News – Page 1914 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Wichita, Jewish community team up for rare addition to Century II’s holiday light display

info2019-12-15T23:32:00-06:00December 15th, 2019|

The city’s annual holiday display of jolly lighted Christmas characters in front of Century II has always been reliably unchanged: a happy waving snowman, a smiling dragon donning a Santa hat, a rigid saluting soldier. This week, though, the display on Kennedy Plaza got an addition, the first one in years. On Wednesday, city workers put up three new lighted structures — a giant menorah accompanied by two dreidels. The structures, which represent the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, face Douglas on the west side of Century II, sitting just in front of A. Price Woodard Park and just to the east of the Douglas Avenue Bridge. [...]

After nearly a decade, Prairie Village’s ‘Shop with a Cop’ continues to brighten holidays for group of youngsters

info2019-12-16T09:28:38-06:00December 15th, 2019|

Board games, fuzzy socks and Legos filled shopping carts as Prairie Village police officers spread out through the aisles at Target in Mission to bring the holiday spirit to 10 elementary children on Thursday afternoon. The Prairie Village Police Department held its ninth annual “Shop with a Cop” event, which provides children the chance to pick out presents for themselves and their loved ones. This year, each child had a shopping budget of $250. Funds for the event were secured through partnerships across the city, said Prairie Village Police Chief Tim Schwartzkopf. “It gives us an opportunity to give back a [...]

Leawood police help subsidize Ring security camera purchases for 300 residents

info2019-12-16T09:28:51-06:00December 15th, 2019|

As police departments across Johnson County — and the rest of the country — are increasingly turning to footage from private cameras to aid in crime investigations, the city of Leawood recently partnered with Ring, producers of a variety of security products, to make the devices cheaper for a limited number of residents. On Wednesday, Leawood police hosted an event kicking off a program that provided a $100 discount to 300 residents on the purchase of a selection of Ring products, from video doorbells to spotlight cameras to security kits. Leawood residents were lined up at the Lodge at Ironwoods Park [...]

JoCo looks at expanding microtransit to lower income neighborhoods, cutting back on bus routes

info2019-12-16T09:30:55-06:00December 15th, 2019|

Service area for Johnson County’s micro transit pilot program will likely be expanded in coming months to include more low-income neighborhoods. But some of the regular bus routes are still on the chopping block, as the county commission continues to try to figure out how to make the transit system more popular and less expensive. County commissioners, who met for the second time in two months on the subject, agreed that the year-old hail-a-minibus service should include more areas where residents struggle with poverty and don’t have transportation to jobs and medical appointments. But they couldn’t settle on what the balance should [...]

Kansas public schools must snuff out vaping with bans for students — and adults, too

info2019-12-15T23:15:58-06:00December 15th, 2019|

A minute ago, vaping was seen as a great way to quit smoking. But now we know that almost a third of teenagers who use e-cigarettes are smoking cigarettes six months later. And now that we know more, too, about how unhealthy and risky vaping itself is, we agree with the Kansas State Board of Education’s unanimous vote this week to encourage school districts in the state to ban e-cigarettes and all tobacco products. The kind of ban they’re suggesting would apply, just as it should, on all school grounds, in all school vehicles and at all school activities. It would apply not [...]

Study: marjority of farms remain family-owned

info2019-12-15T23:13:39-06:00December 15th, 2019|

U.S. farming, according to a just-released study, remains predominantly family-owned. According to “America’s Diverse Family Farms: 2019 edition,” a report from the USDA’s Economic Research Service that was released Wednesday, family farms as a group represent 98% of U.S. farms and 88% of production in 2018. Approximately 90% of U.S. farms are considered small farms. In 2018, these farms, bringing in less than $350,000 in gross revenue, accounted for 48% of farm acres. Although the majority of farmers reside on small farms and have a large amount of land, their production holds at 21. (Read more: News - Butler County Times [...]

Marion community comes out for firefighter-made food

info2019-12-16T09:31:21-06:00December 15th, 2019|

In addition to the opportunity to ride on Marion Fire Department trucks on Saturday, community members got the chance to sample a variety or food made by the firefighters or their loved ones. “We have all kinds of food. Deer chili, spicy chili, regular chili, chicken noodle soup, ham and potato soup, brownies, cinnamon rolls and more,” said Fire Chief Preston Williams. Donations for the meal will go to purchasing gear for the firefighters. (Read more: Hillsboro Free Press)

New Aquatic Center in Lenexa impresses swimmers

info2019-12-16T09:47:09-06:00December 15th, 2019|

This weekend, Larry and Libby and kids enjoyed the brand new Shawnee Mission School District Aquatic Center, located in the heart of the growing Lenexa City Center neighborhood! This $28 million, 55,000-square-foot aquatic center sits across the street from the Lenexa Rec Center at 87th Street Parkway and Winchester Street. It is a partnership between the Shawnee Mission School District and Johnson County Parks & Recreation District, which operates the facility. The City of Lenexa donated the land to the school district. Across the street is a convenient hotel, a SpringHill Suites, which made the snow storm much more tolerable. For the [...]

$200 million development coming to Gardner, with homes, retail, hotels

info2019-12-13T06:20:52-06:00December 13th, 2019|

A $200 million development — containing three hotels, 367 single-family homes and 424 units of multi-family housing — is coming to the east side of Gardner. Stores, restaurants and offices also are part of the project. The city has approved an agreement with Grata Development to develop the 262-acre site on the southeast corner of 175th Street and Interstate 35. The city annexed the property in September. “This is a true example of a public-private partnership,” Mayor Steve Shute said in the city’s most recent newsletter. “We’ve firmly planted our flag on the east side of I-35, and we expect this [...]

City of Lawrence denies excessive-force claims, states motorist’s conduct led to his being shot by police

info2019-12-12T22:10:20-06:00December 12th, 2019|

The City of Lawrence has denied claims that its police department used excessive force against a motorist who was shot by police and instead claims that the motorist’s conduct led to the incident. Akira S. Lewis was shot by police after a traffic stop turned violent and in September filed a lawsuit claiming that police used excessive force against him and that the city failed to properly train its officers. Lewis filed the lawsuit against the City of Lawrence, the Lawrence Police Department, the police chief and the two officers involved in the traffic stop: former officer Brindley Blood and Officer [...]