News – Page 1291 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Overland Park could see electronic scooters starting this spring with proposed pilot program

info2021-10-29T08:17:21-05:00October 29th, 2021|

Motorized scooters are one step closer to making their way from downtown Kansas City to the Overland Park area. At their Wednesday meeting, the city council’s Public Works Committee recommended the approval of a new resolution that would allow city staff to start negotiations for an e-scooter pilot program with Lime and Bird, two of the biggest players in the emerging e-scooter industry. Both companies have shown interest in bringing their pay-per-ride vehicles to the Johnson County suburbs. Last month, Bird inked a deal with Prairie Village to launch a pilot in that city. Source: Prairie Village Post

‘We have a place for you:’ Johnson County sheriff welcomes unvaccinated officers from other states

info2021-10-29T08:16:34-05:00October 29th, 2021|

The sheriff of Johnson County wants to welcome officers from across the county. In a news release, Sheriff Calvin Hayden said Thursday his office is a safe haven for law enforcement officers in other states who do not want to be required to get a COVID-19 vaccine. “True to our Midwestern values, Johnson County is a place where freedom is valued, and law enforcement is respected. The support our citizens have shown over the last several years has been overwhelming," Hayden said. In August, Johnson County implemented a policy requiring employees to be fully vaccinated or get a weekly COVID-19 test. [...]

Cybersecurity experts release recommendations

info2021-10-29T07:14:33-05:00October 29th, 2021|

A statewide position to coordinate cyber security work across sectors, an emergency plan for potential digital attacks and allowing local governments to tap into state IT contracts are among the initial recommendations released Thursday by a panel of cybersecurity experts asked to evaluate the state’s digital landscape. The report from the task force, created by Gov. Laura Kelly in July, comes as the state’s vulnerabilities to cyber attacks come better into focus, with officials looking at ways to reduce the potential risks of state and local governments to costly attacks. Earlier this month, officials in Pottawatomie County paid out over $72,000 [...]

Municipal Bond Trends for October 28, 2021

info2021-10-29T07:13:28-05:00October 29th, 2021|

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS "investment grade" yields. Every issuer's credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.

New Halstead police officer enjoys serving tight-knit community

info2021-10-29T07:12:45-05:00October 29th, 2021|

Halstead’s newest full-time police officer describes himself as a community-oriented person who wants to do the best job possible to help people. “Building relationships with people in the community and being able to go up and talk to them in a personable manner or almost as a friend instead of as an officer—that’s what I want to do,” Josh Crowe said. “I just want to be embedded in the community and help out as much as possible.” Crowe, whose first day with Halstead P.D. was Sept. 27, said he’s looking forward to meeting more people and building good relationships with them. [...]

Garden City celebrates construction of new shooting range

info2021-10-29T07:12:19-05:00October 29th, 2021|

Bracing against 50-mph wind gusts that stirred up grit and dust, local elected officials, law enforcement and community members met Wednesday afternoon to “break ground” for the new gun range located south of Garden City on Old Highway 83. Construction of the state-of-the-art facility actually began several weeks ago and is well underway. The project is one of four projects included in a sales tax initiative Finney County voters approved in 2017. Source: Greater Garden City » Feed

Lawrence municipal services workers vote to join Teamsters

info2021-10-29T07:10:50-05:00October 29th, 2021|

The 85 workers responsible for Lawrence’s infrastructure, street maintenance, engineering and more have voted by more than a 4-1 margin to unionize with Teamsters Local 696. The City of Lawrence Municipal Services and Operations department follows in the footsteps of sanitation workers, who voted to join the union in August 2020 and ratified their first contract this summer that increases wages and provides strong seniority language, grievance procedures and more, according to a Thursday news release from the union. The MSO workers want better wages, fairer work rules and improved benefits, the release says. Source: The Lawrence Times

Douglas County Commission takes next steps toward repairing, waterproofing historic courthouse

info2021-10-29T07:10:21-05:00October 29th, 2021|

Douglas County commissioners on Wednesday voted unanimously to allow staff to seek out professional design services for a project to waterproof and repair the basement of the historic county courthouse. The project aims to fix the courthouse’s water infiltration issues. The work will involve excavation of the courthouse’s perimeter in order to get to its lowest point, testing and repairing the building’s stones, and adding waterproofing drain tile that would connect to a sump pump to collect and move water away from the building. “Back in 1904, I think when the building was constructed, they didn’t do waterproofing on these types [...]

Johnson County FD#1 acquires 21 Spring Hill firemen in split

info2021-10-29T07:09:46-05:00October 29th, 2021|

Twenty-one SH firemen will be contracted with Johnson County Fire District #1 next month. The change has been in the works about two years, as Overland Park has annexed land in the Spring Hill (JCFD#2) area, the decision was made to split #2 evenly between Overland Park and JCFD#1, which serves the Gardner Edgerton area. Dennis Meyer, fire chief for JCFD#1, said the change will not increase costs to local residents; however, the district will assume 21 Spring Hill employees, and #2 will contract for that management. Source: Gardner News

West Lawrence home gets to keep its artificial palm trees; other homes may get to add them too

info2021-10-28T07:33:45-05:00October 28th, 2021|

Planning and Development Services Director Jeff Crick ... said his office’s original analysis that the city’s land development code prohibits artificial plants from being used to meet the code’s landscape material standards was accurate. However, that code also exempts “detached dwellings” from complying with those landscape standards. “So, that code section would not apply to a residence...” That brings up the question of whether artificial trees are now fair game at homes across the city. The answer is that it depends on location and other factors such as size. But, with the current ruling, there certainly are some opportunities for property [...]