info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Manhattan residents describe improvements to quality of life thanks to housing vouchers

info2024-06-14T08:47:02-05:00June 14th, 2024|

While two great-granddaughters watched television in her apartment at Brookfield Residence, Janet Webster, a 75-year-old retiree, shared how the housing choice voucher program has enhanced her quality of life for more than a decade. “For somebody who is on disability — I was hurt on the job in Colorado — and with Social Security, and I didn’t put much in, the income levels I started out with were pretty low,” Webster said. “I’m doing okay now with Manhattan Housing Authority assistance.” Webster worked as a legal assistant and later a truck driver in Colorado. While working as a truck driver, Webster [...]

Wichita offers online tool for input on 2026 city budget

info2024-06-14T08:44:41-05:00June 14th, 2024|

The City of Wichita has opened an online budget simulator tool to help in collecting public input on the 2026-2027 budget year. The city will use the simulator as a way to get resident feedback on city budget priorities and to show some of the tough choices that will be made in the next budget cycle. The city is anticipating a balanced budget for 2025-26, but a $13 million shortfall is projected for the 2026 budget. This is due to a decrease in interest earnings along with expenditures growing faster than revenues. The simulator will allow residents to increase or decrease [...]

Kansas City, Kansas, mayor says his downtown is perfect for a new Royals ballpark

info2024-06-14T08:43:19-05:00June 14th, 2024|

As lawmakers in Kansas continue their push to bring the Chiefs and Royals to the Sunflower State, leaders in Kansas City, Kansas, say they can envision a ballpark right in Wyandotte County. In an interview with KCUR's Up To Date, Kansas State Sen. Jeff Pittman and Kansas City, Kansas, Mayor Tyrone Garner both said that their downtown is an ideal spot for the Royals to put down their roots. "Land is cheap, it is ripe for development, it is centrally located in the Kansas City metropolitan area," said Garner. "I think that a baseball team downtown would be great, not just [...]

Outdoor watering could soon be limited to once a week in Wichita. Here’s why

info2024-06-14T08:41:35-05:00June 14th, 2024|

As drought conditions persist, Wichita may soon limit lawn and garden watering to one day a week and prohibit irrigation between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. For now, officials are asking residents to voluntarily adopt water conservation strategies so the city can stave off its first mandatory watering restrictions in more than a decade. Under the drought ordinance adopted in 2013, stage two of the city’s drought response will automatically kick in when 12-month average water levels at Cheney Reservoir dip below 69% full. April’s average was 69%, and the reading Thursday morning was 67.14% full. “We know that stage two [...]

Pott County to reconfigure planning commission as county commission expands

info2024-06-14T08:39:36-05:00June 14th, 2024|

Pottawatomie County is changing up how it appoints its planning commission members as the county commission expands from three to five members in November. Currently, each of the three county commissioners appoints two representatives to the 10-member planning commission, which serves as an advisory board to the county commission, making recommendations regarding land use, conditional use permits, subdivision development and site plan reviews. They also select four additional members at large. But the expansion of the county commission after this fall’s election means the planning commission needs to undergo reconfiguring, and members of both boards on Monday hammered out a plan [...]

Labette County close to agreement for battery storage facility

info2024-06-14T08:37:58-05:00June 14th, 2024|

Labette County commissioners are close to an agreement with a company that wants to develop a battery energy storage system on Wallace Road near the Evergy Neosho Substation. Ben Weisel, senior director of development services for Plus Power, spoke with commissioners Monday about the company's plans to build the battery storage facility south and east of Service Valley Charter Academy. The storage facility would be on the south side of the Evergy substation and start about 1,300 feet east of Wallace Road. The battery storage structures may be about 14 feet tall and will sit on a concrete platform. Weisel said [...]

Melvern abloom this weekend during annual Sunflower Days

info2024-06-14T08:27:30-05:00June 14th, 2024|

Sunflowers will be blooming in “the great outdoors” in Melvern this weekend. The Osage County community will be celebrating its annual Sunflower Days Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 14-16, 2024. This year’s parade theme will be “The Great Outdoors”; the parade begins at 7 p.m. Saturday, with line-up at the school grounds. The communitywide celebration will include a baby show, bingo games, live music, kids’ races, homemade ice cream, funnel cakes, watermelon and the grand parade finale. Source: Osage County News

Humboldt named one of 15 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2024 by Smithsonian Magazine

info2024-06-13T13:08:01-05:00June 13th, 2024|

Faced with a declining population, a group of Midwest natives kicked revitalization efforts into overdrive. In 2016, they established A Bolder Humboldt, an economic development organization formed with the support of the local community, which focuses on reimagining and rebuilding the 167-year-old town for a new generation of entrepreneurs, citizens and visitors. Source: Smithsonian

Wichita’s mayor gives update on citywide cyber attack

info2024-06-12T15:40:55-05:00June 12th, 2024|

After being shut down for a little over a month, the city of Wichita said almost all of its forward facing services are back up and running. These are things people use daily, such as public Wi-Fi, bus fares, and bills. "We had to work from the background to the foreground and so the background work has been happening over the last few weeks before we can turn the system back on," said Wichita's mayor Lily Wu. Source: KAKE - News

Pittsburg advances downtown development with community input

info2024-06-12T15:40:37-05:00June 12th, 2024|

The City of Pittsburg is continuing to work on the development of downtown. City staff have taken all of the thoughts and concerns from the community from last week's Downtown Community Conversation and given them to a consultant to review and put into a report. Some of the feedback includes upgrading the general aesthetics within downtown, expanding parking options, and keeping the area safe. Source: KSNF/KODE

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