News – Page 2271 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Shawnee County Commission denies request for bed and breakfast with event center

info2018-12-11T06:41:13-06:00December 11th, 2018|

Shortly after the Shawnee County Commission on Monday morning voted 2-1 to reject his conditional use permit request for a bed and breakfast and event center on land at 3521 S.E. Paulen Road, all Rod McCollum could do was shrug his shoulders and begin considering what to do with land east of Topeka that had been in his family for years. “Broken-hearted,” McCollum said a few minutes after his plan had been rejected. “I wanted to stay home.” McCollum, 62, petitioned the county for the conditional use permit to use his home as a bed and breakfast and a refurbished barn [...]

Wichita seeks Amtrak service, county shows hesitance

info2018-12-11T06:37:52-06:00December 11th, 2018|

Wichita officials are pushing for Amtrak to restore rail service in the city that hasn’t had a passenger train service for nearly 40 years, but Sedgwick County officials aren’t ready to embrace the plan. Bringing back the rail service is near the top of the city’s lobbying agenda when the state legislative session begins next month. “Passenger rail is evolving as a key component for keeping and attracting young people as part of a strong workforce,” the legislative platform said. “In addition, it provides a safe travel option for an aging population.” But Sedgwick County didn’t even put Amtrak service on [...]

Lawrence Humane Society asks city to allow catch and release of feral cat colonies

info2018-12-11T08:50:13-06:00December 11th, 2018|

The Lawrence Humane Society wants the city to consider allowing colonies of feral cats to live in the city as long as the cats have been vaccinated and spayed or neutered. Currently, allowing cats to roam free is against city code, and humane society representatives say the animal shelter previously has had to euthanize dozens of cats because they are not adoptable. The Lawrence City Commission will consider various changes to the animal control ordinance and discuss the potential “community cats” program as part of its meeting Tuesday. The shelter is requesting the city change its animal control code to enable [...]

Sedgwick County among 16 Kansas counties who are recipients of $900K funding to address opioid crisis

info2018-12-11T06:33:35-06:00December 11th, 2018|

A statement from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) says approximately $900,000 has been awarded to county health departments to address the opioid crisis in Kansas. The funding comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Opioid Overdose Crisis Response Cooperative Agreement which was awarded to KDHE earlier this fall. The counties that will be receiving funding are: Barton, Crawford, Finney, Franklin, Geary, Harvey, Johnson, Labette, Mitchell, Neosho, Pottawatomie, Rawlins, Reno, Riley, Sedgwick and Stevens. (Read more: KAKE - News)

New Sedgwick County tag office opens Monday in a former pool and patio store

info2018-12-11T06:26:33-06:00December 11th, 2018|

If you need new license plates for your car this week, make sure you go to the right place. Three tag offices closed Friday and a new office opens on East Kellogg at noon on Monday. Drivers from north and south Sedgwick County will have to drive farther to find a tag office. But waits should be shorter, county officials have said. Now, Sedgwick County will have two, full-size tag offices instead of one large station and three satellite stations, county officials have said. The offices that closed last week were at 21st and Maize, 21st and Woodlawn, and Derby Towne [...]

Up to 10,000 City of Topeka customers possibly affected in potential cyberattack

info2018-12-11T06:11:11-06:00December 11th, 2018|

The City of Topeka said Monday it has been a potential victim of a cyberattack and has identified up to 10,000 customers who may have been affected by the data breach. City spokeswoman Molly Hadfield said Monday the city was notified of the incident by its utility billing payment system software vendor, Central Square, on Friday afternoon. The potential data breach hasn’t been confirmed at this time, Hadfield said. The breach occurred between Oct. 31 and Dec. 7 and would affect any city utilities customer who made a one-time payment or set up autopay during that time. E-checks and customers who [...]

Small town, high stakes: A day in the life of a city prosecutor

info2018-12-10T12:19:55-06:00December 10th, 2018|

The third Wednesday of each month is a busy day for Anna Wolf. That’s the only day the Tonganoxie Municipal Court is in session. Wolf is the Tonganoxie city prosecutor. “Everything depends on that one day, and you need to have everything ready,” said Wolf, L’12. “Otherwise, you’re going to go a whole other month before you get another opportunity. It puts a lot of pressure on that one day.” Read more: KU Law Blog.

Is your community in need of a new swimming pool? Grants are available that could pay for 50%

info2018-12-10T11:41:11-06:00December 10th, 2018|

The Kansas Department of Commerce has recently announced a grant program that could pay for 50% of a new swimming pool in Kansas communities. There will be several requirements (which aren't set in stone yet), including: communities must be be 500 and 25,000 in population (it's possible the population minimum could be lower) must meet the LMI (low-to-moderate income) objective maximum grant would be $1,000,000 this is for a fairly basic pool (NO lazy rivers, slides, splash pads, etc. - although you can design to add those later) grants will likely be due by the end of March, so applicants will [...]

ACLU files motion opposing dismissal of Ford County voting access lawsuit

info2018-12-10T10:43:30-06:00December 10th, 2018|

The ACLU filed a motion Friday opposing the dismissal of its voting rights case against Ford County Clerk Deborah Cox. The legal action requests additional polling places in Dodge City. “We aren’t asking for the moon,” said ACLU of Kansas legal director Lauren Bonds. “Our plaintiffs need, deserve and are legally entitled to an accessible polling place, in town. That’s more than reasonable.” The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit in October accusing Cox of disenfranchising voters, particularly those in the Hispanic community, and asking a judge to halt the use of the site located on the outskirts of Dodge City. (Read [...]

It comes down to funding for K-96 project

info2018-12-10T10:41:18-06:00December 10th, 2018|

Although there are a lot of unknowns with funding and a new Kansas Governor to take office in January, Great Bend Chamber of Commerce CEO Jan Peters is confident the road construction project along K-96 Highway from Nickerson to Lyons will be reconsidered. The Kansas Transportation Task Force is finalizing their pitch to the Legislature for a new transportation comprehensive plan in 2020. Peters says the Task Force heard a lot of input for their plan. Peters went with four other area representatives to testify in front of the Task Force in October to promote the completion of the K-96 project [...]