info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Promise and challenges face mental health hospital slated for Wichita

info2023-03-09T18:46:58-06:00March 9th, 2023|

It’s not entirely clear when or where it will be constructed, or exactly how big it will be. But a state mental health hospital is coming to Wichita. A $15 million infusion approved by the Kansas State Finance Council this past December will bring a state-run institution with at least 50 beds to add capacity and reduce the wait for services. The county plans to request another $25 million from COVID-19 relief funds recently made available by the state. A decision on that money should come by the end of March. Source: KLC Journal

Amid housing crunch, KS lawmakers want to expand rural incentive program to big cities

info2023-03-09T18:46:00-06:00March 9th, 2023|

Scattered across Wyandotte County are more than 12,000 vacant lots, a figure driven in part by past demolition, white flight and westward expansion of Kansas City, Kansas. Kansas lawmakers want to build homes on some of those lots again. The Kansas Senate passed a bill last week that would expand the state’s Rural Housing Incentive District program to cities with at least 60,000 residents, a group that includes Wichita, Kansas City, Kansas, and Overland Park, among others. The legislation, approved on a bipartisan 30-6 vote, would allow cities to issue bonds and divert future tax revenue to help pay for the [...]

Lenexa bans community storm shelters in new neighborhoods

info2023-03-09T18:45:37-06:00March 9th, 2023|

Lenexa will require new homes to have storm shelters attached, eliminating the use of community storm shelters going forward in traditional single-family home neighborhoods. Earlier this week, the Lenexa City Council unanimously adopted the code change. It applies only to single-family homes and duplexes. Community storm shelters will still be allowed in new apartment and townhome developments. The move was prompted by a new planned subdivision in the western part of the city, Stone Ridge North, which has been designed with nearly 500 housing units and seven community group shelters among them. Source: Shawnee Mission Post

Prairie Village to put license plate readers and traffic cameras at 25+ intersections

info2023-03-09T18:45:19-06:00March 9th, 2023|

Most of Prairie Village’s busiest intersections will soon have both license plate readers and traffic cameras watching them, in a new initiative funded with federal dollars. The Prairie Village Police Department worked with Kansas’s two U.S. senators, Republicans Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran, to apply to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services’s technology community project funding program. Prairie Village Police Chief Byron Roberson said his department asked for — and got — $638,000 to fully build out the city’s license plate reader and traffic camera system. Source: Shawnee Mission Post

Officer receives medical treatment after dog bites

info2023-03-09T00:33:18-06:00March 9th, 2023|

A Newton Police Officer was bitten twice attempting to remove a dog from another person’s yard. The incident happened in the 1200 Block of N. Madison around 1:35 p.m. Sunday, March 5. “There was a hole in the fence,” Powell said, saying the dog was described as a large rottweiler. “It got into the neighbor’s yard.” While the officer was trying to get the dog out of the yard, it bit him twice on the calf of his leg and the hand. The dog then ran back to its house. Powell said the officer was treated for his injuries. Source: Harvey [...]

Barton County eying novel sales tax plan

info2023-03-09T08:13:45-06:00March 9th, 2023|

When District 2 Barton County Commissioner Barb Esfeld floated an “outside-the-box” idea on lowering county property taxes at a meeting in Topeka Tuesday, mouths were agape as it soaked in for those present. The suggestion, first proposed by Barton County Administrator Matt Patzner, involves implementing a county-wide 1% sales tax solely dedicated to offsetting the strain on the mill levy. Sales taxes are paid by everyone who spends money in the county and many consider it a more fair tax. ... cities and counties are governed by different “home rule” guidelines. These cover the extent to which these units of government [...]

Sedgwick County Commission approves agreement for semiconductor plant

info2023-03-09T08:15:15-06:00March 9th, 2023|

Sedgwick County commissioners voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve an incentive agreement for a Kansas company that plans to build a new advanced semiconductor manufacturing facility. Integra Technologies recently announced plans to build a 1-million-square-foot plant near K-254 and Rock Road in Bel Aire. The company plans to invest close to $2 billion and it will apply for federal funding under the CHIPS Act to help with the project. The company is looking to create close to 2,000 new jobs and there is expected to be another 3,100 jobs for suppliers, construction and other services. Source: 101.3 KFDI

Kansas House agrees to raise legal smoking age to 21

info2023-03-09T00:27:08-06:00March 9th, 2023|

The Kansas House passed legislation on March 2 to raise the legal age for tobacco products from 18 to 21. House Bill 2269 – which applies to the sale, purchase or possession of cigarette and tobacco products – would bring Kansas into compliance with federal law. The House granted initial approval after a brief debate, then declared an emergency in order to take immediate final action. Source: Derby Informer | Area

A zoning success story

info2023-03-09T08:17:17-06:00March 9th, 2023|

Barton County commissioners Wednesday morning hailed the resolution of Larry and Sheree Marshall’s conditional use permit and zoning requests to operate an auto salvage-towing business west of Great Bend as one of the county’s proudest moments from last year. “It was it was a tough year last year for all of us, everyone at the county level,” said Environmental Manager Judy Goreham of what was a long and emotional process. “And I really feel like this was a success story.” ... “This was one of the resolutions where we had a laundry list of conditions,” she said. In all, there were [...]

No deal: City of Lawrence, developers reach ‘mutual impasse’ on proposed site of Pallet Shelter Village

info2023-03-09T08:18:04-06:00March 9th, 2023|

Plans for development of a site near 18th and Haskell for a temporary modular home village for people experiencing homelessness have come to a halt, a developer says. Tony Krsnich, one of the owners of the site at 800 Lynn St., said Wednesday that he was in discussions with the city, but “those discussions are now over.” “We look forward to continuing to work with with the City of Lawrence. (We) absolutely love Lawrence, and continue to stand behind all ranges of housing, affordable and market rate; historic preservation,” Krsnich said. “And we had a very positive end to these negotiations, [...]

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