info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Want a say on what the Wichita area will look like in 10 years? Here’s your chance

info2018-08-04T13:27:57-05:00April 6th, 2018|

Does your book club like to digress into what Wichita needs to do to become a better city? Does your softball team grumble about how many swings and misses community leaders commit as they strive to move Wichita forward? You've got an opportunity to weigh in with your recommendations as Project Wichita launches the "listening" portion of its action plan. Project Wichita is a collaboration of business, education and government leaders with a goal to learn what people think about their city and the region — and where they want it to be in 10 years. "Any group, anywhere, any time" [...]

Mr. Haysville, Tim Norton named Admiral Windwagon Smith

info2018-08-04T13:27:57-05:00April 6th, 2018|

Mr. Haysville will be the face of this year’s Wichita River Festival. Haysville’s most visible resident, Tim Norton – who spent nine years as Haysville city council member, four years as Haysville mayor, and 16 years as a Sedgwick County Commissioner – was revealed last Friday as Admiral Windwagon Smith XLV, Riverfest’s official ambassador. The announcement was made at the Bracket Bash, one of the events held in conjunction with last week’s NCAA Tournament at INTRUST Bank Arena in downtown Wichita. “It’s very humbling and quite an honor. I’ve been involved in River Festival since the first year I came here [...]

Baldwin City Council approves $345,000 trail easement agreement with Midland Railway

info2018-08-04T13:27:57-05:00April 6th, 2018|

The Baldwin City Council on Tuesday approved a $345,000 agreement with the Midland Railway Historical Association that provides the city with a trail easement along the railroad from Baldwin City to Ottawa. Baldwin City Administrator Glenn Rodden said the easement would allow the installation of a 15-foot-wide trail along the Midland Railway line that would link to the Prairie Spirit Trail State Park in Ottawa. The 51-mile crushed limestone Prairie Spirit Trail connects Ottawa to Iola. The Midland Railway and the Prairie Spirit Trail were part of the Leavenworth, Lawrence and Fort Gibson Railroad built in the 1860s from Leavenworth south [...]

How often are ambulances needed in Marion County?

info2018-08-04T13:27:57-05:00April 6th, 2018|

In the first three months of 2018, predominantly full-time ambulance crews in Marion and Hillsboro handled nearly three-fourths of all county ambulance calls. Of the 328 times in which radio dispatches for ambulances were recorded, Hillsboro crews handled 38.1 percent of the calls, and Marion crews handled 35.7 percent. Predominantly pay-per-call crews in Peabody handled 18.0 percent of the calls, while similar crews in Tampa handled 5.8 percent and in Florence handled 2.4 percent. (Read more: HILLSBORO Star-Journal)

Miami County, Louisburg ready go after grant to improve Metcalf Road

info2018-08-04T13:27:57-05:00April 6th, 2018|

When Metcalf Road was built in the 1940s and 50s, it was a 20-foot wide swath of pavement bordered by gravel shoulders and ditches. Not much has changed since then, but the time could be nearing for an upgrade. Miami County and the city of Louisburg have partnered to apply for a federal grant to improve Metcalf Road south of Kansas Highway 68. The two face a rough road ahead, but officials are hopeful they will be successful. “It is a very competitive grant process,” said J.R. McMahon, county road and bridge director. “Our goal is to go in there and [...]

USDA designates 10 counties as primary natural disaster areas for farm emergency loans

info2018-08-04T13:27:57-05:00April 6th, 2018|

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated Butler, Chase, Cowley, Ellsworth, Harvey, McPherson, Marion, Morris, Rush and Saline counties in Kansas as primary natural disaster areas due to losses and damages caused by a recent drought. Farmers and ranchers in the contiguous counties in Kansas also qualify for natural disaster assistance. Those counties are: Barton, Chautauqua, Dickinson, Elk, Ellis, Geary, Greenwood, Lincoln, Lyon, Ness, Ottawa, Pawnee, Reno, Rice, Russell, Sedgwick, Sumner and Wabaunsee. Farmers and ranchers in the contiguous counties of Kay and Osage in Oklahoma also qualify for natural disaster assistance. Qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible [...]

Clay Center to reclaim lots to extend life of cemetery

info2018-08-04T13:27:58-05:00April 6th, 2018|

Faced with running out of space at Greenwood Cemetery, the Clay Center City Council is looking at a policy on reclaiming un-used burial lots within the cemetery to extend its life. City Attorney Dusty Mullin reported to the council that he is looking at policy on how to accomplish that, which would involve notifying the current owners of unused lots by certified letter, public notices and through publication -- assuming owners or their descendants can be found, and going through a process or reverting ownership back to the city if no one with a valid claim comes forward. There are provisions [...]

Lenexa to consider public finance incentives for renovation of office building into Home2 Suites by Hilton

info2018-08-04T13:27:58-05:00April 6th, 2018|

The Lenexa City Council will hold a May 15 public hearing to consider whether to approve a redevelopment tax-increment financing project plan for a proposed Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel and office project on the southwest corner of Rosehill Road and 96th Terrace. The project would comprise renovation of a two-story, roughly 19,000-square-foot office building and related improvements in a first phase, and construction of a four-story, 99-room Home2 Suites hotel and related improvements in a second phase. The roughly 5.63-acre site of the proposed project is within the I-35 and 95th Street TIF District. The council unanimously approved holding the [...]

Leavenworth City Commissioners discuss goals

info2018-08-04T13:27:58-05:00April 6th, 2018|

Leavenworth city commissioners met Wednesday to discuss goals. Lobbying for another federal prison, trying to attract a grocery store in the northern half of the city and rental property inspections were among the topics discussed. Commissioners reviewed goals they made a year ago and discussed possible new goals. A document with updated goals will be brought back to the commission for formal adoption later this month. One of the old goals reviewed is lobbying and advocating for federal funding for a new medium-security prison and increased maintenance funding for the existing U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth. “This remains on our radar, very [...]

Flexibility and project learning part of school experiment in Wellington

info2018-08-04T13:27:58-05:00April 6th, 2018|

The community of Wellington was ready to redesign its public schools before the state school board picked it as one of the “Mercury Seven” pilot communities in a statewide program for school redesign. This was the opening message of a talk Tuesday evening on the subject of school redesign by Mark Whitener, Superintendent of USD 353 at Wellington. Whitener spoke at the Winfield High School cafeteria. Conversations about redesign had been going on for a year before the Wellington community applied for the statewide program, said Whitener, a former Ark City Middle School principal. Business, industry, teachers, parents and students were [...]

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