info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office buys new $2.5M airplane you’ll probably never want to ride in

info2023-05-16T10:29:56-05:00May 16th, 2023|

As the sheriff of the Air Capital of the World, one of the most important and little-known tools for Jeff Easter's department is its own private airplane, and it's time to make a big upgrade. "The Sheriff's Office here has had an airplane since the late 70s," said Easter. In 1987, the department flew a Cessna T210, but its needs quickly outgrew what the small plane could do. So, in 1991, it upgraded to a Cessna C340A. Just six years later, the department traded up again for the airplane it still flies today – the Commander 690-A. Source: KAKE - News

Rural electric co-ops to get $10.7B in USDA funds for clean energy grants, loans

info2023-05-16T10:28:41-05:00May 16th, 2023|

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin to administer two loan and grant programs worth nearly $11 billion to boost clean energy systems in rural areas, administration officials said Tuesday. Congress approved the federal spending — $9.7 billion for a grant and loan program the department is calling the New Empowering Rural America program, or New ERA, and $1 billion for a Powering Affordable Clean Energy program that will provide partly forgivable loans — in the energy, health and taxes law Democrats passed last summer. Source: Kansas Reflector

Pittsburg gives housing vouchers to those facing homelessness

info2023-05-16T10:24:16-05:00May 16th, 2023|

The Pittsburg Housing Authority was chosen to receive some additional funds to provide support for those facing homelessness. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded $43 million to 62 agencies throughout the country, for "stability vouchers" to address unsheltered and rural homelessness. The Pittsburg Housing Authority received five Stability Vouchers to help those individuals and families obtain permanent housing. The total amount of the vouchers depends on the number of people living in the household. Source: KSNF/KODE

Officials predict record wheat shortage for Kansas

info2023-05-16T10:23:24-05:00May 16th, 2023|

There has been an abundance of rain in this past week, but has it been enough to save the state's wheat after last month's drought? The Kansas Wheat Commission is starting it's Wheat Tour across the state Tuesday, May 16 and top leaders tell KSNT 27 News that they expect the smallest crop in 60 years. The commission will embark on a two day tour across the state, making over 500 different stops at different wheat fields across Kansas, to determine what this year's crop may look like. Due to the drought, they expect to find a small crop, and even [...]

Johnson County chair wants citizen panels on diversity, sustainability

info2023-05-16T10:22:28-05:00May 16th, 2023|

A proposal to create new citizen advisory groups on diversity and sustainability are moving forward after county commissioners last week discussed – sometimes testily – how they should be set up. The groups, which will be called coalitions rather than committees, were requested by Chairman Mike Kelly and are intended to bring in opinions and expertise from the community. Each group would have up to 15 members, appointed by Kelly pending approval from the rest of the commission. Source: Shawnee Mission Post

Abbyville Frontier Days PRCA Rodeo to begin

info2023-05-15T13:38:21-05:00May 15th, 2023|

The Abbyville, Kansas, hometown rodeo is about as American as apple pie. With 17 flavors of homemade pies, including apple, lots of home-cooked barbecue and cowboys and cowgirls from across the nation competing, this central Kansas rodeo packs the bleachers each night. “They make over 100 pies and 17 different flavors,” said Jeff Welker, the treaurer of the board for the rodeo. “If they don’t have your flavor, then I want to know what it is.” This year’s Abbyville Frontier Days and PRCA Rodeo begins at 8 p.m. May 19 and 20. Mutton Bustin’, for the 3 to 6year-old crowd, starts [...]

Winfield may shorten time for holding stray animals

info2023-05-15T13:12:45-05:00May 15th, 2023|

Request made due to shelter overcrowding. Winfield City Commissioners will consider a request from the Cowley County Humane Society to reduce the number of days stray animals must be held by the shelter before they can be put up for adoption, in response to ongoing capacity challenges at the humane society. The State of Kansas requires municipalities to hold stray animals for a minimum of three days before they can be released if an owner is not located. Winfield’s current ordinance states animals impounded by the city animal control officer must be held for five days. If they are not claimed [...]

Dancing with a fading past: Why hundreds flock to tiny Kansas town on Saturday nights

info2023-05-15T13:24:55-05:00May 15th, 2023|

While the fiddle player sawed off the dizzy opening notes of Bob Wills’ “Take Me Back to Tulsa” on the stage in the back room, Charles Blagg was browsing the refreshments cooler up near the checkout counter. It was a rainy Saturday night in April, and in a few hours, Blagg — 78, with a white Stetson to match his mustache — would be driving not quite to Tulsa but to his home outside Nowata, Oklahoma, about 110 miles south. He’s made the four-hour round trip to The Mildred Store several times over the past few years. The century-old general store [...]

Kelly Signs Bill to Attract Healthcare Professionals to Rural Kansas

info2023-05-15T13:25:54-05:00May 15th, 2023|

Governor Kelly signed a bipartisan bill that will provide students with medical school financial assistance. House Bill 2060 expands financial aid programs through the University of Kansas School of Medicine (KUMC) for students who practice primary care medicine or psychiatry in rural Kansas. The bill doubles the number of available agreements for KUMC students for the Kansas Medical Student Loan program and adds obstetrics-gynecology to the list of allowable practice areas. Source: 101.3 KFDI

Wichita Fire Department recommends city remove 6-foot firework height limit, legalizing most consumer-grade products in city limits

info2023-05-15T13:27:55-05:00May 15th, 2023|

Believe it or not, the Fourth of July is less than two months away, and people are already making plans and saving up for those fireworks. But this year, the Wichita Fire Department is hoping to convince the city to change its laws, making it much less strict on what you can legally shoot in city limits. ... "We came up with the possibility of a two-phase process for the next couple of years. But the first phase that we just proposed is allowing aerial fireworks," said [Jose Ocadiz with the Wichita Fire Department]. Ocadiz says the department put together a [...]

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