News – Page 2158 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

City Council votes to narrow McLean to accommodate ‘walkability’ around new stadium

info2019-04-17T06:49:54-05:00April 17th, 2019|

McLean Boulevard won’t be a boulevard anymore where it passes the new baseball stadium, the Wichita City Council decided Tuesday. The council approved a plan to narrow McLean, now a four-lane street, to two lanes where it jogs around the $75 million ball park under construction at the corner of Maple and McLean. “It will be reduced to one lane in either direction” between Maple and Douglas, with the intent “to make it more pedestrian friendly,” said Paul Gunzelman, the assistant city engineer who presented the plan to the council. The overall plan for the stadium district includes a new walking [...]

PV council considering drone regulation. But the question is, how are rules enforced?

info2019-04-17T06:48:28-05:00April 17th, 2019|

Putting together an ordinance to control recreational drone use is still on Prairie Village’s agenda — but just barely. The council voted 6-5 Monday night in favor of continuing its discussions on an ordinance that some members felt would be difficult to enforce. The idea is to address the worries of residents like Kate Faerber, who was disturbed by a drone flying low over people in her yard. “I think drones sound like a really fun idea, but … there’s a potential for harm and danger,” Faerber said. The council’s majority vote to continue talking about the ordinance comes with concerns [...]

Leavenworth County population expected to swell

info2019-04-17T06:46:29-05:00April 17th, 2019|

Mike Reilly, owner of The Reilly Company in Leavenworth, said the county population is expected to increase to more than 80,000 in the next 10 years. He said much of the initial growth will be in the extended northwest corridor out of Kansas City and into the Basehor area. “We are situated in the bullseye of that growth pattern,” Reilly said. “And I don’t think we’ve seen the start of it yet. The county in 10 years will substantially change. Clearly, south county has been a beneficiary of that growth. Basehor has already seen a lot of growth.” Several factors have [...]

Leawood council unanimously approves 1% sales tax hike at Ranch Mart North to help fund shopping center redevelopment, raising rate to 10.1%

info2019-04-17T06:44:51-05:00April 17th, 2019|

The Leawood city council on Monday unanimously approved a community improvement district (CID) sales tax that will provide revenue to fund certain redevelopment costs for Ranch Mart North, located near 95th and Mission Road. The CID will increase sales tax from 9.1% to 10.1% for purchases made inside Ranch Mart North boundaries starting July 1, 2020 and can stay in effect for up to 22 years. Mayor Peggy Dunn and councilmember James Azeltine noted they had heard comments from individuals who believed the city should not approve the CID, and that public funds should not be used to fund private development. [...]

KGS: Groundwater levels up slightly or near steady in western KS

info2019-04-17T06:40:03-05:00April 17th, 2019|

Groundwater levels during 2018, on average, rose slightly or remained about even throughout most of western and central Kansas, according to preliminary data compiled by the Kansas Geological Survey. “By and large, 2018 was a good year for groundwater levels,” said Brownie Wilson, KGS water-data manager. “Virtually all levels in south-central Kansas wells were up along with a good portion of those in northwest Kansas, and although southwest Kansas saw a few decline areas in the usual spots, they were not as great as in years past.” (Read more: Hays Post)

Kansas tells court it should OK school spending law because of bipartisan support

info2019-04-16T10:20:30-05:00April 16th, 2019|

Lawyers for Kansas told the state Supreme Court on Monday that it should sign off on a new law boosting spending on public schools and end a protracted education funding lawsuit partly because the law has broad, bipartisan support. Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican, filed written legal arguments defending the new law. It contains Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s proposal for an education funding increase of roughly $90 million a year and is aimed at satisfying a state Supreme Court ruling last year that education funding remained inadequate. (Read more: Local News |)

Retired police chief (and current Maize city administrator) remembers Herman Hill riot in Wichita, 40 years ago

info2019-04-16T10:15:06-05:00April 16th, 2019|

It was Easter Sunday on April 15, 1979 when Richard LaMunyon remembers getting the call of a hectic situation at Herman Hill park near Pawnee and Broadway.A musical concert was taking place in the park, but thousands more people came to the concert than what the park was set up for. People began parking in the street, blocking in nearby residents in their homes.Drugs and alcohol were also being passed around."They informed me that basically, they had a situation that was pretty much out of control and did not have sufficient officers to deal with it," LaMunyon said. (Read more: Top [...]

Hutch City Council to consider new job incentive policy

info2019-04-16T09:18:08-05:00April 16th, 2019|

The Hutchinson City Council will seek approval of a new policy for how it grants funds for economic development during Tuesday’s agenda session. For the past few years, the City Council has provided cash incentives for economic development projects creating new jobs on a case-by-case basis. According to a memo from City Manager John Deardoff to the council, previous councils have been comfortable with this approach, citing more flexibility when looking at the various job creation projects that come before the council. Other elected officials have cited the desire for a set policy like Reno County’s. For the past two or [...]

Finney County Commission OKs CIP requests

info2019-04-16T09:17:22-05:00April 16th, 2019|

With a consensus approval, Finney County commissioners approved the county’s list of requested capital improvement projects expected to be placed on 2020 department budget requests in June. All county departments and Finney County District Court submitted requests in February for the Capital Improvement Program spanning 2020 to 2024. With the list of many projects approved, department heads will now submit a budget request to the county with the projects in mind. County Administrator Randy Administrator pointed to a handful of projects at the forefront of the list, including a $200,000 expansion to the county’s fiber-optic network and $1.56 million in overlay [...]

Manhattan moving forward with Joint Maintenance Facility

info2019-04-16T09:16:06-05:00April 16th, 2019|

The City Commission has given approval to move forward with site acquisition and design of a future joint maintenance facility located on vacant land west of the Wastewater Treatment Plant off US Highway 24. The facility would consolidate and house hundreds of public works and parks and recreation employees. Currently, operations are scattered across the community in aging and undersized facilities for parks and forestry, street, water/wastewater distribution, and fleet divisions. The joint maintenance facility will create greater operational efficiencies to maintain and grow a high quality of life for residents and meet the needs of the community. (Read more: Manhattan [...]