News – Page 2114 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Farmers need aid, but Kansas congressman defends House Republicans who blocked it

info2019-05-30T15:20:51-05:00May 30th, 2019|

Rep. Roger Marshall toured farms damaged by floods in his district this week, but the Kansas Republican still defended moves by two of his House GOP colleagues that delayed those farms from getting federal aid. Kansas and other Midwestern states have been besieged with flooding in recent weeks. During a call with reporters, Marshall said Thursday that he saw animals on Kansas farms that looked like they were lining up for Noah’s Ark. He said that many farmers can’t make decisions about planting until Congress passes a long-delayed $19 billion disaster relief bill. However, he defended the actions of two GOP [...]

Advisory board: Don’t name officers involved in shootings

info2019-05-30T14:20:48-05:00May 30th, 2019|

A public advisory board in Wichita is now recommending that officers involved in shootings should not be named, citing worries about possible death threats to the families of the officers. The Citizen Review Board has changed its position after previously suggesting that police create a new policy where names would generally be released. The new recommendation came after Police Chief Gordon Ramsay raised concerns about officer safety. (Read more: Hays Post)

Capturing a life that changed a city

info2019-05-30T14:20:05-05:00May 30th, 2019|

A teenaged Emerson Carey walked to Hutchinson in 1880 from McPherson County because he didn’t have the money to buy a railroad ticket. By the time he died in 1933, Carey was a millionaire who had helped shape Hutchinson - and beyond - as an industrialist, state legislator, and philanthropist. The location of the Hutchinson airport, the creation of the housing area Careyville, the genesis of Willowbrook, the mausoleum at Fairlawn Cemetery, the state law declaring Hutchinson the home of the State Fair, the site of Carey Park - all are linked to Carey. He also figures in the history of [...]

Kansas A to Z: ‘A’ is for Amelia Earhart Festival

info2019-05-30T14:19:26-05:00May 30th, 2019|

Each July, thousands of people flock to Atchison for the Amelia Earhart Festival, named in honor of the legendary aviatrix and Atchison native. And while the festival, set for its 23rd year July 19 and 20, includes music, food, crafts, children’s activities, a carnival, fireworks and more to appeal to every member of the family, the primary mission continues to be to honor the memory of Earhart, who was born July 24, 1897, in Atchison. “We are constantly trying to make things better and now, as we look at new and different things, we’re trying to focus more on what we [...]

Hays’ first citywide garage sale draws significant interest

info2019-05-30T14:18:52-05:00May 30th, 2019|

The first Hays citywide garage sale is scheduled for this weekend and the community has embraced the event, with sales planned across the community. Event organizer Laurie Mortinger said she wanted to organize the event in Hays after seeing successful events elsewhere. “I know a lot of people that go to garage sales, and a lot of people that have them, and we thought we go out of town, and we go to those sales all the time in the surrounding communities they are kind of fun,” she said. “You take a day and go out and eat with the girls, [...]

Pittsburg City Commissioners debate differences between city ordinance and website wording

info2019-05-30T08:30:35-05:00May 30th, 2019|

For the second meeting in a row, the Pittsburg City Commission on Tuesday discussed the differences between the wording of its street maintenance sales tax ordinance, and the description of the sales tax on the city’s website. “The revenue from said sales tax shall be used to pay for the maintenance and repair of city streets, and not to exceed Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) annually to pay for a sidewalk repair matching fund for property owners,” states the text of Ordinance No. S-1048, passed in July, 2017. The tax “shall be used to maintain and repair city streets, and shall expire [...]

Hillsboro’s Larry Paine receives Kansas Municipal Utilities Schowalter Award

info2019-05-30T08:27:29-05:00May 30th, 2019|

Colin Hansen, Executive Director of Kansas Municipal Utilities, presented the award to Larry Paine. Hillsboro City Administrator Larry Paine was presented with the 2019 Edgar P. Schowalter Award by Kansas Municipal Utilities (KMU), the statewide association of municipally-owned and operated electric, gas, water and wastewater utilities in Kansas. Paine was presented the award, the highest honor provided by the state association at the KMU 2019 Conference in Wichita on May 9, 2019. The award is given annually to a manager, employee, or policymaker from one of KMU’s member municipal utilities. Larry Paine has left a lasting legacy while continuing to innovate [...]

JoCo mental health experts say they can’t meet demand till private insurance pays more

info2019-05-30T08:26:42-05:00May 30th, 2019|

Johnson County mental health officials — facing what they say is the highest suicide rate in any county in Kansas — told U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids on Wednesday they need private insurers to pay more for treatment, especially outpatient care. Erin Dugan, the president and CEO of the KidsTLC treatment center in Olathe, told Davids that Medicaid pays more for those services than the private sector — something that’s almost unheard of in the physical health realm. “You cannot even break even in this industry (on private insurance rates), and as a nonprofit that’s all we want to do. We don’t [...]

Reno County receives $3.3 million in budget proposals from outside agencies

info2019-05-30T08:25:03-05:00May 30th, 2019|

Eight agencies that receive funding from Reno County made pitches Tuesday for increases in their budgets for next year totaling more than $400,000. One agency, Reno County Emergency Medical Services, accounted for more than 80 percent of the proposed hikes, primarily for new ambulances. At least three, however, asked for extra dollars to expand staff. Commission chairman Bob Bush opened the afternoon meeting noting it was unlikely the county would fund all the additional requests. Though commissioners had questions for some of the presenters, none indicated what they thought of the proposals or which might receive support. (Read more: News - [...]

Tornado that hit Douglas County rated an EF-4, stayed on ground for 31 miles

info2019-05-30T08:24:13-05:00May 30th, 2019|

When Lanae LaBonte called her in-laws Tuesday evening to check on them before a tornado touched down in south Lawrence, her father-in-law, Mike LaBonte, said it was “no big deal, I’m just sitting here eating ice cream.” About 10 minutes after convincing her in-laws to head to their basement closet, Lanae’s mother-in-law, Karen LaBonte, called her son, Brad, and Lanae and said she didn’t think there was anything left of the house. ″(Karen) said she looked out the closet and all she could see was blue sky,” Lanae LaBonte said. The LaBonte family’s house took a direct hit about 6 p.m. [...]