info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Neosho County commissioner offers to help Galesburg fire with locating funding

info2024-03-11T13:35:03-05:00March 11th, 2024|

Neosho County Commissioner Nicholas Galemore offered to assist Galesburg Fire Chief John Lilburn in finding a funding source for the volunteer fire department. At last week’s meeting in Erie, Lilburn approached the commission with a request of funds for the Galesburg Fire Department. The city of Galesburg, Centerville and Ladore townships have invested approximately $74,000 since September 2023 toward the purchase of new trucks and firefighting equipment, which has depleted each entity’s reserves, Lilburn said in a letter he distributed to commissioners. Thus, more funding is needed for what Lilburn referred to as the department’s critical needs: a firefighting skid; AED [...]

Sedgwick County commissioners talking about sales tax increase

info2024-03-11T13:34:07-05:00March 11th, 2024|

With property values increasing over the past few years, Sedgwick County commissioners are talking about the idea of a one-cent sales tax increase that would be dedicated totally to property tax relief. The idea is being proposed by Commissioner David Dennis, after a report from the County Appraiser’s office showing that residential property values are going up by an average of ten percent this year. Dennis said it’s time for commissioners to look at other ways to fund government and provide services without relying so much on property taxes. The county already has a one-cent sales tax for street and bridge improvements, so [...]

Shawnee County wants to replace your Callery Pear tree with healthier, native species

info2024-03-11T13:32:49-05:00March 11th, 2024|

We're nearing the time of year when flowers and leaves start to bloom, however, you may not want all of them sticking around. The Callery Pear, or Bradford Pear tree is one of the most invasive plants in Kansas. That's why Shawnee County Parks and Recreation is partnering with Deep Roots and the Evergy Green Team to swap yours out. "It's just a tough plant, they can germinate easily and they're pretty tough to get rid of," Park District Manager Tom Hammer said. "It helps to get some more diversity species, diversity out there. Some of the trees they're offering on this buy [...]

JoCo commission OKs controversial soccer complex plan in rural Stilwell

info2024-03-11T13:31:21-05:00March 11th, 2024|

The Metcalf Soccer Complex’s controversial journey through the Johnson County planning process ended last week with approval by the county commission amid continued objections from neighbors who fear usage of the outdoor and indoor fields will cause a “traffic nightmare.” After more than an hour of discussion and three attempts at amendments on Thursday, commissioners voted 6-1 on each of two votes to approve a conditional use permit and preliminary plat for the complex, which is planned for 67 acres east of Metcalf Avenue between 202nd Terrace and 206th Street. In doing so, the commission diverged from recommendations of the East Zoning [...]

Kansas museum is one of the most unique in the world

info2024-03-11T13:12:11-05:00March 11th, 2024|

You can find many interesting and unique museums in Kansas. Hutchinson has the Cosmosphere and Strataca Salt Museum. Greensburg, the Big Well Museum, and Hays, the Sternberg Natural History Museum. You can find the newly opened Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum in Atchison and the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene. However, there's one museum you may not even know about that is one of the most unique in the world: the Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum. Martin and Osa Johnson were pioneers in filmmaking and nature documentaries. In the early 20th century, the couple were the first to travel to places [...]

Testing for PFAS, toxic ‘forever chemicals’, set to begin

info2024-03-10T08:58:11-05:00March 10th, 2024|

... EPA is requiring [Topeka] next year to test its drinking water for such unregulated contaminants as PFAS under its Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR5), [co-interim communications director] Nichols said. "State regulatory agencies, in our case KDHE, set the sampling schedule for all their public water suppliers, including the city of Topeka," she said. "They have set up the UCMR5 testing for the entire state from 2022 to 2026 and ours is set for 2025." Source: CJonline

$126 million project announced to widen US-75 highway to four lanes north of Holton

info2024-03-10T08:55:33-05:00March 10th, 2024|

Federal funding announced Thursday by Gov. Laura Kelly will enable the state of Kansas to widen traffic to four lanes from two on a fatality-plagued stretch of US-75 highway north of Holton. The $126 million project will widen US-75 to a four-lane expressway from Holton north to its intersection with K-20 highway, which connects with US-75 after running east from Horton past the Kickapoo Golden Eagle Casino. Source: CJonline

Pilot night-court program in Lawrence Municipal Court discontinued after 6 months of low turnout

info2024-03-09T07:43:04-06:00March 9th, 2024|

After about six months, a pilot night-court program in the Lawrence Municipal Court is being discontinued after failing to draw enough participants outside of the court’s regular hours. City Manager Craig Owens announced the move during the Lawrence City Commission meeting earlier this week. Since last summer, the court has remained open on the third Wednesday of each month for an additional hour and a half for a night court session, which was intended to reduce the number of instances in which defendants failed to appear for a scheduled court date. Source: LJWorld

UG hires CFO with 30 years of local experience

info2024-03-08T13:22:29-06:00March 8th, 2024|

The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, hired Shelley Kneuvean as CFO, effective later in March. As CFO, Kneuvean will work with UG staff, county administration, the mayor’s office and the UG Board of Commissioners to give financial direction and plan for the future. She brings more than 30 years of experience to the UG, both in leadership and financial and operational management Source: Kansas City Business Journal

Overland Park unlikely to crack down further on short-term rentals

info2024-03-08T13:21:53-06:00March 8th, 2024|

Overland Park is unlikely to make any further changes to city codes for short-term rentals like Airbnbs and VRBOs at this time. Leslie Karr, the city’s planning manager, told the Overland Park City Council Community Development Committee on Wednesday that the current situation with short-term rentals in the city is “manageable.” With that in mind, city staff is recommending Overland Park maintain the status quo for now but plan to continue monitoring the situation around short-term rentals for the foreseeable future. Source: Prairie Village Post

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