News – Page 2197 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Legislators chew on food sales tax

info2019-03-05T08:35:05-06:00March 5th, 2019|

It is not often that three legislators representing two different branches of state government, and two political parties, can agree on something. But Saturday morning there was agreement from the Harvey County delegation on one issue — sales tax on food. New Governor Laura Kelly was elected after making lowering the sales tax on food a campaign issue. However, her first budget does not contain lowering that tax. “If there is one thing that Senator (Carolyn) McGinn (R-Sedgwick), (Rep.) Tim (Hodge) (D-North Newton) and I all agree on is that we can do better with food sales tax,” said Rep. Steven [...]

City of Parsons makes tobacco 21 more restrictive

info2019-03-05T08:33:26-06:00March 5th, 2019|

Parsons city commissioners on Monday voted 3-1 to eliminate exemptions in an ordinance that made it illegal for most people under 21 to buy tobacco or vaping liquid. The change came after the request of convenience store owners to either repeal the tobacco 21 ordinance passed on April 2, 2018, or cut out the exemptions. The ordinance had made exceptions for customers who were in the military and could show military ID and to those who were 18 when the ordinance was approved. Convenience store representatives said it was too difficult during busy periods such as the lunch rush to determine [...]

South Hutchinson City Council to discuss Sunday liquor sales

info2019-03-05T06:37:26-06:00March 5th, 2019|

The South Hutchinson City Council is meeting Monday evening with several topics up for discussion. The council will begin talking about Sunday liquor sales. According to Mayor Luke Herren, the matter came up for discussion after a new retail liquor business opened and inquired about possible Sunday sales. Herren says the matter is up for discussion only and says, if the issue gains enough traction, it could come before the public for a vote. (Read more: Hutch Post)

Finney County commission enters into MOU for tax abatement for Livestock Nutrition Center

info2019-03-05T06:35:31-06:00March 5th, 2019|

The Finney County Commission on Monday agreed to enter into a memorandum of understanding regarding a 10-year, 20-percent tax abatement for a new agricultural business set to bring 15 jobs to Finney County over its first two years. Livestock Nutrition Center, LLC, a livestock feed company currently located in five states, requested the tax abatement. The Garden City location at 3680 Jones Ave., an old feed mill that has been shut down for over a year, will mark the company’s second location in the state and only one in western Kansas. Lona DuVall, president and CEO of the Finney County Economic [...]

Michael O’Donnell Found Not Guilty On 21 Wire Fraud Charges; Jury Hung On Remaining Counts

info2019-03-05T06:34:30-06:00March 5th, 2019|

Sedgwick County Commissioner and former state Sen. Michael O’Donnell was found not guilty in federal court today of 21 counts of wire fraud related to campaign payments. O’Donnell said he was “relieved” with the verdict. After several hours of deliberation, the jury said it couldn’t come to an agreement on five other charges, including two for wire fraud and three for money laundering. Judge Eric Melgren said it’s up to prosecutors to decide whether they want to retry O’Donnell on those charges. U.S. Attorney for Kansas Stephen McAllister said in a statement after the verdict was announced that his office is [...]

Geary County Commission shuts down CVB Advisory Committee

info2019-03-05T06:31:18-06:00March 5th, 2019|

There will no longer be a Geary County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Advisory Committee. The Geary County Commission adopted a resolution on a 3-0 vote Monday to dissolve the committee. Commissioner Keith Ascher said the issue was discussed with members of the Advisory Committee who were supportive of the idea and that CVB Director Michelle Stimatze was also asked about it. “And she thought it was appropriate, so we took action today ( Monday ) to dissolve that committee. So now it ( CVB ) will strictly be in the hands of the county commissioners, which makes more sense.” Ascher added [...]

Lawmakers considering bill to remove transportation spending from tax lid

info2019-03-04T09:04:53-06:00March 4th, 2019|

A joint legislative task force report on transportation has a lot of promising recommendations for the county, the director of Douglas County Public Works says. The report released in January made recommendations to guide development of a new state transportation plan and reflected findings from a series of hearings the Joint Legislative Transportation Vision Task Force conducted last fall and summer. The task force’s top recommendations are that the state stop raiding the Kansas Department of Transportation’s state highway fund for revenue to cover other state needs and that the state finish the 21 projects outlined in the 2011 state transportation [...]

Winfield could test out solar power

info2019-03-04T08:54:35-06:00March 4th, 2019|

Installation of a small solar panel project will be up for approval Monday night by Winfield City Commissioners. The project is a partnership between the city, the Kansas Power Pool and solar farm designer ZeMac, LLC. The KPP will pay $25,000 toward the solar project. The City of Winfield will pay about $30,000 for its share, utilities director Gus Collins said. The project was first presented to commissioners at a November work session. If approved, the next step is to order the solar panels. Those would take around six weeks to arrive, Collins said. The panels will be located in front [...]

Commissioners table discussion on communications tower project

info2019-03-04T08:51:42-06:00March 4th, 2019|

A request to construct a communications tower northwest of Emporia has been tabled for at least 30 days following a meeting of the Lyon County Commission Thursday morning. The decision came after a request was presented to commissioners by AT&T and Network Real Estate LLC to erect a cell phone tower near a residential area located just west of the intersection of Road 190 and Road E. The request was approved by the Lyon County Board of Zoning and Appeals, according to Zoning Director Sam Seeley. “As of right now, the land is zoned as agriculture,” Seeley said. Homeowners in the [...]

Mayor says community facility, continued park development forthcoming for Edgerton

info2019-03-04T08:48:56-06:00March 4th, 2019|

Downtown Edgerton will soon boast a new gathering place for residents if plans outlined by Don Roberts, mayor, during his state of the city address come to fruition. During his address on Feb. 21, Roberts said that downtown Edgerton holds a special place in his heart and that the Greenspace is the right place for the city to build a new gathering place. “Both the Downtown Edgerton Plan and the Parks Master Plan confirm what residents have always known. The Greenspace is the right place for the city to build a new gathering place for our community,” he said. Currently the [...]