News – Page 2139 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Reno County Commission gives letter of support to day care facility to open in old Buhler elementary school

info2019-05-08T07:01:15-05:00May 8th, 2019|

Something that the Buhler school district has been wanting to do with an old elementary school has gained support from the Reno County Commission. The commission approved a letter of support for the proposed Obee Day Care Center and the issuance of tax credits to make the necessary capital improvements to turn the old school into a day care. School officials believe the school would be a good place to have such a facility. Officials were not able to sell the property after the school closed a couple of years ago. Commission Chairman Bob Bush and Commissioner Ron Hirst stated their [...]

Saline County hires Emergency Management Director

info2019-05-08T06:59:43-05:00May 8th, 2019|

Saline County has hired Michelle Barkley to be its next Emergency Management Director. She will begin her new position May 13. Barkley graduated from Kansas Wesleyan University with a degree in Emergency Management and minors in Criminal Justice and Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Barkley has helped develop emergency plans for the North Central Kansas Healthcare Coalition and Salina Regional Health Center. She has also worked with Dane County Emergency Management in Wisconsin. (Read more: News - Salina Journal)

Utility rates to be discussed in work session tonight at Newton City Hall

info2019-05-08T06:57:07-05:00May 8th, 2019|

For those who get fired up or are curious about local utility rates, tonight they will have the opportunity to see the subject discussed by the City Commission at a work session tonight at 7 p.m. at City Hall. City commission members requested the work sessions following feedback from citizens in February over utility rates. “Work sessions give the commission a chance to discuss issues more in-depth outside the regular meeting time,” City public information officer Erin McDaniel said The discussion is part of a larger three-month set of work sessions discussing the city’s future budgeting. A proposed budget is set [...]

With new apartment buildings set to open, Overland Park will launch pilot program on multi-family recycling

info2019-05-08T06:55:05-05:00May 8th, 2019|

Overland Park is taking a serious look at whether apartment and other multi-family project owners should be required to provide their residents with recycling. The city council voted Monday to begin a one-year pilot project to explore the pros and cons, just as some of the first apartments in the downtown building boom are beginning to be occupied. Currently Lenexa is the only city in the metro area that requires apartment buildings to recycle. But not much data is available because Lenexa does not have a dedicated effort to oversee compliance, according to Overland Park document about the project. (Read more: [...]

Parsons City Commissioners agree to pursue $25M road grant

info2019-05-08T06:46:15-05:00May 8th, 2019|

Parsons will spend $30,000 for assistance in designing a proposed $25 million highway project that would use federal funds. After discussing the details of the proposal in a Thursday work session, city commissioners quickly approved an agreement with transportation planning and engineering firm TranSystems on Monday evening. TranSystems will assist the city in applying for a grant of up to $25 million, the maximum amount allowed for cities, through the federal BUILD program. BUILD stands for Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development. The plan as it stands now calls for widening of North 16th Street to four lanes from south of [...]

Extra penny of sales tax OK’d for Wanamaker retail district

info2019-05-08T06:44:15-05:00May 8th, 2019|

The company that owns multiple retail properties at the southeast corner of S.W. 17th and Wanamaker Road will be allowed to raise the sales tax customers pay there by 1 cent, and to use the revenue to help finance renovation costs. Topeka governing body members voted 8-2 Tuesday evening to establish a community improvement district covering those properties owned by Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Equity Investment Group Wanamaker LLC. Tuesday’s move levies a 1 percent tax on retail sales and services within the district involved. The tax will be in effect for as long as 22 years, with revenues reimbursing private investment [...]

More than 200 protest petitions filed against NextEra plan by Tuesday’s deadline

info2019-05-08T06:42:19-05:00May 8th, 2019|

More than 200 protest petitions were filed by Tuesday’s 5 p.m. deadline in opposition to NextEra Energy’s proposed wind farm in southeast Reno County, incliuding a 2-inch thick stack submitted last Friday. Officials in the Reno County Clerk’s office, where the petition was filed, estimated the initial filing included some 350 pages. That is because each petition required a legal description of the property, as well as signatures of all owners of the individual parcel, so many of the petitions were multiple pages. More petitions trickled in individually Monday and Tuesday, and then another half-inch stack was submitted as a packet [...]

Drainage District ballot floats to victory in Reno County

info2019-05-08T06:40:50-05:00May 8th, 2019|

On a day when thunderstorms and flooding affected the region, voters in Reno County Drainage District No. 3 emphatically said yes to a potentially higher mill levy to fund operations, infrastructure, and maintenance of a levee system. The unofficial tally from Tuesday’s special election in Haven showed 24 voted yes for greater taxing authority. Not a single voter checked no. State statute limits a drainage district’s general fund levy to five mills. For years, however, Drainage District No. 3 has well exceeded that cap, with the board unaware it needed voter authorization. It was only when district officials began asking how [...]

Greensburg Municipal Airport celebrates grand opening

info2019-05-08T06:38:35-05:00May 8th, 2019|

More than 40 mph wind gusts blew across Kiowa County on Thursday, April 25, 2019 but that didnt stop the Greensburg from marking an historic day for rural western Kansas. City and state leaders cut a ribbon for the Grand Opening of the Greensburg Municipal Airport despite that fact that the wind did stop three different airplanes from flying in to the new airport as part of the planned ceremony. According to a feasibility study done by KDOT Aviation, an airport in the Greensburg area is needed to serve Kiowa County’s almost 3,000 residents. The local economies and small businesses of [...]

Topeka Metro bus wrap celebrates 65th anniversary of Brown v. Board

info2019-05-08T06:36:35-05:00May 8th, 2019|

A Topeka Metro bus is being transformed into a moving mural that will celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Brown v Board of Education Supreme Court case. The bus wrap features artwork from the Brown v. Board mural that was completed this past summer on the south side of a building at S.E. 15th and Monroe. The mural’s location is across the street from the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site. Work on applying the Brown v. Board bus wrap was taking place on Tuesday morning in a maintenance facility at the Topeka Transit location at 201 N. Kansas [...]