info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Johnson County commission OKs several housing affordability measures

info2023-06-09T08:22:22-05:00June 9th, 2023|

County commissioners on Thursday okayed a proposal to spend $950,000 in federal pandemic relief money toward a unique Habitat for Humanity development of 20 yet-to-be-built homes in Olathe that will be available to low-income buyers for 99 years and beyond. It’s one of a slate of new measures the county is trying to enact to chip away at persistent housing affordability concerns. The Habitat Olathe Pathway project at 159th Street and Blackbob Road will allow eligible applicants to own and collect partial equity on their home structures, while the land remains in a trust so that the homes can continue to [...]

Overland Park says backyard chicken pilot has been success so far

info2023-06-09T08:13:10-05:00June 9th, 2023|

A two-year test program that allows Overland Park residents with at least a quarter acre of land to keep chickens has so far been a success, according to the city department that oversees it. As the program approaches its ending date December 31, the city animal control department noted there have been no documented complaints on properties with chicken permits since the pilot began in March 2022. City councilmembers now will begin to consider whether to make the chicken rules permanent, as some members of the council’s Community Development Committee proposed at a meeting Wednesday. Source: Prairie Village Post

USD 383 board holds discussion with RCPD leadership regarding future use of SROs

info2023-06-08T11:16:32-05:00June 8th, 2023|

The Manhattan-Ogden School Board held a conversation Wednesday about the role of school resource officers (SRO’s) and the potential for adding officers at each of the two middle schools. Riley County Police Department officials including Director Brian Peete, Captain Greg Steere and resource officer Sonia Gregoire, joined in the conversation. Director Peete noted one of the most important jobs SROs have is building relationships in the schools. RCPD currently employs two resource officers, both at Manhattan High School. Board members have expressed interest in two more officers to be placed at Anthony and Eisenhower Middle Schools. Source: 1350 KMAN

City Commission sends rezoning request back to Urban Area Planning Board

info2023-06-08T11:15:03-05:00June 8th, 2023|

During their Tuesday meeting, Manhattan City Commissioners voted to return a rezoning request for 407 Pottawatomie Avenue back to the Manhattan Urban Area Planning Board for further consideration. The request from Midwest Concrete Materials failed to earn approval from the Manhattan Urban Area Planning Board in a three to three vote during their May 25th meeting. MCM Owner Chris Eichman told commissioners the company hopes to rezone the approximately 1.22 acre tract of land for business commercial use and construct a training center. Source: 1350 KMAN

Cemeteries, the history book of every town

info2023-06-08T11:00:34-05:00June 8th, 2023|

Cemeteries are on my mind a lot lately, due to the time of the year I suppose, although I tend to think about them often. I sometimes watch videos on how to clean headstones and about people who repair headstones that have fallen over, I research people and photograph headstones for others. Before my dad passed, my family would sometimes ask why I spent so much time in our cemetery. It seemed odd to them. The answer is simple. It’s the history. It’s only been in the last couple of years that I have realized that I’m the type of person [...]

Short-term rental program approved

info2023-06-08T10:58:55-05:00June 8th, 2023|

The Great Bend City Council Monday night approved a short-term rental ordinance aimed at making it easier for a property owner to operate an Airbnb-type business by creating and implementing a licensing and inspection program. This covers properties rented to transient occupants for periods of less than 30 days so as to “minimize the adverse effects of short-term rental uses on surrounding residential properties and neighborhoods, and to preserve the character, integrity, and stability of residential neighborhoods in which short-term rental properties are located,” Interim City Administrator Logan Burns said. This is not intended to regulate hotels, motels, lodging houses or hospitals. [...]

Wichita Fire Department K-9 retiring after 8.5 years

info2023-06-08T10:56:49-05:00June 8th, 2023|

Wichita Fire Department K-9 Buddy is retiring after 8.5 years of service and is also celebrating his 10th birthday. The department said on Facebook that Buddy joined the WFD when he was just 18 months old and has responded to hundreds of fires in the Wichita area and large incidents in other states, including the 2020 riots in Minnesota and a double-homicide investigation on a reservation in Oklahoma. Buddy is a Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Accelerant Detection Canine (ATF ADC) who has trained 365 days a year, WFD's post says. "Buddy possesses a rare certification that sets him [...]

Former Hillsboro administrator remembered

info2023-06-08T10:55:18-05:00June 8th, 2023|

Hillsboro council members who worked with longtime city administrator Larry Paine, whose funeral service was today, lauded Paine’s accomplishments during his 12 years at the helm of the city. Paine fought cancer from January 2018 until after he announced his resignation effective June 2020. He was Hillsboro city administrator the final years of a 47-year career in city administration. Mayor Lou Thurston took office two weeks before Paine was found to have cancer after collapsing on the steps of the statehouse. Source: HILLSBORO Star-Journal

Sedgwick County looking to build new emergency management building

info2023-06-08T10:54:30-05:00June 8th, 2023|

When disaster hits, the command center for Sedgwick County’s Emergency Management Department becomes the hub for first responder's response coordination. However there is a problem. While there's room inside for staff, the department doesn’t really have the space to store their supplies and equipment. Sedgwick County Assistant Manager Rusty Leeds explains, “as we went through the pandemic, and then more recently, we had a tornado and then looking back over the past few years, several years actually, emergency management has not had adequate space to maintain supplies for disaster preparedness and response.” Source: KAKE - News

Hotel Topeka auction ends, sells to new owner

info2023-06-08T10:47:16-05:00June 8th, 2023|

The online auction for Hotel Topeka has concluded and it has a new owner. Ten-X hosted the online auction which began Monday, June 6 with a starting bid of $2 million. Bidding appeared to end at $7.5 million Wednesday afternoon and ramped up in the final minutes of the auction, before the listing was removed. The City of Topeka's governing body discussed strategies on how to pay for the hotel at its Tuesday night meeting, after it expressed interest on bidding in late May. Source: KSNT 27 News

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