News – Page 2309 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Major development to bring restaurants, other businesses to riverfront near stadium

info2018-10-30T06:45:22-05:00October 30th, 2018|

For decades — maybe even longer — Wichitans have complained about the lack of restaurants, bars and other businesses along the Arkansas River. That’s going to change with Riverfront Village, a 7-acre mixed-use development that Riverfront Partners plans along the river just south of Douglas and north of where the new baseball stadium will be built. “We want to bring something to downtown, to the river, that truly takes downtown development and river development to a new level,” says developer George Laham. He’s partners in the project with Old Town developer Dave Burk of Marketplace Properties, Key Construction president Dave Wells [...]

City of Topeka defends presence of school zones that aren’t close to schools

info2018-10-30T06:42:34-05:00October 30th, 2018|

A spokeswoman for Topeka’s city government this past week defended the city’s practice of maintaining school speed zones on stretches of S.E. and S.W. 37th streets that aren’t particularly close to any public schools. Those zones help protect students who walk to school through those areas, said Molly Hadfield, the city’s media relations coordinator. Maps of elementary schools, middle schools and high schools available on the website for Topeka Unified School District 501 indicate the elementary school the district maintains closest to the school zone location is Ross Elementary, 1400 S.E. 34th. The closest middle school is Eisenhower Middle School, 3305 [...]

Hays, Sherman Co. among winners of Kansas tourism awards

info2018-10-30T06:40:34-05:00October 30th, 2018|

Kansas tourism professionals presented several awards at the 2018 Kansas Tourism Conference awards banquet held Oct. 24 at the Geary County Convention Center in Junction City. The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism presented the following awards. (Read more: Hays Post)

United Government committee will consider fast-food development that would be financed by public money

info2018-10-30T08:58:09-05:00October 30th, 2018|

...a proposed fast-food development in Argentine funded almost entirely by government grants or tax breaks might be voted on Monday by a committee of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan. A nonprofit agency, Argentine Betterment Corp., is the developer of a proposed Wendy’s and Pizza Hut restaurant at the southeast corner of Metropolitan Avenue and 21st Street in Argentine, near a Save-A-Lot and Dollar General store. The developer argues that there’s private money involved through an upfront $1 million loan for the $2 million project. But a closer examination shows that most of the project, including the loan, over [...]

In attempt to mitigate noise from house parties, City of Manhattan rolls out party registration program

info2018-10-30T06:35:45-05:00October 30th, 2018|

A new program in Manhattan aims to help with noise mitigation during house parties while building bridges between K-State students and RCPD. The City of Manhattan announced in a release Monday that they are partnering with the Riley County Police Department and Kansas State University to develop their new party registration program. Party organizers can register their Friday and Saturday night get-togethers through the program. As part of the registry, hosts must share their contact information. That way, should anyone call and complain about the noise generated by the party, officers will be able to call the host and ask that [...]

Judge to decide if Dodge City needs a second polling site; Ford County says it will immediately appeal if a second site is ordered

info2018-10-30T06:31:48-05:00October 30th, 2018|

A federal court judge is preparing to decide if he should force Ford County to open a second polling site in Dodge City on Election Day. It comes after some voters sued the county last week, with the help of the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Americans Civil Liberties Union. At a preliminary hearing held by phone Monday afternoon, Judge Daniel Crabtree was most concerned with the timeline in this case. We are, after all, just a week away from Election Day. He also had questions getting at the intent behind the temporary move of the polling site [...]

KPERS turns in positive report for 2017

info2018-10-30T06:30:36-05:00October 30th, 2018|

After taking steps in recent years to shore up the state’s troubled pension system, Kansas lawmakers got good news about the fund’s long-term outlook Monday. Its unfunded liability — how much the pension fund will have to pay out over the next 40 years that isn’t covered by current assets and assumed earnings — fell by $154 million during calendar year 2017, while the overall size of the pension fund grew to $19.5 billion. And even though the remaining size of the unfunded liability, at $8.9 billion, may still appear daunting, the head of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System said [...]

Want to report dangerous driving? City of Lawrence has a new website for that

info2018-10-30T06:27:00-05:00October 30th, 2018|

The city of Lawrence now has a website for residents to report traffic safety concerns and to potentially get improvements made to roadways and increase traffic enforcement by police. Assistant City Manager Diane Stoddard announced the creation of the website at the City Commission’s most recent meeting. Stoddard said the website allows residents to provide information about any dangerous driving behavior in their neighborhoods. “So if there are any concerns about people speeding or other hazards that are in the neighborhood, this is a way to get that information to us,” Stoddard said. Read more: LJWorld.com

Wichita police officer hopes letting cops show tattoos will help with recruitment

info2018-10-30T06:24:56-05:00October 30th, 2018|

Wichita police officers could soon show their body ink if a potential regulation change is approved, and department staff hope it would help with recruitment. Officer Anthony Villegas, a Patrol East community police officer, told the Wichita police Citizen Review Board last week that he hopes the department will revise its policy. Current regulation states that tattoos must not show while an officer is on duty, regardless of whether the officer is in uniform or civilian clothes, Villegas said. Facial, head and neck tattoos are not permitted under policy. Capt. Chet Pinkston said the tattoo policy has been debated within the [...]

City of Topeka to begin installing new water meters Tuesday; majority of 57,000 to be replaced

info2018-10-30T06:17:36-05:00October 30th, 2018|

The city of Topeka will begin rolling out new water meters starting Tuesday as part of a program that will replace the majority of 57,000 water meters. The new meters will allow readings to be collected wirelessly. The program will convert commercial and residential water meters to a wireless device that transmits the meter readings on a licensed radio frequency to collectors placed strategically throughout the city, said Ryan Woolaway, the city’s community education manager. Readings will be transmitted hourly to monitor usage and alert the utility department if a leak is suspected. “This technology will not only improve the efficiency [...]