News – Page 2219 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Florence closer to signing water lease agreement

info2019-02-08T13:05:24-06:00February 8th, 2019|

Florence city council members moved another step closer to resolution on the Crystal Springs lease agreement Monday. Mayor Bob Gayle said the document is being reviewed for final details. ... The council did not discuss the reason to pursue eminent domain several months ago. Local business owner Sarah Dawson asked whether it would be addressed at the special meeting.The special meeting will be exclusively for signing the lease agreement, but the council will set a future meeting to answer residents’, Gayle said. (Read more: Marion County RECORD)

Mayor launches program to offer free WiFi to Wichitans

info2019-02-08T13:01:55-06:00February 8th, 2019|

Wichita is trying to narrow the digital divide between rich and poor neighborhoods by offering free Wi-Fi hotspots for check-out in two low-income neighborhoods. More than 16 percent of Wichitans were below the Census Bureau’s poverty line in 2017, which for a family of four was $25,094. And more than one out of four homes are without internet, according to a study cited by Mayor Jeff Longwell at a news conference Thursday. A hotspot is a pocket-sized mobile device that provides wireless internet access to Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as a laptop computer or a smartphone. They are typically password protected. Anyone [...]

City’s pilot project to put internet access in more homes

info2019-02-08T07:06:53-06:00February 8th, 2019|

Wichita residents will be able to borrow internet hotspots for two weeks under a city pilot program partnering with T-Mobile. Hotspots are available at the Atwater Neighborhood Resource Center, 2755 E. 19th Street, and Colvin Neighborhood Resource Center, 2820 S. Roosevelt. Borrowers must be 18, have identification and proof of address. The T-Mobile devices are designed for better coverage within buildings and in rural areas, the city said in announcing the program. About 26 percent of Wichita homes do not have internet access. The city said a study prior to the program's introduction showed Atwater and Colvin were best-suited to house [...]

Manhattan Public Works says infrastructure holding up well against Mother Nature

info2019-02-08T07:03:44-06:00February 8th, 2019|

Despite frigid conditions this winter, the city of Manhattan has gotten by with minimal impacts to the city’s water system. Water main breaks can be more common in the winter months in extreme cold, given the age of the infrastructure. Manhattan Assistant Public Works Director Randy DeWitt says fluctuating weather conditions can impact underground utilities. Other cities across the region, such as Topeka and Emporia have already battled multiple water main breaks this season. Thawing after a winter storm can also wreak havoc on city streets in the form of potholes like the one in the above photo from late November. [...]

Topeka City Council to hold special meeting to discuss capital improvements

info2019-02-08T07:01:56-06:00February 8th, 2019|

Millions of dollars worth of City Hall improvements are among items to be discussed when the Topeka City Council holds a special meeting from 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday regarding city manager Brent Trout’s proposed 2020-2029 Capital Improvement Plan. No action is to be taken at the meeting, which is open to the public and will be held in the first-floor conference room at the city’s Holliday Building, 620 S.E. Madison. It will be broadcast live on the city’s Facebook page and on City4, its cable TV channel. Expenses in Trout’s proposed CIP total nearly $408.94 million over the first five [...]

Kansas law enforcement officers make case for ‘Brandon’s Law’

info2019-02-08T12:59:28-06:00February 8th, 2019|

Master Deputy Brandon Collins was conducting a traffic stop Sept. 11, 2016, when a truck slammed into his Johnson County Sheriff’s Department patrol car and engulfed it in flames. The tragic death of Collins was drawn into the conversation Wednesday at the Capitol during a House committee’s hearing on a bill elevating prison sentences for people convicted of causing injury to employees of a law enforcement, fire protection, public works or emergency management agency. “I am as disgusted today as the day Brandon’s killer received such a light sentence,” said Sgt. Christopher Mills, of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department. “I could [...]

Butler County lawmaker: “Butler County taxpayers are subsidizing the education of Sedgwick County students”

info2019-02-08T07:02:14-06:00February 8th, 2019|

State Rep. Kristey Williams, R-Augusta, is not happy with the mill levy imposed on Butler County property owners to support a community college that largely serves students who live outside the county. This week, she introduced House Bill 2144 that would require greater public access to community college spending. “Accountability and transparency remain cornerstone issues for me this legislative session,” Williams wrote in her “Capitol Highlights” on Tuesday, the day she introduced the “Community College Taxpayer Transparency” bill. Leaders at Hutchinson Community College and other two-year institutions around Kansas say while they support transparency in spending, this bill goes too far. [...]

Hiawatha Commission debates over hospital committee

info2019-02-08T06:44:05-06:00February 8th, 2019|

Needing to make a formal appointment to the joint city-county committee working on funding the Hiawatha Hospital, much of Monday’s Hiawatha City Commission meeting was spent discussing the correct way for the commission to handle the meetings. Mayor Collins, who was eventually officially appointed to the committee, was adamant that the committee move quickly but carefully to find a suitable solution. Commissioner Becky Shamburg expressed her interest and desire to observe the meetings and said she believed it would be wise for all commissioners to attend to stay abreast of the situation. Appointing another commissioner was discussed, but it was decided [...]

Shawnee city leaders consider changes to unique loan program, will focus on reinvestment in downtown Shawnee

info2019-02-08T06:40:07-06:00February 8th, 2019|

Shawnee is considering a series of changes to the unique Shawnee Entrepreneurial and Economic Development program that allows it to provide business loans to promote employment in the city. The discretionary fund, which has been in place since 2012, is a city-led effort with the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce that focuses on job creation and retention in the city. “It has also been useful in attracting new employers that have led to millions of dollars of investment and the creation of hundreds of jobs in the community,” city manager Nolan Sunderman wrote in a memo to the council. Shawnee Chamber of [...]

Baxter Springs city operations temporarily relocating because of mold

info2019-02-08T06:30:36-06:00February 8th, 2019|

Baxter Springs City Hall is temporarily closing and its operations moving next week after mold was discovered in the building’s walls and ceilings. “We had it recently tested, and the results weren’t very good,” Mayor Randall Trease said. “The recommendation was to evacuate the building and go from there.” The City Hall operation, currently at 1145 Military Ave., will be closed on Monday and will transfer to the former Empire District Electric Co. building at 1011 Military Ave. City Hall services will be closed down next week. Officials said if they’re not moved in by Friday, Feb. 15, then late fees [...]