News – Page 2308 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Shawnee Fire Department trains for mass casualty crash

info2018-10-31T09:08:53-05:00October 31st, 2018|

For three consecutive days last week, all 66 Shawnee Firefighters worked their way through a mock mass casualty crash. Each day the scenario involved a school bus, several vehicles, and volunteers playing the role of injured and hysterical people at the scene. Deputy Fire Chief Sal Scarpa told Operation 100 News this drill was the first time they had the opportunity to use a school bus. “On a three or four vehicle crash we may see five or six people with injuries,” he said. “The school bus changes everything, and we have to be prepared for that.” The school bus was [...]

Developers plan “riverfront village” next to new downtown Wichita ballpark

info2018-10-31T09:07:08-05:00October 31st, 2018|

A group of developers announced Monday they have plans to turn the area north of soon-to-be-razed Lawrence-Dumont Stadium into a 'riverfront village.' In a news release, a group called Riverfront Partners LLC — consisting of George Laham of Laham Development, Dave Burk of Marketplace Properties, Dave Wells of Key Construction and Jerry Jones of Jones Commercial Development — said it plans to develop residential, restaurant, entertainment, retail and office space in the area where the Metropolitan Baptist Church sits. According to the release, the development will be called riverfront village. The plans are just the latest in a series of big [...]

Registration closing for governor’s water conference

info2018-10-31T09:03:09-05:00October 31st, 2018|

Only two days remain to register for the Governor’s Conference on the Future of Water in Kansas. Registration for the seventh annual conference is due Nov. 1. The two-day event, hosted in Manhattan, will cover reservoir management, water technology farms, the Ogallala Aquifer, the implementation of the 50-year Water Vision and more. A current list of speakers and registration form can be found at http://www.kwo.ks.gov/. “We encourage anyone to attend who has an interest in our state’s water resources. Legislators, water managers, state, federal, city and county officials, as well as scientists, organizations and agricultural producers, are all welcome,” said Tracy [...]

McPherson company looking to hire hundreds of people

info2018-10-31T06:45:09-05:00October 31st, 2018|

The Pfizer drug manufacturing plant that sits on the northern edge of this central Kansas town of 13,201 is on a hiring spree. Already at about 2,000 people — 1,700 of whom are full time with the remainder temporary and contract employees — Pfizer’s McPherson plant is looking to hire 350 more workers. It’s already had job fairs in Wichita and Salina as part of its efforts to increase employment at the plant that manufactures sterile, injectable medicines. “We are seeing an increase in demand, which is driving a number of the head count positions,” said Carole Johnson, Pfizer’s McPherson site [...]

Construction begins on $500K Hanover firehouse

info2018-10-31T06:16:01-05:00October 31st, 2018|

The Hanover City Fire Department has begun construction on a new firehouse. The building will be on Washington Street where the old lumber yard once stood. Fire department members have been raising money since 2000 to build a new firehouse. The $500,000 building will measure 60x100 feet with five truck bays, a meeting room, bathrooms and an office for the fire chief. The building will also feature a city clerk’s office. Source: Washington County News.

Ford County responds to polling location lawsuit

info2018-10-30T09:06:04-05:00October 30th, 2018|

With a pending American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit, Ford County and the Ford County Clerk’s Office has found outside counsel regarding the change of the polling location from the Dodge City Civic Center to the Western State Bank Expo Center. The location change, moved the one polling location for Dodge City, outside the city limits on the southend of town. ...Ford County Administrator J.D. Gilbert said in a press release.... that the county is aware of media reports and social media posts relating to a temporary restraining order filed by the ACLU of Kansas. “Dodge City has maintained a single polling [...]

Lawrence officials raise concerns about possible new tolls

info2018-10-30T07:03:16-05:00October 30th, 2018|

Concerns are being raised about a proposal to make one of Lawrence’s busiest highways into a toll road. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Douglas County Commission Chair Nancy Thellman says a delegation of city and county officials will testify before the state’s Joint Legislative Transportation Vision Task Force on Nov. 8. They’re against a plan to use tolls collected from the South Lawrence Trafficway to help pay for a potential project to expand the western leg of the road to four lanes. The South Lawrence Trafficway takes travelers from Interstate 70 northwest of Lawrence to Kansas Highway 10 east of Lawrence. [...]

Pop-up dog park event draws hundreds to Mission

info2018-10-30T07:02:29-05:00October 30th, 2018|

It’s hard to say who was having more fun at the pop-up dog park event in Mission: the dogs or their humans. Volunteers for Mission: Dog Park said at least 200 canine participants and their owners dropped by to check out Pop Up Dog Park on Saturday in Broadmoor Park. Christina Farmer, chair of the dog park committee, said the goal of the pop-up dog park was to generate awareness for their goal to build a dog park in Mission. Nick Schlossmacher, a Mission councilmember on the Mission: Dog Park committee, said the pop-up event had great turnout and positive feedback [...]

KPERS’ unfunded liability falls below $9 billion, revenue tops benchmark

info2018-10-30T07:00:40-05:00October 30th, 2018|

The unfunded liability of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System declined by more than $150 million in the previous year and return on the pension fund’s investments exceeded the 7.75 percent target, officials said Monday. KPERS executive director Alan Conroy told House and Senate members of the Joint Committee on Pensions, Investments and Benefits that challenges remained in the system serving state employees, judges, teachers, firefighters and law enforcement officers. But the unfunded actuarial liability dropped to $8.907 billion at the end of 2017 from $9.061 billion at the close of 2016, he said. Members of the joint committee, including Rep. [...]

Shawnee adding six miles of fiber for network buildout

info2018-10-30T08:59:44-05:00October 30th, 2018|

Shawnee is adding six more miles of fiber as part of its ongoing efforts to build out its fiber optic network. The city’s goal is to to provide high-speed connections to city facilities and traffic infrastructure, according to an Oct. 22 city memo by Mel Bunting, director of information technology for the city. This network will also provide a regional backbone that connects Shawnee with Johnson County and neighboring cities, he added in the memo. Shawnee plans to expand the new fiber west of Interstate 435, which will connect fire stations 73 and 74, traffic signals and a potential community center. [...]