News – Page 1623 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Lawrence continues to suspend late fees and shut-offs for overdue utility accounts; changes to be considered soon

info2020-09-29T07:36:54-05:00September 29th, 2020|

Lawrence city commissioners will soon consider whether to continue suspending utility late fees and shut-offs for the thousands of Lawrence residents who have gotten behind on their bills during the coronavirus pandemic. The City of Lawrence provides water, sewer, and trash and recycling collection service citywide, and as of Sept. 9, there were about 3,300 active utility accounts with a balance more than 21 days past due, totaling about $944,000 in delinquent payments, according to Finance Director Jeremy Willmoth. Willmoth said the commission would soon decide how long those protections should remain in place and that the city was in the [...]

Douglas County joins new initiative to reduce jail stays, improve connections to care for those with mental illness

info2020-09-29T07:36:42-05:00September 29th, 2020|

Douglas County has joined a new multiyear initiative that aims to measurably reduce jail stays for people with serious mental illness, or SMI, and to track their connections to care. The “nationwide call to action,” called Set, Measure, Achieve, pushes for a 10% annual reduction in jail bookings of people with SMI and a 5% annual reduction in average length of stay, according to a news release from the county. It also calls for a 5% annual reduction in recidivism. The county’s goals for 2021 are to reduce its SMI population in the jail by 1% from 9%, average lengths of [...]

Artisans are without their annual craft and art fairs. Here’s how they’re coping

info2020-09-29T07:31:07-05:00September 29th, 2020|

Autumn doesn’t seem quite the same without the normal rush of festivals and craft fairs, and no one feels that more than the craftspeople who sell their wares at these places. Pandemic cancellations have forced these to creative people to get, well, a little more creative. For many, craft fairs are sideline, a supplemental income. Melanie Harvey spends her days teaching chemistry at Johnson County Community College, but for the past six years, fall weekends have been a time for selling her many ceramic creations at festivals. Source: Joco 913 News

There was no ‘imaginary fence’ keeping coronavirus out of this rural Kansas county

info2020-09-29T07:22:05-05:00September 28th, 2020|

Wallace County is at the western edge of Kansas, on the border with Colorado. It’s the second-least populated county in the state, and for the first half of 2020, life here maintained a sense of normalcy while the rest of world dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. Sure, businesses closed in March and stay-at-home orders went into effect, just like the rest of the state. But by summer, many in Wallace County, population about 1,500, felt it unnecessary to take more severe precautions. Officials voted against enforcing the statewide mask order. Riders competed in an amateur rodeo and the annual county fair went [...]

Health officer in Sedgwick County evaluating health order weekly, business owners hope for fewer restrictions

info2020-09-29T07:22:23-05:00September 28th, 2020|

The chief health officer in Sedgwick County says as the number of positive cases drops the more he is willing to consider relaxing his emergency health order. "It would help a lot," says Amber Eddy, Manager at Emerson Biggins. "It would increase everything." As loud as it may be at Emerson Biggins on gameday one can only assume it would be double that under regular circumstances. "This Friday we had to cut back 50 percent and we had a lot of people waiting out the door and a lot of people waiting to get in," said Eddy. Bars and nightclubs are [...]

From service to social media: Behind the Emporia Police Department viral TikToks

info2020-09-30T07:29:09-05:00September 28th, 2020|

If you've been on TikTok, you may have come across a video from the Emporia Police Department and never realized that it was filmed in your neighborhood. JT Klaurens, the Emporia Police Department officer behind the TikToks hoped the videos break down barriers between law enforcement and the public. "I really don't post much on social media honestly," Klaurens said. The Emporia State University graduate will celebrate his three-year anniversary with the department in January. Klaurens is sharing a part of his day with the world, as long as other fellow officers join him. Source: KSNT News

Shawnee County school enrollment shaping to be down this year, but officials aren’t worried — yet

info2020-09-29T07:22:32-05:00September 28th, 2020|

Student enrollment in Shawnee County school districts fell this year, according to early enrollment numbers from some districts, likely the result of scores of parents opting for homeschooling, virtual school and private school options. Four of the county’s five school districts — Seaman Unified School Disrict 345, Silver Lake USD 372, Auburn-Washburn USD 437 and Topeka USD 501 — reported a combined drop of 829, or 3.38%, students this school year, according to early enrollment data. The data reflects the districts’ headcounts as of Sept. 21, the date the state uses to determine public school funding on a per pupil basis. [...]

Local organizations outline plans for CARES funding

info2020-09-29T07:22:55-05:00September 28th, 2020|

Local organizations detailed how CARES funding will help small businesses stay afloat, and help parents navigate childcare during the pandemic. Commissioners Bill Riphahn, Kevin Cook and Aaron Mays heard from The Greater Topeka Partnership and Child Care Aware on how both organizations plan to disperse the CARES funding that was approved Sept. 17. Glenda Washington, senior vice president of entrepreneurial and minority business development, said the Greater Topeka Partnership has created the Small Business Continuity program. Sixty businesses impacted by COVID-19 will go through "specialized modules," and write continuity plans to maintain "sanity as well as (their) clients" during emergencies like [...]

Sales tax receipts fall in September in Hutchinson and Reno County

info2020-09-29T07:23:18-05:00September 28th, 2020|

The novel coronavirus may have finally struck local tax collections. Both of City of Hutchinson and Reno County experienced significant drops in their respective tax distributions for September compared to both last month and the same month last year. Both online and in-store sales took hits, the data show. Retailers collected the taxes on July sales. Thanks to strong returns over the summer, the city remains ahead of collections compared to the first nine months 2019, while the county fell about a half-percent behind. For September, the city received just over $210,000 in compensating use tax receipts, which are sales taxes [...]

Prairie Village approves residential compost and glass recycling agreements

info2020-09-29T07:23:30-05:00September 28th, 2020|

Prairie Village residents wanting curbside service for glass recycling or composting will have several city-approved companies to choose from. The Prairie Village City Council voted unanimously last week to allow a compost-collection nonprofit and a residential glass-recycling company to provide their services to interested residents and businesses. Westwood-based GlassBandit LLC and KC Can Compost, based in Kansas City, Missouri, will provide discounted services in Prairie Village starting this month in exchange for the city helping to promote their services. Source: Prairie Village Post