News – Page 2230 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

$11 Million in Community Development Block Grants Awarded for Community Improvement Projects

info2019-01-28T10:47:40-06:00January 28th, 2019|

The Kansas Department of Commerce has announced that 23 communities will receive federal grants for a variety of community improvement projects, including sewer and water projects, housing rehabilitation and community facilities improvements. These communities will share a total of $11,019,485 in federal grants. Through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, 12 Kansas communities will share a total of $6,806,637 in federal grants for water and sewer projects, two Kansas communities will share $600,000 for housing rehabilitation and nine communities will share $3,612,828 for community facility projects. (Read more and view the full list of grant recipients: Kansas Department of Commerce, [...]

Lawrence wants public input on trap-neuter-return for feral cats ahead of City Commission discussion

info2019-01-28T10:45:28-06:00January 28th, 2019|

Whether Lawrence should allow feral cat colonies — and the effects that could have for neighbors, wildlife and the cats themselves — will soon be discussed at City Hall, but the city is looking for input from the public before that. On Friday, the city put out an online survey, via the Lawrence Listens platform, to gather input from the public about the proposed “trap-neuter-release,” or TNR program, under which cats would be caught, neutered, vaccinated, and then returned to where they were collected and allowed to roam free. The Lawrence City Commission is scheduled to consider the issue at its [...]

Upgraded version of Lawrence city bus app provides detailed real-time tracking of buses, new alert system

info2019-01-28T10:44:47-06:00January 28th, 2019|

Riders of the Lawrence bus service can now use their cellphones to track the location of their bus in real time and to notify them when they need to head to their bus stop to catch it. The city, which coordinates its bus service with the University of Kansas service, recently upgraded its bus app with an improved real-time tracking and notification system, according to a city news release. The upgraded app, My Bus Lawrence, is available for free via the app store for both Apple and Android smartphones. Lawrence Transit Administrator Bob Nugent said, though the app’s old platform provided [...]

County residents asked for input on county’s future

info2019-01-28T10:36:23-06:00January 28th, 2019|

City of Ellis Mayor Dave McDaniel wants Ellis residents to have a say in updating the plan for Ellis County’s growth and development. So he asked for a Town Hall meeting for the city’s residents at 8 a.m. Thursday at Ellis City Hall. “I requested to have one in Ellis because not a lot of people will want to drive over to Hays,” said McDaniel, speaking from his Trio Home Center business in Ellis on Friday. The hired consultants pulling together the plan are Marvin Planning Consultants Inc., David City, Neb., and MSA Professional Services of Ankeny, Iowa. Starting in December, [...]

Doc’s hangar is a symbol of Wichita’s place in world history, Mayor Longwell says

info2019-01-28T10:34:51-06:00January 28th, 2019|

Not everyone was impressed Saturday by the new permanent home for Doc, one of two World War II-era B-29 Superfortresses in the world that can fly. Doc’s new hangar is a state-of-the-art, 32,000-square-foot interactive facility that cost $6.5 million to complete. The building has a glass front that faces South Airport Road at Eisenhower Airport. Sitting in the middle is the mirror-finished World War II bomber that survived 42 years in the Mojave Desert and was flown in 2016 for the first time since 1956 — Doc. Kendell Reimer, 11, said there’s probably not a big enough — or flashy enough [...]

League of Women Voters report: Here’s who can’t afford to live in Johnson County

info2019-01-28T10:30:45-06:00January 28th, 2019|

According to a new report by the League of Women Voters of Johnson County, anyone working full-time as a retail sales clerk, janitor or home health aide cannot, on their own, afford to rent or buy a home in any of the county’s 20 cities. Only in Edgerton can a paramedic, school social worker or firefighter afford to own a home without devoting more than 30 percent of his or her income to housing, which experts say is the maximum a household can afford without becoming “cost-burdened” with housing. And in only six cities, the report said, are rents affordable for [...]

Project could be windfall for Galesburg

info2019-01-28T10:29:01-06:00January 28th, 2019|

A Galesburg city council resolution approved in December may provide $100,000 a year to the city of Galesburg from a controversial proposed electric generation project. The resolution, discussed at Thursday evening’s community forum about the Neosho Ridge Wind project, is included in the latest draft agreement sent to the Neosho County commission. That agreement has yet to be approved. Apex Clean Energy has proposed constructing an array of electricity-generating wind turbines in southwest Neosho County. The 300-megawatt project would have 139 windmills on 44,000 leased acres, which would be exempt from property taxes for 10 years under Kansas law. Apex has [...]

Ousted county manager falsified HR review, misused employee’s time, investigation says

info2019-01-28T10:43:18-06:00January 28th, 2019|

Former Sedgwick County Manager Michael Scholes had county staff falsify a personnel record to help a friend get a job and misused county resources by having a public employee produce photos of him and his family for their personal use, according to an investigation that eventually cost him his job. Those actions violated county policies and were considered to be the most damaging evidence against Scholes, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the investigation and its aftermath. The findings on Scholes are from a report by lawyer Stephanie Scheck, who was hired by the County Commission as an outside [...]

Rezoning request approved; triggers examination of procedures, notification

info2019-01-28T10:45:55-06:00January 28th, 2019|

A unanimous vote to approve a rezoning request in east Hays was preceded by discussion among city commissioners Thursday night about rezoning procedures and notifications to the public. A unanimous vote to approve a rezoning request in east Hays was preceded by discussion among city commissioners Thursday night about rezoning procedures and notifications to the public. Oborny said he feels the requirement for notification of property owners within 200 feet of the rezoning request “isn’t very far” and should be increased. “We would like Wheatland Avenue to remain residential.” Speaking to the city commissioners before they voted, Oborny said he and [...]

Financial analysis of fiber models presented to Spring Hill’s Broadband Task Force

info2019-01-28T10:48:13-06:00January 28th, 2019|

The Broadband Task Force delved further into researching potential fiber options in Spring Hill last week. CTC Technology and Energy — a consultant hired to conduct a fiber feasibility study of a potential fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network — met with the Task Force via conference call Dec. 12 at the Community Center to present the financial analysis of several FTTP models. A feasibility study seeks to accomplish two goals: Is the idea possible, and should you move forward with it? (Read more: City of Spring Hill news)