He was nervous about returning to the courthouse following Sunday’s earthquake, based on the severity of the event and the damage done by a similar quake in August. Reno County Maintenance Director Harlan Depew, however, said the quake – rated a magnitude 4.6 by the Kansas Geological Survey – appeared to have had little new impact on the 90-year-old building. “There are a few items still being evaluated, to figure out the extent of it,” Depew said, such as the main courthouse elevator now out of service because counterweights in the elevator “jumped the track.” “It took significant movement to cause [...]

The Hutchinson City Council voted 5-0 Tuesday to contribute $50,000 toward converting a New Beginnings Inc.-owned building into a social detox and inpatient treatment center for people with addictions. New Beginnings will ask for a matching $50,000 from Reno County during the Feb. 4 Reno County Commission meeting.The Hutchinson-based social services housing agency needs approximately $200,000 to improve Meadowlark Commons... (Read more: Local - The Hutchinson News)

Hutchinson city manager John Deardoff has about 10 weeks remaining on the job, and “front and center” as he wraps up work is a hotel/convention center — or rather lack of one — in Hutchinson. The Atrium Hotel and Conference Center, 1400 N. Lorraine St., closed its doors Dec. 20. Deardoff learned of the closing from the media, but it was “underperforming for years,” he said, so the closing was not a complete surprise. The shutdown occurred, however, before a clear strategy had emerged from City Hall for an alternative hotel/convention center. “This is really frustrating for me,” Deardoff said in [...]