info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Wichita city council approves new ordinance to stop landlords from retaliatory evictions

info2024-01-03T13:02:31-06:00January 3rd, 2024|

Tuesday morning the Wichita City Council approved a new ordinance that allows landlords to be fined up to $2,500 for evicting a tenant when they complain about terrible living conditions. "In this case we have people who reached out over the years that are tired of a lack of response from their landlord and then when the city comes out and inspects a finds a violation and writes them up, they end up getting evicted. Well that's not right," said Brandon Johnson, the city council member for district one. Johnson says this is an ongoing issue which is why the city [...]

Green light: City Council approves ordinance updates needed for new downtown parking plan

info2024-01-03T13:00:43-06:00January 3rd, 2024|

A revamped approach to public parking in Wichita's core has cleared a key step. The City Council on Tuesday approved a pair of ordinance updates necessary for the city to move forward with a long-discussed plan that will include increases to parking fees and meter technology updates in the downtown, Old Town and Delano areas. Local government and economic development officials have said modernizing public parking in the core is an important component for Wichita's expected downtown growth spurred by a planned $300-million biomedical campus and other major projects. The Council approved the plan itself in March 2023. Among other components, it allows the city to collect [...]

‘Stars are aligning’ for a Kansas water conservation plan, Kelly says

info2024-01-03T07:19:12-06:00January 3rd, 2024|

Gov. Laura Kelly said she is planning to spend a significant amount of political capital on water during the upcoming legislative session. The aquifers under several western Kansas towns are depleted beyond the minimum threshold for aquifer density, meaning what remains couldn’t support things like center-pivot irrigation. Other areas are luckier, with an estimated 25 to 100 years of water use. Still, those areas need to change water use to be able to support agriculture long term. Kelly said since the water shortages reached crisis levels, there hasn’t been a politician in the unique position she’s in as a second-term governor [...]

New guide documents historic structures in unincorporated areas of Douglas County — barns, farmsteads, cabins, outhouses and more

info2023-12-31T09:02:55-06:00December 31st, 2023|

The guide is the product of a 12-year study by the county’s Heritage Conservation Council, and it documents around 2,400 historic resources in the unincorporated areas of the county. That includes the grain bin, buggy shed, stone fences and farmhouse on Coffman’s land — but also a diverse mix of other structures throughout the county, from a turn-of-the-century Victorian-style house in Marion Township to a potato barn in Grant Township to a cabin at Lone Star Lake. It’s all part of an effort to bring more attention to these old buildings, keep them in good condition and highlight structures that property [...]

Goessel Council honors long-time council member

info2023-12-29T12:06:51-06:00December 29th, 2023|

The Goessel city council met on Dec. 12, a week earlier than usual, because of a school concert on the regular meeting date. This was the last meeting for long-time council member Dean Snelling. Mayor Evan Esau presented a plaque to Snelling and thanked him for his 10 years on the council. Esau talked about Snelling’s expertise and said, “We’re going to miss you.” No other current council members have been on the council as long as Snelling has been. He has served with the leadership of several different mayors. Turning their attention to another matter, the council welcomed new part-time police officer [...]

City approves continued reduced rates for licensed daycares

info2023-12-29T12:05:48-06:00December 29th, 2023|

A continuation of the reduced electrical demand charge program for licensed daycare facilities was approved by the Garden City Commission at their regular meeting on Dec. 19. Mike Muirhead, Garden City Public Utilities Director, said the program was initially approved on Sept. 20, 2022 for licensed childcare facilities within the city that are on the Church and School rate, but the minutes of that meeting did not specify if the program was to be a one-year credit or if it would be an ongoing program and if it was, when the commission would reevaluate its continuance. The program works by reducing $1 from [...]

Kansas Tops Nation in Economic Growth Over Fall 2023

info2023-12-29T12:04:52-06:00December 29th, 2023|

Governor Laura Kelly today celebrated that, according to data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the Kansas economy grew by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter of 2023 — the fastest rate in the nation. This improves on an already impressive record of economic growth; in the 2nd quarter of 2023, Kansas’ economy grew at the second-fastest rate in the nation at 7.4%. “This data shows that our efforts to support businesses, create a stable economy, and grow our workforce are paying off,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Now, Kansas is outstripping the entire nation in economic growth and attracting business investment. [...]

New Downton Pavilion Is In the Works For Fort Scott

info2023-12-29T12:03:33-06:00December 29th, 2023|

The Fort Scott Downtown Pavilion is located between Old Fort Blvd. and Stanton Street on North National Avenue and construction is slated for completion in mid-January. A new 70-foot by 150-foot pavilion is in the works for downtown Fort Scott between Old Fort Blvd. and Stanton Street on North National Avenue. The Fort Scott Farmers Market Pavilion, or Fort Scott Downtown Pavilion is part of many additions in “The Gathering Square” in Fort Scott’s vibrant downtown district, according to Fort Scott Mayor Matthew Wells. ‘The farmers market pavilion would aim to be a dynamic community hub,” according to a press release [...]

E-scooters to cease operations in Manhattan after company announces U.S. shutdown

info2023-12-29T12:01:42-06:00December 29th, 2023|

E-scooters will no longer be a mode of transportation in Manhattan in the new year. City officials announced this week that effective Sunday, the LINK/Superpedestrian e-scooters will no longer be available throughout the community or on the Kansas State University campus. The company that oversees those e-scooters, Superpedestrian, will cease operations after the new year, due to financial challenges as reported by Tech Crunch earlier this month. E-scooters were introduced in Manhattan in August 2020 after the city contracted with Superpedestrian (formerly LINK) for a pilot program, deploying about 150 scooters into the city, at the request of Kansas State University. That fleet [...]

One of the two water tanks complete in Newton

info2023-12-29T11:50:49-06:00December 29th, 2023|

The City of Newton recently announced the completion of its First Street water tank. The city has been working since 2016 to replace a 3.1 million gallon water tank located nearby with two concrete 1.9 million gallon tanks. In 2021, the city purchased property to build the new tanks on from BNSF, due to the closeness of the location to existing infrastructure that serves the old tank. The project began in May of 2022 and then was put on hold for 10 months by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment due to new pollution being discovered on the property. Over that time period, [...]

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