News – Page 2202 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Committee recommends building new, state of the art performing arts center in Wichita

info2019-02-27T08:35:14-06:00February 27th, 2019|

The Century II Citizens Committee presented findings Tuesday at a Wichita City Council workshop. The future of the facility has been up in the air for years, and the committee has spent the past year figuring out what to do with the building. During a presentation, Chairwoman Mary Beth Jarvis talked about the issues Century II faces for performing arts. They include lighting, technology, back stage and truck loading limitations. "We believe the right answer to performing arts for our community's future is build a new distinctive, customized performing arts center. We believe it belongs on the riverfront regional core," said [...]

KDOT points new signage in Atchison county’s direction

info2019-02-27T06:09:30-06:00February 27th, 2019|

Markers along the county roadways might soon become much clearer, thanks to some federal funding coming this way. Atchison County is one of 16 Kansas counties to receive federal funding for road safety improvement projects for a total of $4.5 million as part of the Kansas Department of Transportation’s High Risk Rural Roads program. KDOT announced the awards Feb. 21.Superintendent Seth Howard, of the Atchison County Road and Bridge Department, said the HRRR funding will cover 100 percent of the costs associated with the project that he expects will be let sometime in 2021. Atchison County was awarded $238,000 for the [...]

Shawnee moving to use eminent domain to build parks and rec operations facility on 20 acres of private property

info2019-02-27T06:00:44-06:00February 27th, 2019|

Shawnee is taking first steps to claim eminent domain over 20 acres of private property in order to build a parks and recreation operations base facility. The private property in question is located at 18750 Johnson Drive just west of I-435 and includes a 30,000-square-foot warehouse. Wayne Developer LLC bought the property in August 2018 for $3.5 million and has “expressed no interest” in selling the property to the city at a similar price, according to a city memo. The Shawnee council last night unanimously agreed to acquire the property by claiming eminent domain. There was no council discussion. Melissa Hoag [...]

No paychecks: Horton hospital may close

info2019-02-27T05:57:21-06:00February 27th, 2019|

Horton Community Hospital employees haven’t been paid since Feb. 15, and at least one employee indicated the hospital will close Friday if employees aren’t paid. Ty Compton, CEO of the Horton hospital, confirmed that employees didn’t receive their paychecks on the previous payday. He was told by hospital ownership, Miami-based iHealthcare, that “they’re working on it.” “I am doing the best I can and I believe all the employees and staff are doing the best they can do as well,” Compton said. “Obviously, everyone has to be paid.” Asked whether the hospital would close on Friday if employees weren’t paid, Compton [...]

Wichita Public Schools make request to raise property taxes

info2019-02-27T05:53:29-06:00February 27th, 2019|

The Wichita School Board is asking for the ability to raise your property taxes -- if they need too. School officials say they don't plan to raise taxes right now, but they want the option to do it in the future. The local option budget gives the district the option of raising taxes if the state decides to give school less money. "There’s just a lot of uncertainty related to the budget still occurring in Topeka so we wanted to be sure that we were covering all our bases," says Susan Willis, the chief financial officer for Wichita Public Schools. "It’s [...]

Leash law explained by Pratt officials

info2019-02-27T05:52:00-06:00February 27th, 2019|

A recent report of a pit bull attack on a family pet and the pet’s owner at Lemon Park has raised issues among some local pet owners about the enforcement of a city leash law. Pratt Police Chief Nate Humble said the leash law ordinance, 6.04.140 Running at Large, makes it unlawful for any person to willfully allow any animal or fowl under his or her control to run at large within the city. The ordinance does not specify the penalty for violation. “A dog’s got to be under control,” said Pratt Animal Control Officer Kris Dover. “People have got to [...]

Lawrence explains odd shape of Queens Road taxing districts; judge to decide in coming weeks whether to halt project for lawsuit

info2019-02-26T10:53:25-06:00February 26th, 2019|

Whether the multimillion-dollar reconstruction of Queens Road will be postponed so a lawsuit against the city can go forward is now in the hands of a judge. At a hearing in Douglas County District Court on Monday, both sides laid out their case as to whether the controversial taxing districts, which go toward funding the $5.3 million road project, should be delayed so the lawsuit can be heard. In January, homeowner Kurt Schaake filed a lawsuit claiming that the taxing districts, under which property owners near Queens Road would pay most of the cost of the improvements, are out of line [...]

KDHE’s KIC Website Offers New Data from Emergency Departments Tool makes diagnoses and other statistics available online for first time

info2019-02-26T09:31:44-06:00February 26th, 2019|

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has added a new dataset to its online health data query tool, Kansas Information for Communities (KIC). Emergency department data from the state’s general hospitals is now available on the KIC page. “Using KIC, individuals and policy makers will be able to see the diagnoses that bring almost 900,000 residents to emergency departments at Kansas hospitals,” said KDHE Acting Secretary and State Health Officer Lee A. Norman, M.D. “This information can provide an insight into the injuries and illnesses affecting Kansans, many of which are preventable.” Using the KIC emergency department data, individuals [...]

FlightSafety International chooses Wichita for drone training location

info2019-02-26T09:30:10-06:00February 26th, 2019|

FlightSafety International has chosen Wichita and Las Vegas as the locations of new training centers for unmanned aircraft systems. A company spokesperson says that the Wichita location will be based at FlightSafety’s Wichita East Learning Center, 9721 E. Central. The Wichita location is expected to be operational in the coming months, though a specific opening date is still being finalized. The company also announced in a press release that it has chosen one of its local leaders, Clinton Strong, to head both drone training locations. The centers will offer practical flight training for unmanned aircraft systems in conjunction with Praxis Aerospace [...]

‘This is big’: KC renames The Paseo “MLK Blvd.”

info2019-02-26T09:29:06-06:00February 26th, 2019|

On an otherwise quiet and cold Monday morning, the voices of elated Kansas Citians singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” echoed off of the homes near 34th Street and The Paseo, where crews installed the first signs for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The group’s rendition of the song, commonly known as the Black National Anthem, came as community leaders celebrated victory in a hard-fought battle to rename The Paseo in honor of the late civil rights leader. City Council members voted 8-4 last month in favor of the change. The Council’s approval last month came after a months-long push [...]