info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Sedgwick County selected for emergency preparedness exercise

info2024-09-13T08:43:49-05:00September 13th, 2024|

Sedgwick County Emergency Management (SCEM) was chosen to participate in a national exercise program conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The program aids government entities in conducting emergency preparedness exercises to gauge the disaster readiness of the organization. The SCEM applied for the program and was chosen for the program over other governmental agencies in Region 7, which includes Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska. Going through the program will help Sedgwick County design and conduct a full-scale active shooter simulation to be held March 11, 2025. “These exercises are so important for us to assess our preparedness planning, resources [...]

City and firefighters union are at impasse in negotiations; Lawrence City Commission may have to resolve the conflict

info2024-09-13T08:35:06-05:00September 13th, 2024|

City of Lawrence administrators and the local firefighters union are at an impasse in their negotiations for the coming year, and if they don’t resolve it, the City Commission might have to resolve the conflict next month. The city and the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1596 union, which represents firefighters and other emergency personnel employed by Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical, are working to come up with a new memorandum of understanding. The current one is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2024. Source: LJWorld

Arcadia: A small town with a big history

info2024-09-13T08:28:33-05:00September 13th, 2024|

Arcadia will celebrate 162 years on Saturday with Old Settlers’ Days. Festivities begin at 9 a.m. as parade participants gather at the ballpark. ... While only a small town of 250 today, Arcadia has a very interesting history and a lot to celebrate. According to Legends of Kansas, the first to settle in the area was a blacksmith named Howell in 1844. Married to a Cherokee woman, he was given permission to live in, at that time, the Neutral Lands. Source: Morning Sun

Hiawatha Maple Leaf Festival set for Sept 28

info2024-09-12T10:27:23-05:00September 12th, 2024|

The Hiawatha Maple Leaf Festival is set for Saturday, Sept. 28 and organizers with the Hiawatha Chamber and Visitors Bureau are excited about this year’s lineup of activities. This annual festival can be found in downtown Hiawatha around the courthouse square, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the fourth Saturday of each September. Maple Leaf 2024 will be bringing in some fantastic music — as the Chamber is featuring True North as the headlining band, scheduled for a noon performance on the north side of the courthouse steps. Chamber Administrator Sarah Kleopfer said there will be a couple of new [...]

If Lenexa rejects homeless shelter, Johnson County could be back at square one. Then what?

info2024-09-12T10:25:31-05:00September 12th, 2024|

If the Lenexa City Council on Tuesday denies a special use permit to operate a homeless shelter, Johnson County could be sent back to the drawing board — possibly needing to find a new location and deciding whether to commit alternate funding in the face of a fast-approaching federal deadline. The decision would be a major setback after the county has spent months evaluating the Lenexa site, following years of planning for a much-needed shelter. Late last month, the Lenexa Planning Commission voted 9-0 to deny a special use permit request to operate a year-round shelter at the La Quinta Inn [...]

Massive Johnson County sports complex to open soon in growing development. Here’s when

info2024-09-12T10:24:04-05:00September 12th, 2024|

After months of construction, an Overland Park sports facility with an ice rink, eight basketball courts and more will open to the public next month. The first phase of the AdventHealth Sports Park at Bluhawk will celebrate its grand opening Saturday, Oct. 26, according to a media release from the company. “The wait is over!” Becky Cornell, retail marketing manager for JLL real estate, wrote in an announcement to the media. The $125 million park at 16201 Shawnee Drive (on the southwest corner of U.S. Highway 69 and 159th Street) will include a family entertainment center called Hawk’s Outpost. It will [...]

What did Kansas look like 150 years ago? A KU professor’s photo book shows the drastic change

info2024-09-12T10:22:42-05:00September 12th, 2024|

Robert Benecke captured 19th-century western Kansas landscapes before massive European migrations to the area transformed them. In the intervening years, the dust bowl, mass extinction of bison, and expansion of mechanized agriculture have all led to a profusion of trees, ponds and lakes across the Sunflower State. When railroad companies hired Robert Benecke to help advertise Kansas land for sale in the 1870s, the German-born photographer captured a unique window into life on the Great Plains at a very early time in the state’s history. A century and a half later, University of Kansas professor of ecology and evolutionary biology Town [...]

How Wyandotte County deals with unsheltered homelessness

info2024-09-12T10:20:57-05:00September 12th, 2024|

In a 24-hour period in January this year, surveyors for the annual point-in-time count found 226 people who reported being homeless. Of that number, 152 of them – or nearly 70% of the overall count – said they were unsheltered, meaning they were living outside, or in cars, vacant buildings and other places not designed for human habitation. The point-in-time count is imprecise, and advocates say that number is almost certainly an undercount. But of that overall total, 55 individuals fit HUD’s definition of being chronically unsheltered, meaning they had experienced homelessness in increments that add up to at least a [...]

Pittsburg considers new ordinances to address shopping cart and trash concerns

info2024-09-12T10:16:46-05:00September 12th, 2024|

Shopping carts and trash are on the table for the city commission in Pittsburg with the hopes of keeping the city clean and cutting the costs residents and businesses are currently taking on. “It’s more that when we don’t have these ordinances and this activity is allowed to happen, you end up with the town just looking trashy,” said Roger Lomshek, Pittsburg resident. Roger Lomshek is just one of the residents and business owners who’ve brought the issue of digging through trash and abandoned shopping carts to the city of Pittsburg. Issues he’s seen frequently. “We have people pushing shopping carts [...]

Kansas power plant investing $63 million in power generating tech

info2024-09-12T10:14:54-05:00September 12th, 2024|

Liberty Utilities is investing in new power generating equipment for its Riverton Power Plant. The oldest remaining generators at the plant will soon be removed to make way for new, industrial gas turbines — complete with the latest in power generating technology. They will replace two aging generators built in the 1960’s. Because of their age, spare parts for repairs are no longer made by the manufacturer. According to the company, the new generators feature better performance — especially in cold weather — and are nearly 40% more efficient. They are also Liberty Utilities first units designed to use hydrogen as [...]

About info