News – Page 2149 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Overland Park Orchestra, set to perform season’s final concert, a little-known secret

info2019-04-29T10:05:38-05:00April 29th, 2019|

For 46 years, the Overland Park Orchestra has been striking a chord in Johnson County. The symphonic group will play its last concert of the season May 5. Featured in the concert is a new work, “Cassini Overture,” by Timothy Rolls, an assistant professor of music at Fort Hays State University. It will have its world premiere the day before in Hays, but the Overland Park Orchestra got the chance to give it a Kansas City area premiere because conductor Shah Sadikov commissioned it for the Hays Symphony Orchestra. “This is a great opportunity for the orchestra. It’s always super exciting [...]

Ecotourism benefits ranchers, communities and prairie chickens

info2019-04-29T06:55:04-05:00April 29th, 2019|

The birdwatcher set her eyes upon the lesser prairie chicken for the first time and her eyes lit up. She was looking at a creature she thought she might never see. The tourists — known as birders — headed out from Scott City before the sun rose that morning, wheels pointed toward the Hoeme family ranch. The lesser prairie chickens were already conversing in their unique chatter as the group settled into the blind. Hunting has long drawn outsiders to Kansas, but wildlife like the lesser prairie chicken offers a new style of outdoor tourism. “Kansas has the market cornered on [...]

Pawnee County, McNett sued by former county official

info2019-04-29T06:52:57-05:00April 29th, 2019|

A Pawnee County Health Administrator who accused the county of mishandling grant dollars, and who notified the Kansas Department of Health and Environment about her concerns, was fired by the county in 2017 and now has filed a federal lawsuit. Robin Rziha’s suit names the Board of County Commissioners of Pawnee County and County Attorney Douglas McNett. She seeks damages over $75,000 and wants a trial by jury in Wichita. During 2015, 2016, and 2017, Rziha claimed, the county mishandled federal grant dollars through the Aid to Local Program. Those dollars pass through KDHE to carry out various programs, such as [...]

City Hall to enter the curbside bike rental business, taking over Bike Share ICT

info2019-04-29T06:49:38-05:00April 29th, 2019|

The next time you rent a bike to cruise through Wichita, you’ll probably be renting it from city government. City Hall has agreed to a friendly takeover of Bike Share ICT, shifting the curbside bike rental program from the nonprofit management that started it to more of a partnership between government and the private sector. The program had been run by Becky Tuttle at the Greater Wichita YMCA. But Tuttle resigned from the Y in January when she was appointed to the City Council. Now, Bike Share ICT is following her to city government. “We realized through what’s going on in [...]

Citizens in Winfield voice opinion on sales tax to fund safety center and street improvements

info2019-04-29T06:48:09-05:00April 29th, 2019|

Winfield citizens gave their opinion on a proposed 1-percent sales tax to fund a safety center and street improvements during a presentation Thursday at the Winfield Fire Station. Ballots for the mail-in election will be delivered beginning May 14. They will be due to the county clerk’s office by June 4. If approved, the new sales tax would replace an existing .4 percent sales tax for street and public library improvements. That tax was approved in 2014 and set to expire in 2021. The city’s total sales tax would increase from the current 7.9 percent to 8.5 percent if the new [...]

Potential changes to Airbnb regulations to be discussed by Lawrence city leaders

info2019-04-25T12:01:41-05:00April 25th, 2019|

Planning commissioners have some of the same concerns as city leaders regarding certain Airbnb rental properties, queuing up a discussion of potential changes to the city’s recently established short-term-rental regulations. Last month, Lawrence city commissioners hit pause on the consideration of permits for some Airbnb rental properties to ask major questions about how the properties should be regulated. Specifically, the commission voted to defer considering permits for three whole-home short-term rentals, where the property owner resides elsewhere, so it could get responses to questions posed by Commissioner Stuart Boley regarding affordable housing, taxing rates and potential time limits on the permits, [...]

Florence city councilman on new public comment policy: “Along with this, council members have to pick up their packets ahead of time and do their homework.”

info2019-04-25T09:36:55-05:00April 25th, 2019|

Florence city council announced Monday that people who want to comment at future public meetings must first fill out a form detailing their request. “I’m not having any more council meetings that are out of control,” mayor Bob Gayle said. “There is no provision in Kansas state law for city councils to hear anything from the public. The public’s right is to come and see, and hear what’s happening, and witness what’s happening.” The decision is legal under Kansas open meeting laws as long as there is no discrimination accorded by topic, said Max Kautsch via phone, an attorney with Kansas [...]

Marion County recycling slated to be taken to Fort Riley

info2019-04-25T09:30:32-05:00April 25th, 2019|

The possibility of once again being paid a rebate for recyclable materials has led county commissioners to send the county’s recyclables to Fort Riley. A recycle center in South Hutchinson, which the county has been using for years, stopped paying for materials, based on the prices they get for materials. “We’ve been cut off for the last year,” county recycling director Bud Druse said. “Prices are down.” Chris Otto, director of recycling at the military base, told county commissioners Monday that Fort Riley's recycling operation will accept recyclable materials from the county on a trial basis. After a couple of months, [...]

Decision time as Hutch Rec digests GreenPlay’s report

info2019-04-25T09:26:31-05:00April 25th, 2019|

Now that the city and Hutch Rec have the full study from GreenPlay, it’s time for a lot of decisions to be made about what the report means for the city’s parks and recreation facilities. “The 130-plus page plan will be made available online at the Hutch Rec website,” Tony Finlay, director of Hutch Rec, said. The study will then go before the Hutch Rec Board for approval before it moves on to the Hutchinson City Council for action. That is expected in May. Finlay says any such study ultimately comes down to the dollars that can be invested. “It comes [...]

Reno County Commission could keep plans for proposed wind farm alive

info2019-04-25T09:22:26-05:00April 25th, 2019|

Multiple heated meetings over the past several weeks culminated Tuesday night with the Reno County Planning Commission recommending not to grant a conditional use permit to Next Era Energy to build a wind farm in the southeast part of the county near Cheney Lake. The recommendation is intended to help the Reno County Commission with its final decision on whether or not to give the proposed wind farm the green light. However, the county has the final say and commissioners don't have to follow the planning commission's recommendation. Tuesday night's decision by the planning commission was a win for some against [...]