News – Page 1222 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Sales tax receipts good omen for local economy

info2022-01-19T22:41:38-06:00January 19th, 2022|

Despite the pandemic, sales tax receipts took a big jump in 2021. That’s good news for local governments, and according to a local economist, it’s a good portent for area businesses, as well. For 2021, sales tax revenue in Harvey County increased 10 percent over 2020 or 12 percent compared to 2019. That number means more money for local cities. Newton received $518,000 more in sales tax receipts this year, for instance. “We did do very well this year, thank goodness,” Newton finance director Donna Pickman stated. The month of December saw an especially large jump in dollars spent, increasing by [...]

City of Moscow is awarded SHAPE Award from Kansas Department of Labor

info2022-01-19T22:31:38-06:00January 19th, 2022|

Moscow has been awarded the SHAPE Award of Kansas from The Kansas Department of Labor. This was the first award given out this year. There have only been seven awards given out in ten years since they started giving them out in 2012. The Kansas Department of Labor makes over 500 visits to public entities a year. Moscow is one of the first in the southwest Kansas area and one of the first small cities to receive it. The Industrial Safety and Health Division recognizes safety conscious employers and employees in the public sector. The Safety and Health Award for Public [...]

Missing councilman forces this Johnson County town to confront an election controversy

info2022-01-19T22:28:03-06:00January 19th, 2022|

A missing Spring Hill city councilman is forcing the small Johnson County town to confront its controversial mayoral election without saying a word. Councilman Steve Owen walked out of the city’s Jan. 10 meeting to protest the appointment of new Mayor Joe Berkey and he hasn’t returned to the dais since — avoiding three special meetings and single-handedly halting the council’s ability to appoint new members to its two vacant seats. Berkey was appointed to fill the mayor’s seat left empty by the abrupt resignation of Tyler Graves, a sitting councilman who won the race for mayor in November but shocked [...]

Goodwill’s zoning lawsuit against Olathe lumbers along

info2022-01-20T07:11:46-06:00January 19th, 2022|

The eventual outcome of a federal lawsuit initiated last year against Olathe could factor into how officials evaluate where future thrift stores can open in the city. Recent months have seen movement in a complaint Goodwill of Western Missouri and Eastern Kansas initiated against Olathe in March in federal court in Kansas. Although the parties did not settle the case at a six-hour mediation session in early December, they agreed to undertake further investigation and reconvene this month "to further explore potential resolutions," attorneys wrote in a recent court filing. In November, the Olathe City Council voted "to proceed with strategies [...]

Kansas’ hunt for mega-manufacturing project inspires unprecedented tax-incentive plan

info2022-01-19T22:20:24-06:00January 19th, 2022|

The state of Kansas is among two finalists for a massive, advanced manufacturing facility capable of creating 4,000 permanent jobs and injecting more than $2.5 billion annually into the economy. The Kansas Department of Commerce offered that tantalizing information during a Senate committee hearing about creation of an extraordinary property, sales and income tax incentive program open to companies making a minimum $1 billion investment in the state over a five-year period. There was no disclosure of the prospective company or the county that could host the manufacturing facility due to confidentiality agreements. Another provision in the Attracting Powerful Economic Expansion [...]

Sedgwick County Commissioners OK COVID vaccination mandate; it’s jab or job for county health workers

info2022-01-20T07:12:45-06:00January 19th, 2022|

Most workers in the county’s health and mental health departments will have to be vaccinated for COVID-19 or face possible firing, the Sedgwick County Commission decided Wednesday. The county employees will have until Feb. 28 to become fully vaccinated with the two-dose Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson jab. The vaccine mandate for public-facing health care workers is required by the federal government and if the county doesn’t comply, it could lose more than $11 million in federal Medicare and Medicaid funding, officials said. Source: Wichita Eagle

Parsons takes action on vicious dog rule

info2022-01-20T07:13:40-06:00January 19th, 2022|

Parsons city commissioners Tuesday approved an ordinance — with some additions — regarding vicious dogs and animals. The ordinance allows an animal control officer to impound an animal pending the determination of being declared vicious, allows an animal that bites or attacks a human or another domestic animal to be declared vicious and specifies the procedure to do that. It also requires an owner to pay vet fees associated within three days of the rabies vaccination period and further defines a crime of harboring a vicious animal. Source: Parsons Sun

Chetopa reviews post office flooding issue

info2022-01-20T07:14:48-06:00January 19th, 2022|

The Chetopa City Council discussed post office flooding ... at its most recent meeting Jan. 4. City Clerk Toni Crumrine said she was contacted about water pooling in the back door of the post office in Chetopa. When crews overlaid the alley by the building, it caused this water issue. Doug Moses dug a partial trench to move the water away from the door, officials said. The council members discussed this topic further. In the end, Mayor Tammy Bushong and Police Chief Scott Feagan said they would look into this situation further. Source: Parsons Sun

Mayor, fire chief reassure county on EMS services

info2022-01-20T07:15:20-06:00January 19th, 2022|

Steve French remembers answering the phone when he was a child. His parents ran the ambulance service out of Moran, and he would sometimes answer the telephone when calls came. He remembers a call concerning a heart attack. The ambulance arrived within minutes, but the man passed away. “I remember as a 10-year-old, hearing her cry and the trauma of her pain,” French said. “So I’ve always been in tune to those concerns. If a call goes out, I want to make sure we are there.” French, who recently took office as Iola mayor, met with Allen County commissioners Tuesday morning [...]

Marysville police department continues efforts for national accreditation

info2022-01-20T07:16:26-06:00January 19th, 2022|

Progress toward accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies continues, Marysville Police Sgt. Anthony Escalante told the Marysville Council Jan. 10 in an update on the process. “We’re coming up on a pretty exciting time for our CALEA accreditation projects,” Escalante said. He said CALEA benefits to police here include continuous assessment, reports to make informed management decisions and best practices to limit liability and risk exposure. CALEA was launched in 1979 and is considered the gold standard in the development and application of public safety standards in the United States, as well as internationally. Source: The Marysville [...]