News – Page 2356 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Kansas Supreme Court-appointed committee presents recommendations on municipal court practices

info2018-09-19T12:56:31-05:00September 19th, 2018|

An ad hoc committee appointed by the Kansas Supreme Court a year ago to review bonding practices, fines, and fees of Kansas' municipal courts presented its recommendations at a news conference Wednesday. The 18 committee members were appointed by Chief Justice Lawton Nuss in an order signed September 6, 2017. Of the 18 members, 16 are municipal judges, one a city attorney, and one an attorney from the League of Kansas Municipalities. The Supreme Court directed the committee to study current municipal court practices, examine the practices in other courts across the country, and recommend best practices for Kansas municipal courts. [...]

Wheels set in motion to celebrate Belleville’s 150th anniversary in August 2019

info2018-09-19T10:07:09-05:00September 19th, 2018|

A gala event to mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of Belleville has been set for August 16-18, 2019. More than 20 volunteers attended a meeting of the Belleville Community PRIDE organization Sunday to lay the groundwork for the event. By consensus volunteers agreed that the Mid-America Cruise-in at the Crossroads, traditionally held in June, and the Ag Heritage Festival staged the July 4 weekend will be rolled into the 150th celebration to focus funds and volunteers into one event. Read more: Belleville Telescope.

Lawrence considers requiring licenses, inspections for Airbnb, other short-term rentals

info2018-09-18T10:04:11-05:00September 18th, 2018|

The City of Lawrence could soon begin regulating the fast-growing short-term rental business in Lawrence. Following direction from city commissioners last year, city staff has drafted regulations that would allow short-term rentals in all residential areas, but would require them to be licensed, to be inspected annually, to be insured to a certain level and to follow occupancy limits and other restrictions. Permits for short-term rentals where the property owner resides elsewhere would be an option, but not guaranteed. Current city code doesn’t allow short-term rentals, but that hasn’t stopped the practice from occurring in Lawrence. Figures show the number of [...]

Shawnee County commission OKs expenditure to ‘thwart low-life thieves’

info2018-09-18T09:23:00-05:00September 18th, 2018|

Shawnee County Commissioner Bob Archer said Monday he felt irritated because Shawnee County needed to spend nearly $36,000 “to thwart low-life thieves” instead of on trails or parks equipment. Still, Archer joined Commissioners Kevin Cook and Shelly Buhler in voting 3-0 to earmark that amount to buy a security system aimed specifically at deterring the theft of copper from baseball and softball fields at Dornwood Park, 2500 S.E. Highland. “It’s unfortunate that we have to have to spend money on something reluctantly like this,” Buhler said. Commissioners voted to use contingency funds to spend $35,982.04 to make the sole-source purchase of [...]

Topeka police chief: Dominique White shooting transformed law enforcement in city

info2018-09-18T09:21:58-05:00September 18th, 2018|

Topeka police chief Bill Cochran said the department would handle the aftermath of a police shooting differently compared to nearly a year ago when Dominique White was killed. White, 30, was shot Sept. 28, 2017, by officers Michael Cruse and Justin Mackey. “Dominique White’s shooting did more to transform law enforcement in the city of Topeka and the state of Kansas than probably any other incident in a long, long time,” Cochran said. The investigation was handed over to the Lawrence Police Department the day of the incident. Cochran said the department didn’t know the status of the case as LPD [...]

Olathe Police finding officer recruitment a struggle as city grows

info2018-09-18T09:16:06-05:00September 18th, 2018|

Police departments across the country are struggling to find officers. In Johnson County, Kan., it's compounded by the region's explosive growth. Some estimates peg the population of Olathe to top 300,000 in the next 20 years. Finding officers to protect all those people is not easy. With over 70 active neighborhood watches, there's still a strong sense of people looking out for each other. A big piece in keeping the community safe is its police force, and that's a job that's growing harder all the time to recruit for. "We had a recent testing where we only had about 12 people [...]

Gathering ideas for Great Bend’s visioning project

info2018-09-18T09:14:02-05:00September 18th, 2018|

A visioning project in Great Bend has spent time gathering information about the community in hopes of developing a plan to bring Great Bend into the future. Great Bend’s population has declined 2.97 percent since 2010, there are 70 vacant housing units for sale, there are four employers that have over 300 employees, and 24 percent of the population is considered a millennial between the age of 15 and 34. These statistics and many more were put together as a starting point for the master plan according to Sheila Shockey, founder and president of Shockey Consulting Services. Shockey Consulting Services was [...]

Hutch City Council seeks approval of new zoning ordinance

info2018-09-18T09:13:09-05:00September 18th, 2018|

The Hutchinson City Council will take final action on the rezoning proposal that would allow for more condensed development in the older parts of the city during Tuesday’s agenda session. The changes were put in place after several public meetings and studies were done to see if the infill district would make property improvement easier. One of the biggest additions with the new zoning change would allow for the construction of a small apartment on property, such as a garage apartment. Other changes include smaller setbacks and the number of parking spaces a property must have from two to one. The [...]

Great Bend to renegotiate contract with the Chamber of Commerce

info2018-09-18T09:11:44-05:00September 18th, 2018|

The contract between the City of Great Bend and the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce was drafted in 1999 and there have been no changes to the agreement since. City Administrator Kendal Francis felt it was time to renegotiate the contract with the Chamber to get better clarification of what the City wants from the Chamber and the economic development the governing body wants to pursue. The contract with the Chamber automatically renews January 1, and in order to renegotiate the contract the City must give the Chamber 90 days notice. The Great Bend City Council voted in favor allowing the [...]

Hesston library adds wifi checkout

info2018-09-18T09:01:40-05:00September 18th, 2018|

The Hesston Public Library is expanding online offerings — now allowing library users to check out one of 10 WiFi hotspot devices. “They check out just like a book, DVD or anything else,” said Libby Albers, head librarian at Hesston Public Library. “You can take them on the road, take them camping or take them home.” Albers said the first users include a family that has moved and is waiting for their home internet service to be connected, a family whose cable line was cut during construction and others. “There are a lot of ways to utilize this,” Albers said. The [...]