info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Mission OKs inclusive play equipment purchase for Water Works Park

info2023-12-22T09:41:34-06:00December 22nd, 2023|

Water Works Park in Mission is getting new play equipment. The Mission City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a nearly $350,000 purchase of inclusive play equipment for Water Works Park. Water Works Park is located off of 53rd Street and Woodson Drive, directly south of Rushton Elementary. The green and blue play equipment includes swing sets, slides and mounds. Penn Almoney, the parks and recreation director, told the city council on Dec. 20 that the new playground allows access from any angle. It also provides ways for children who are unable to communicate to tap a picture and communicate with other [...]

On the windswept plains of southwest Kansas, loneliness and isolation confirm policy failures

info2023-12-22T09:39:17-06:00December 22nd, 2023|

I’m saying goodbye to another set of friends who are leaving Dodge City and moving on to greener pastures outside of Kansas, writes Alejandro Rangel-Lopez. While this feeling first felt like a slight breeze, it now reflects the howling winds of the prairies as I struggle to hold on, like a tumbleweed in a barbed wire fence. In 2021, I graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s degree, a community organizing job in my hometown and a dream of empowering young southwest Kansans with the tools to build communities we can be proud to call home. Two years later, I’m saying [...]

Johnson County’s only winter homeless shelter is already at capacity

info2023-12-22T09:37:44-06:00December 22nd, 2023|

The first of December marked the beginning of the ninth winter of operations for Project 1020, Johnson County’s only low-barrier-to-entry homeless shelter. “If I had 75 beds, they would all be filled and I’d still need more,” McEver said. “We’re easily seeing that many people here every night.” McEver said the 30 beds Project 1020 is currently allowed by the city of Lenexa are simply not enough to meet the growing demand they are facing each day. The shelter operates out of the Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church at 9400 Pflumm Rd. She keeps extensive data and analyzes it for trends and hard truths, she [...]

Salina offers incentive to SkyWest Airlines to change its flight times

info2023-12-21T08:11:31-06:00December 21st, 2023|

Local leaders in Salina have put $900,000 at stake to incentivize the airline serving the city to change times for non-stop flights to and from Denver. ... "The ideal departure for Denver would be not (the current) 11 o'clock in the morning, it's that 6:45 (a.m.)," [Tim Rogers, executive director of the authority] said. This would mean the flight from Salina would arrive in Denver around 7 a.m. MST/MDT, allowing travelers to catch more flights out of Denver with United Airlines, which SkyWest contracts with for its Salina flights. Source: Salina Journal

Wichita finalizes plans to offer targeted property tax relief to certain vulnerable residents in a one-year pilot program

info2023-12-20T12:14:33-06:00December 20th, 2023|

The program builds off of existing tax credits at the state level to reimburse low-income seniors, disabled veterans and their surviving spouses, and low-income residents with underage dependents, for a portion of their 2023 property taxes. Four in five Sedgwick County homeowners saw their property values increase in 2023, with the overall tax valuation in Wichita increasing by 9.3%, according to the county clerk. “This is the largest targeted tax relief for people who need tax relief that we’ve done in at least a generation,” Mayor Brandon Whipple said Tuesday before the City Council gave its final approval. The pilot program [...]

Kansas Attorney General Opinion 2023-13: Postelection Audit of Votes Cast

info2023-12-20T12:13:07-06:00December 20th, 2023|

Synopsis: Election officials conducting postelection audits must review the official paper ballots identified in K.S.A. 25-2912 rather than printed ballot images. Cited herein: K.S.A. 25-2912; 25-3009; 77-420; K.A.R. 7-47-1. Source: Kansas Attorney General Opinions

Governor Kelly Announces More than $8M for Safer Roads

info2023-12-20T12:11:57-06:00December 20th, 2023|

Governor Laura Kelly announced today that 19 communities across the state will receive $8.3 million for projects that improve safety on local roadways. This is the third round of Kansas grant recipients through the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program for 2023. ... Combined with the first two rounds of SS4A announcements made earlier this year, to date, 38 Kansas communities have submitted successful applications. The combined total is nearly $14.8 million in federal funds, $3 million in state contributions, and $743,00 in local match contributions. ... Additional information regarding the Kansas SS4A Match Pilot Program can be [...]

Park City Planning Commission approves zone change for Ruffin casino

info2023-12-20T11:48:57-06:00December 20th, 2023|

Another step in Phil Ruffin's highly-anticipated Golden Circle Casino in Park City tonight as the Planning Commission approved a zoning change to allow the development as planned. Construction crews are already hard at work for the future historical horse racing casino and hotel at 77th and Hydraulic. The Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission approved a license for the casino in July, allowing it to operate 1,000 machines inside county lines. Monday, the Park City Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve the next step in making the casino a reality – changing the zoning on the property to allow for the expansion. "It's a fairly [...]

Wichita City Council approves property tax relief program

info2023-12-20T11:47:47-06:00December 20th, 2023|

Wichita City Council members voted unanimously to approve a property tax relief program for low-income seniors for 2024. City finance director Mark Manning said with reappraisals in the past year, property tax increases will be an average of 7.6 percent. The City Council called for a relief program during their budget discussions last summer, and staff presented the details of the program at Tuesday’s Council meeting. Manning said the program is designed to be simple for people to apply for. Residents who apply for the tax relief will need to be participants in one of three state income tax programs that [...]

Scooters and e-bikes now allowed on Overland Park trails

info2023-12-20T11:44:44-06:00December 20th, 2023|

Overland Park has formally approved a new ordinance that will permanently allow e-mobility devices, like e-bikes and electric scooters, on its city trails. The Overland Park City Council on Monday unanimously approved the new ordinance and repealed an existing one that prohibited such motorized devices and vehicles on trails. The amendment was part of the consent agenda, which means the city council considered the change alongside a series of other procedural items and didn’t individually discuss it. The new rules permit personal e-scooters and most e-bikes, including some that have a motor that is throttle assisted. The devices are restricted to traveling no faster [...]

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