August 2019

info2018-09-19T10:07:09-05:00September 19th, 2018|

A gala event to mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of Belleville has been set for August 16-18, 2019. More than 20 volunteers attended a meeting of the Belleville Community PRIDE organization Sunday to lay the groundwork for the event. By consensus volunteers agreed that the Mid-America Cruise-in at the Crossroads, traditionally held in June, and the Ag Heritage Festival staged the July 4 weekend will be rolled into the 150th celebration to focus funds and volunteers into one event. Read more: Belleville Telescope.

Lawrence considers requiring licenses, inspections for Airbnb, other short-term rentals

info2018-09-18T10:04:11-05:00September 18th, 2018|

The City of Lawrence could soon begin regulating the fast-growing short-term rental business in Lawrence. Following direction from city commissioners last year, city staff has drafted regulations that would allow short-term rentals in all residential areas, but would require them to be licensed, to be inspected annually, to be insured to a certain level and to follow occupancy limits and other restrictions. Permits for short-term rentals where the property owner resides elsewhere would be an option, but not guaranteed. Current city code doesn’t allow short-term rentals, but that hasn’t stopped the practice from occurring in Lawrence. Figures show the number of [...]

Shawnee County commission OKs expenditure to ‘thwart low-life thieves’

info2018-09-18T09:23:00-05:00September 18th, 2018|

Shawnee County Commissioner Bob Archer said Monday he felt irritated because Shawnee County needed to spend nearly $36,000 “to thwart low-life thieves” instead of on trails or parks equipment. Still, Archer joined Commissioners Kevin Cook and Shelly Buhler in voting 3-0 to earmark that amount to buy a security system aimed specifically at deterring the theft of copper from baseball and softball fields at Dornwood Park, 2500 S.E. Highland. “It’s unfortunate that we have to have to spend money on something reluctantly like this,” Buhler said. Commissioners voted to use contingency funds to spend $35,982.04 to make the sole-source purchase of [...]

Topeka police chief: Dominique White shooting transformed law enforcement in city

info2018-09-18T09:21:58-05:00September 18th, 2018|

Topeka police chief Bill Cochran said the department would handle the aftermath of a police shooting differently compared to nearly a year ago when Dominique White was killed. White, 30, was shot Sept. 28, 2017, by officers Michael Cruse and Justin Mackey. “Dominique White’s shooting did more to transform law enforcement in the city of Topeka and the state of Kansas than probably any other incident in a long, long time,” Cochran said. The investigation was handed over to the Lawrence Police Department the day of the incident. Cochran said the department didn’t know the status of the case as LPD [...]

Olathe Police finding officer recruitment a struggle as city grows

info2018-09-18T09:16:06-05:00September 18th, 2018|

Police departments across the country are struggling to find officers. In Johnson County, Kan., it's compounded by the region's explosive growth. Some estimates peg the population of Olathe to top 300,000 in the next 20 years. Finding officers to protect all those people is not easy. With over 70 active neighborhood watches, there's still a strong sense of people looking out for each other. A big piece in keeping the community safe is its police force, and that's a job that's growing harder all the time to recruit for. "We had a recent testing where we only had about 12 people [...]

Gathering ideas for Great Bend’s visioning project

info2018-09-18T09:14:02-05:00September 18th, 2018|

A visioning project in Great Bend has spent time gathering information about the community in hopes of developing a plan to bring Great Bend into the future. Great Bend’s population has declined 2.97 percent since 2010, there are 70 vacant housing units for sale, there are four employers that have over 300 employees, and 24 percent of the population is considered a millennial between the age of 15 and 34. These statistics and many more were put together as a starting point for the master plan according to Sheila Shockey, founder and president of Shockey Consulting Services. Shockey Consulting Services was [...]

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