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WPD seeks accreditation through Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center

info2023-09-26T10:50:05-05:00September 26th, 2023|

The booklet on LT Aaron Moses’s desk is a guide for the Wichita Police Department to do something it’s never done before. “The Wichita Police Department has never been an accredited agency," explains Moses. WPD is in the process of applying for accreditation through the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center, or KLETC. Its been a part of Chief Joe Sullivan's efforts since taking over the department in late 2022. "His previous law enforcement agency was an accredited agency and so accreditation was something that was top of mind for him.” What does accreditation mean for the WPD? In the most basic [...]

Burrton police find 49 pounds of meth during traffic stop

info2023-09-26T10:47:08-05:00September 26th, 2023|

Burrton Police Department, with assistance from the Halstead Police Department, the Harvey County Sheriff's Office, and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, have found 49 pounds of methamphetamine. It happened back on Aug. 31 when Burrton Police officers spotted a semi-truck with a vehicle trailer hauling several vehicles along U.S. Highway 50. Chief David Odle says officers saw "suspicious plastic wrapping" coming from the bumper of one of the vehicles the truck was hauling. Chief Odle says as officers looked closer, they believed they saw narcotics in the bumper. A K-9 officer from Halstead was called in to check the vehicle. Chief Odle says [...]

McCune hosts 77th annual fall festival

info2023-09-26T10:44:06-05:00September 26th, 2023|

There were vendors, rides, animals, and fun this past weekend at the 77th annual McCune Fall Festival. The festival was held from Friday through Sunday and was located primarily in downtown McCune on Main Street. In addition, the event was hosted by the McCune Lions Club. Lions Club member Cherie Schenker noted that attendees come from across the Four State area to attend the event. “I enjoy people coming together in an old-fashioned festival,” she said. “People get together, they can sell stuff they made, they get to see old friends they went to school with. We draw people from all over [...]

Kansas losing many of its graduates

info2023-09-26T09:32:34-05:00September 26th, 2023|

Kansas will add 54,000 jobs that require some level of college education this decade, but the state is poised to fall well short of that demand, one of the state's top labor economists told the Kansas Board of Regents. To meet the demand, Kansas would need to produce an additional 34,000 degrees by 2030 — a tall order as Kansas continues to see many of its young college graduates move out-of-state for higher paying jobs. ... “Given the increase in technology, artificial intelligence and robots, most jobs are going to require some credential,” the distinguished economics professor told the Regents. “The [...]

Topeka buildings still making history

info2023-09-26T09:31:35-05:00September 26th, 2023|

Topeka is full of historical treasures dating back to the founding of the state, but many of the city’s most iconic buildings have faced uncertain futures. Advanced decay and disrepair, a lack of funding and the absence of interested buyers are roadblocks to preservation efforts. Private citizens purchased and funded the rehabilitation of properties with significant historical ties to Kansas, including the Charles Curtis House, the Thacher Building and the Jayhawk Theatre. Source: CJonline

SW Kansas treasurers to meet in Liberal

info2023-09-26T09:30:15-05:00September 26th, 2023|

Next Wednesday, county treasurers and their staff from across Southwest Kansas will converge in Liberal for a conference. The Southwest Kansas County Treasurers Association will host its annual conference at the Activity Center, and Seward County Treasurer Mary Rose said the association is made up of offices from 17 counties. “The Kansas County Treasurers Association is all 105 counties, and they’ve divided it up into districts,” she said. “Southwest Kansas is one. They go down the list starting in alphabetical order of who gets to host the county treasurers event for Southwest Kansas. This year, we were asked to host it, [...]

Kansas counties eager for lawmakers to resurrect property tax relief fund

info2023-09-25T13:45:16-05:00September 25th, 2023|

The Legislature’s perennial failure to invest in lowering local property taxes left Miami County with a budget dilemma this year. The sheriff’s office, competing with higher wages for law enforcement in the neighboring Kansas City metro area, was about 20 deputies short of a full staff. Faced with the prospect of raising property taxes to pay for better salaries, Miami County Commissioner Rob Roberts said the question he had to ask was: “Are we going to have law enforcement in Miami County?”... Roberts joined Bruce Chladny, executive director of the Kansas Association of Counties, on the Kansas Reflector podcast to talk [...]

EPA announces new round of WIFIA loans

info2023-09-25T13:44:21-05:00September 25th, 2023|

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced $7.5 billion in available Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) funding. To date, EPA’s WIFIA program has issued $19 billion in loans to help finance 109 projects across the country, creating more than 60,000 jobs. This announcement initiates EPA’s 7th round of WIFIA financing with $6.5 billion available through the WIFIA program and $1 billion available through the State WIFIA (SWIFIA) program, which provides loans exclusively for State infrastructure financing authority borrowers. EPA is currently accepting letters of interest for both WIFIA and SWIFIA loans. Prospective borrowers can also receive technical assistance [...]

Lenexa is building a new $73 million public safety complex

info2023-09-25T13:43:32-05:00September 25th, 2023|

The city of Lenexa is planning another big move. In 2017, the city moved its downtown and city hall to the Lenexa City Center campus at 87th Street Parkway and Renner Boulevard. Next summer, the city’s police department and municipal court will pack up from the 1980s-era complex at West 87th Street and Monrovia Street and head west to the new Lenexa Justice Center, which is now under construction, at Prairie Star Parkway and Britton Street. The new $73 million public safety complex will house the city’s police headquarters, municipal court, and a police training facility. It will also feature a [...]

What’s that smell? Mystery odor pervades in Wichita, but city says air quality is good

info2023-09-25T13:41:57-05:00September 25th, 2023|

Wichitans took to social media on Monday to talk about a mystery odor that apparently started on Sunday. One south Wichita resident on Monday described the smell of oil in a Facebook post comment. “We live in south city and you’re right... it was bad yesterday [Sunday], like an oil spill smell,” the resident said. The city of Wichita said in a Facebook post on Monday that they do not know what is causing the odor, but that it is not negatively affeciting air quality. Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle

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