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Haven’s recreation department board no longer exists. During the Haven City Council’s special meeting on Feb. 17, City Council Member Nicole Sander introduced a discussion item regarding the city’s recreation department board. She said that, in her research, she had not found a formal ordinance authorizing the creation of the board. Scrutiny towards the rec board from city council was spurred by what City Council Member Corey Brock described as Haven residents’ discontent with the rec’s customer service and a general lack of communication between the rec board and city council. This led to discussion about potentially disbanding the board and [...]

Residents in a small, southwest Kansas town were ordered to evacuate Tuesday afternoon as a large fire from Oklahoma closed in on the town, officials said. The western half of Kansas is under a red flag warning for fire danger because of the high winds. Officials closed I-70 in both directions between Colby and Wakeeny “due to vehicle crashes blocking the roadway and reduced visibility from blowing dust,” a Kansas Department of Transportation news release said. Read more: Wichita Eagle

Topeka led the way for Kansas' permanent common consumption areas. Now over 30 cities offer outdoor drinking districts. Read more: CJonline

The previous goal set a target of having all city facilities powered by renewable energy by 2025 and having 100% of residential and commercial businesses citywide powered by renewable energy by 2035. However, the city has not come close to meeting those goals. It missed the 2025 goal, and only about 3% of its facilities are currently powered by clean energy. Because of this, city sustainability staff suggested repealing the old goal and setting a new goal of climate neutrality. Read more: LJWorld

The city is making temporary changes to its short-term rental rules from May 25 to July 26 ahead of the influx of visitors for the six World Cup matches set to take place in Kansas City. But even with the relaxed rules, code compliance manager Treni Westcott said that renting out a room for any period less than 30 days would require a short-term rental license. Read more: LJWorld

Cyndra Kastens, former city administrator in Anthony, is in her third full week in Valley Center. She was hired in January to replace Brent Clark. "The first two weeks were great," Kastens said. "My priority goal was to meet with all the city directors as well as engineering teams to start getting up to speed on department activities and Valley Center projects." Kastens said the city is prepared to face its challenges. Read more: AV News

Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland today announced two Kansas Main Street communities have been awarded funding through the Residential Opportunities On Main Street (ROOMS) program. Projects in El Dorado and Seneca will receive $50,000 each to create a total of 18 new residential units in the upper floors of downtown buildings. “As we continue expanding the state economy by bringing more businesses and workforce opportunities to rural communities, the need for quality and affordable housing also continues to grow,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “Through the ROOMS program, we are preserving the history of [...]

We’re excited to share a new opportunity for our downtown business community — and we want to make sure this information reaches as many business owners as possible. The Kansas Department of Commerce has released the SIGNS Grant, which helps fund new or upgraded storefront signage for downtown businesses. The City of Coffeyville is preparing an application and is currently identifying interested downtown businesses who would like to participate. Read more: Coffeyville, KS - News Flash

On Monday, the Iola City Council gave final approval to revisions to the transient vendor ordinance. The changes, which were suggested by Council member Joelle Shallah last year, clarify what is considered a local resident for fee purposes. A local resident is defined as a person living in the city limits of Iola and having any trailers or such registered in Allen County with an Iola mailing address. The revisions also include an increase in application fees from $10 to $30 reflecting what the city has to pay the Kansas Bureau of Investigation for background checks required for applicants. This is [...]

Is Kansas the middle of nowhere? A place with nothing to attract people to come, live, work and play? Today we’ll meet a man who was born and raised in the western United States. As he transitioned to work remotely in his career, he has found he can do his work from virtually anywhere — and has chosen to live in rural Kansas.  Mike Ball is a software developer working remotely from Kingman, Kansas. He grew up in Oregon, studied economics at Oregon State, and took training on software programming. He worked in Las Vegas and then Arizona. Ball worked as [...]