News – Page 2225 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Justice prevails: FHSU part of study on rural Kansas youth

info2019-02-01T11:53:20-06:00February 1st, 2019|

Fort Hays State University is part of a project titled “Our Town, Our Kids,” aimed at helping prevent youth from entering the criminal justice system. Rural counties in western Kansas are part of a study devoted to developing support systems for youth and families with the goal of providing services that maximize their chances of leading productive lives. The project was awarded funding by the Kansas Department of Corrections and the Kansas Advisory Group. Dr. April Terry, associate professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at FHSU, said rural western Kansas is often overlooked. It is important to have a study [...]

Should Green Valley area (east of Manhattan) incorporate?

info2019-02-01T11:40:50-06:00February 1st, 2019|

A pair of meetings are planned next week that could shape the future for residents living in the southwest portion of Pottawatomie County. With about 4,000 residents living in the growing Green Valley area east of Manhattan, residents are increasingly more in need of public services such as law enforcement, ambulance, road construction and maintenance. All of the services currently are financed by the county at-large. Assistant Planner/Zoning Enforcement Officer Stephan Metzger says it’s apparent the county should play less of a role in governing those services. Earlier this month, a lawyer hired by the Pottawatomie County Commission recommended the area [...]

Transfer station project could affect trash service in Newton and Harvey County

info2019-02-01T11:37:39-06:00February 1st, 2019|

The Board of Harvey County Commissioners approved a low bid of $58,890 from Snodgrass & Sons Construction Co. for resurfacing the floor at the transfer station on Monday. And that means a complete shut down of the station while work is completed. Now it will be up to Solid Waste Director Rollin Schmidt and County Administrator Anthony Swartzendruber to iron out the details to get the project done with as little interruption to trash service as is feasible. The single shutdown, as opposed to doing work in phases, would reduce the price by $3,400. “Phasing would be a pain,” Schmidt said. [...]

Public encouraged to take survey on statewide drone usage

info2019-02-01T11:54:07-06:00February 1st, 2019|

The Kansas Department of Transportation’s Division of Aviation is seeking public opinion on the use of unmanned aerial systems or drones in Kansas airspace. Individuals of all ages, occupations and backgrounds are encouraged to participate in the 10-question online survey available at https://www.ippkansas.org/ks-uas-ipp-survey until Feb. 28. Through the survey, KDOT hopes to gain a better understanding of the public’s familiarity and opinion on UAS use scenarios to drive operations for the Kansas UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP). This federally-initiated program will help tackle the most significant challenges to integrating drones into the national airspace and will reduce risks to public safety [...]

City leaders: Cash incentives not everything when wooing companies

info2019-02-01T12:30:32-06:00February 1st, 2019|

Speaking Thursday at a WBJ Emerging Leaders panel, Wichita city manager Robert Layton said Cargill Protein was very close to leaving town. "There was a lot of money being thrown at (Cargill) during that process from cities around the country," Layton said. "We were in a significant competition with Plano, Texas, and they had a very lucrative package on the table." What made Cargill officials ultimately opt to stay in Wichita and eventually build a $70 million complex on the site of the old Wichita Eagle building downtown? Creative solutions to problems that the company had identified. "In order to fend [...]

Fare game: Wichita targets economic development with regional push to expand air service

info2019-02-01T11:31:54-06:00February 1st, 2019|

When Howard George made the decision to find a new location for his Seattle-based call center business, he narrowed his choices to Wichita and Boise, Idaho. As a Midwestern hub for call centers and a market where the cost of living and other factors were attractive draws, George says one of the biggest strikes against Wichita at the time was the lack of direct air service to Seattle. “I liked Wichita … but I wasn’t sure if I could get there easily enough,” he says. Then, in April 2017, Alaska Airlines began a daily, nonstop flight between the Air Capital and [...]

Support grows for downtown historic district as survey nears completion

info2019-02-01T11:29:13-06:00February 1st, 2019|

The effort to make the downtown a historic district is closer to completing what needs to be done before the application can be submitted to State Historic Preservation Office. After presenting information last night, members of the Clay Center Action Network (CCAN) and others involved in the historic district survey asked business and property owners within the district to sign petitions either for or against the historic district. Most in attendance of last night’s meeting signed the petition in support. (Read more: www.ccenterdispatch.com - RSS Results in news,local/* of type article)

Colbalt Boats announces $7M expansion plans in Neodesha

info2019-02-01T11:24:05-06:00February 1st, 2019|

A southeast Kansas boat manufacturer will begin a multi-year expansion in Neodesha. Cobalt Boats will expand in a nearly $7 million project to improve operational efficiency and quality. “That kind of growth will be good for Chanute,” Chanute Regional Development Authority Matt Godinez said. Cobalt Vice President of Operations Shane Stanfill said he could not release specific numbers, but the three-phase expansion will add jobs and increase the size of operations significantly. He said the project will touch all areas and improve flow and equipment. Cobalt currently has 700 employees in 500,000 square feet of space. Stanfill said as the company [...]

Parsons to talk about Sunday liquor sales

info2019-02-01T11:22:38-06:00February 1st, 2019|

Fourteen years after the Kansas Legislature made it legal, city officials likely will discuss the possibility of allowing the sale of liquor on Sunday. The sale of packaged alcoholic beverages has been legal in Kansas since 2005 but individual cities and counties must approve measures to make it legal or voters must approve it at the polls. Commissioner Kevin Cruse brought up the issue during a Thursday work session. Although he said he was reluctant to discuss the hot-button issue, he said it’s time to consider allowing people to buy alcohol in town to keep them off of the highways after [...]

Topeka considers TIF District for area considered blighted at S.W. 29th and Wanamaker

info2019-02-01T11:51:46-06:00February 1st, 2019|

The Villa West Shopping Center property at the northwest corner of S.W. 29th and Wanamaker Road is considered blighted under Kansas laws governing tax increment financing, Topeka city officials say. The city’s governing body plans Feb. 12 to consider scheduling a March 19 public hearing, at which it would consider authorizing TIF financing for a project to make renovations and improvements at that site. “The area qualifies as a ‘blighted area’ under the state TIF statutes because a majority of blighting factors exist to a degree throughout the area as a whole and contains a substantial number of deteriorating structures which [...]