info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

City of Fort Scott approves downtown building for residence

info2018-08-13T07:15:36-05:00August 13th, 2018|

The Fort Scott City Commission on Tuesday approved a measure that will allow a local couple to live on the first floor of a building in the downtown business district. Commissioners heard from city officials and various citizens on both sides of the issue as they considered a conditional use permit that would allow residential living on the first floor of a commercial building. Currently in the downtown district, residential living is only allowed on the second floor of a building. Local resident Jerry Witt, who owns the building, plans to change the building from a business setting to a [...]

City of Topeka to enforce political sign ordinance

info2018-08-13T07:10:00-05:00August 13th, 2018|

Between August 10th and September 21st, the City of Topeka will be enforcing its temporary sign code, which does not permit election signs in the right of way, until the general election cycle starts. Political signs in the public right of way are only allowed forty-five days before an election cycle and up to two days after. All signs in the public right of way are subject to removal. There are also additional restrictions during this time on private property. Only one sign per property, no bigger than 4’ tall and 6 sq. ft. in residentially-zoned areas, and no bigger [...]

Sen. Moran visits Garden City Amtrak following amendment

info2018-08-13T07:08:51-05:00August 13th, 2018|

U.S. Senator Jerry Moran visited the Amtrak station in Garden City Friday. Moran visited with city officials from Garden City and Dodge City to brief on the latest with his amendment to maintain Amtrak train services along the established, long-distance passenger rail route of the Southwest Chief. “It’s important to Kansans and particularly in southwest Kansas and it has become a cause for cities in our state Newton, Hutchinson, Dodge City, Garden City, who have put a lot of effort and their own taxpayer dollars into a project that’s beginning to work and we didn’t want the rug pulled out [...]

Shawnee moves forward with new community center planning though some members raise concerns about property taxes

info2018-08-13T07:04:55-05:00August 13th, 2018|

After reviewing the initial master plan and feasibility study for a new community center, the Shawnee council committee has agreed to move forward with next steps. Councilmember Lindsey Constance, echoed by other councilmembers, said she thinks the city should look into how much the Mill Levy should be increased to accommodate a 6- or 8-lane lap pool. Neil Holman, director of parks and recreation, said the mill levy involves heavy discussion with the De Soto School District. Councilmember Eric Jenkins voiced several concerns about plans for the new community center. As a representative of Ward 2, which has a median [...]

Neosho County resolving over-payments to taxing entities

info2018-08-13T06:59:34-05:00August 13th, 2018|

Neosho County over-paid local taxing districts by nearly $3 million in June, and cash balances have not been reconciled since April, a county commissioner said Friday morning. Second District Commissioner David Bideau raised the issue at Friday morning’s commission meeting. He also said the office has failed to prepare and publish quarterly cash statements, required by state statutes, since October. “I’m definitely not happy about the treasurer’s operations,” Bideau said. County offices in addition to the treasurer’s office are training and transitioning to a new computer software system provided by CIC. Treasurer Sydney Ball attributed the problem to the transition, [...]

Great Bend Police Department will soon be fully staffed

info2018-08-10T11:28:48-05:00August 10th, 2018|

The Great Bend Police Department has come a long way since last summer in attempts to bulking up its staff. In June of 2017, it was reported that the Police Department was operating with 25 employees, five short of a full staff. Great Bend City Administrator Kendal Francis says the Police Department hired another officer and will be fully staffed near the end of the month. The Great Bend City Council approved additional officer positions within the budget, and now the Police Department has 33 officers. The 33rd officer will start on August 27, meaning that four of the 33 officers [...]

Wellington woman requests neighborhood watch; but crime in town is still down

info2018-08-10T11:27:21-05:00August 10th, 2018|

The recent spat of high-profile thefts and robberies brought a Wellington woman to the council meeting in quest of initiating a neighborhood watch program. Tunie Caudillo-Sparman addressed the council at its regular meeting this week asking that a neighborhood watch initiative be set up in which neighbors and citizens work together to stop what is perceived to be a dramatic increase in crime. Wellington Police Chief Tracy Heath said he is all for a proactive stance against crime, and is open to suggestions. However, statistically, crime is not up in Wellington. In fact, it is down from 2017. (Read more: Sumner [...]

New voting system saved time in Pratt

info2018-08-10T11:26:15-05:00August 10th, 2018|

Determining how the voters in Pratt County marked their ballots Tuesday took a lot less time than it did to determine who won the Republican race for governor in Kansas. With Kris Kobach and Gov. Jeff Colyer in a virtual tie at 41 percent of the votes, it may take some time to officially declare a winner in the race that has Kobach with a 191 vote lead over Colyer. It may take some time to determine the winner but determining the Pratt city and county election results only took about an hour and a half thanks to some new voting [...]

Roeland Park police credit crime prevention tactics with reduced incidents in business district

info2018-08-10T11:23:55-05:00August 10th, 2018|

Roeland Park’s business district experienced a 24.5 percent decline in crime incidents from January through July 2018 following implementation of a Crime Prevention Initiative, police officials reported this week. The $7,500 initiative placed officers in the business district for 10 hours per week with rotating times and locations, with a special focus on Lowe’s, Price Chopper, and Walmart. Funds went toward paying officers’ overtime. The city also utilized a donated Ford Mustang “Retail Crime Enforcement Unit” to demonstrate police presence. Chief of Police John Morris called the crime decrease “dramatic.” “We’re pretty pleased with how it worked,” Morris said. Morris said [...]

Leavenworth purchases downtown building

info2018-08-10T11:20:48-05:00August 10th, 2018|

When they met Tuesday, Leavenworth city commissioners approved the purchase of a downtown building for $52,500. City Manager Paul Kramer said city officials plan to tear down the building located at 301 Delaware St. and look for economic development opportunities for the site. The city is purchasing the building from Triple R Properties, a limited liability company based in Leavenworth. “We would close Friday,” Kramer said. Kramer said the City Commission has taken similar actions in the past. He pointed to the purchase of properties in the area of Fourth Street and Metropolitan Avenue. Those properties later were sold to a [...]

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