News – Page 2239 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Former Pratt County sheriff to lead cattle theft investigations in Kansas

info2019-01-18T10:46:26-06:00January 18th, 2019|

Attorney General Derek Schmidt selected a former Pratt County sheriff to support local law enforcement investigations of cattle theft in Kansas. Vernon Chin was hired as a special agent in the livestock and branding investigation unit created by the attorney general in 2014 in cooperation with the Kansas Department of Agriculture. “Vernon has an incredible resume that spans more than two decades in Kansas law enforcement,” Schmidt said. “His knowledge and experience will be a strong addition to the attorney general’s office as we continue investigating and prosecuting cases of cattle theft across Kansas.” After serving nine years as a patrol [...]

Finney County commission declines tax credit proposal

info2019-01-18T10:42:17-06:00January 18th, 2019|

The Finney County Commission declined a proposal to grant Garden City Industrial Park a $60,200 tax credit in exchange for an easement for a stretch of road in the 500 block of Farmland Road that locals frequently use to access an adjacent residential area. With the easement, the Road and Bridge Department would be able to improve and maintain the road and allow for public access to the nearby properties, said County Engineer John Ellermann. The commission didn’t vote on the proposal, but came to a consensus decision not to grant the tax credit. Though the residential area does also have [...]

Oswego OKs sales tax renewal

info2019-01-18T10:41:06-06:00January 18th, 2019|

The Oswego City Council on Monday approved several ordinances, one of which extends the city’s one-cent sales tax after voters approved a question in November. Oswego voters have to renew the sales tax every five years and the tax will sunset on June 30, 2020. Generally, the city of Oswego tries to get the question on a ballot before the sunset date, ideally two elections before the sunset date. Because there are no longer spring elections, the next election will be November 2019. That’s cutting renewal pretty close, so City Clerk Carol Eddington said she asked to place the question on [...]

Governor’s new budget would leave transportation money alone

info2019-01-18T10:38:58-06:00January 18th, 2019|

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly is proposing more money for Kansas roads in the Kansas Department of Transportation. It's not a call for new money. It's a proposal to add by not subtracting. The budget proposal would stop up to $100 million being transferred out of KDOT each year. Under Governor Laura Kelly's budget, KDOT would have more money stay in-house for projects state-wide. The proposal would stop all transfers out of KDOT by the year 2024. (Read more: Top Stories | KSNW)

Cherokee County Commission discusses forming fire districts in three townships

info2019-01-18T10:37:49-06:00January 18th, 2019|

Cherokee County commissioners have drafted a proposal establishing three additional fire districts in the county in attempt to ensure sufficient funds are being paid for fire protection services. The commissioners first read the resolution during their weekly meeting Monday, which would create three fire districts in the townships of Lowell, Shawnee and Spring Valley. The proposal calls for implementing a uniform 2.5-mill levy on property taxes in those three townships to be designated for fire protection. Cory Moates, who serves as commission chairman and assistant fire chief at Baxter Springs, said a majority of the townships within the county are already [...]

Leavenworth County Commissioners discuss road pavement program

info2019-01-18T10:36:45-06:00January 18th, 2019|

It would probably cost close to $120 million to pave all of the gravel roads in Leavenworth County, the county administrator said. “We don’t have those kinds of funds,” County Administrator Mark Loughry said. He said county officials will prioritize roads for paving based on traffic counts. “We will try to pave as many roads as we can,” Loughry said. But he said it is unlikely people who live on gravel roads with low traffic counts will have their roads paved anytime soon. Loughry’s comments came Wednesday during a work session of the Leavenworth County Commission. (Read more: Leavenworth Times)

Hutchinson officer uses traumatic experience to peer mentor officers

info2019-01-18T10:34:00-06:00January 18th, 2019|

Law enforcement risk their lives daily, answering the call when the unexpected happens. Hutchinson police officer, Josh Long says trauma is just part of his job, and it doesn't discriminate. "This job is stressful. Whether you're a dispatcher or somebody else within the department, it's stressful," says Long. Long says he was involved in two traumatic incidents while on duty in a span of just two months. That's when he says he knew he needed help. "Things weren't right. I started to withdraw and started to not be myself and really looking for answers as to why that occurred," says Long. [...]

Report to Hays: ‘Retail is not going away’

info2019-01-18T11:22:41-06:00January 18th, 2019|

“There’s a lot of potential here,” according to Clay Craft, portfolio director of Retail Strategies, Birmingham, Alabama. That was the tag line on the final slide Craft presented to Hays city commissioners Thursday night in an update from the national firm hired in March 2018 to provide a retail recruitment and retention program for the city. Craft said he likes to joke the company is the “Match.com of retail.” “The pitch to locate in a town must be very specific to what that retailer is looking for,” he told the commission. Retail Strategies focuses on recruitment of national retailers which may [...]

State of the city: leaders tout ‘big win’ for Hutchinson

info2019-01-18T10:23:17-06:00January 18th, 2019|

One day after passing the title of mayor to David Inskeep, Jr., Steve Dechant spoke about Hutchinson’s challenges and triumphs in the State of the City address. Dechant remains as a member of the Hutchinson City Council. “You can see that I’m still hanging on by my fingernails,” Dechant joked before beginning his portion of the speech. Hutchinson AMBUCS established the State of the City seven years ago, and in previous years the address had been handled solely by City Manager John Deardoff. However, this year Dechant and Deardoff split the speech into parts. Dechant covered the city’s human relations efforts [...]

Wichita Open tees up economic impact and civic pride

info2019-01-18T07:01:27-06:00January 18th, 2019|

When the Wichita Open kicks off its 30th anniversary tournament in June, the roar of the crowd will celebrate more than just the play of some of the world’s best up-and-coming professional golfers. It will also celebrate the longevity of one of the city’s premier sporting events, which, thanks to the outside-the-box thinking of its long-time director, has come to raise the profile of the Air Capital and contributes a growing local economic impact measured in the millions. “It seems to be getting better every year,” says Roy Turner, entering his 20th year as the tournament’s director. And as one of [...]