News – Page 2454 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Lenexa allocates $350,000 for wayside horns to reduce noise in Old Town

info2018-06-12T06:48:21-05:00June 12th, 2018|

The more than 1,200 homes and businesses that sit within a half mile of the busy railroad crossings in Lenexa’s Old Town should be in for some relief in the coming year or so. The city council has approved the expenditure of $350,000 on a new wayside horn system for the crossing that will substantially reduce noise pollution from the train horns that are required by law to blast as the moving trains approach crossings with roads. Lenexa’s move to the wayside signaling system, which will have the horns sound from posts mounted alongside the tracks instead of from the trains [...]

City, police officials to update Lawrence school board on status of planned new police headquarters

info2018-06-12T06:45:30-05:00June 12th, 2018|

City and police department officials will update the Lawrence school board Monday on the status of the new police headquarters, to be built just west of Free State High School. Capt. Anthony Brixius, of the Lawrence Police Department; Melinda Harger, the city's assistant director of utilities; Amanda Sahin, city transportation engineer; and Mark Hecker, assistant director of Lawrence Parks and Recreation, will provide the update to the school board on various aspects of the planned $17 million police headquarters. The project is of interest to the school district because the headquarters is set to be built immediately west of the FSHS [...]

Lawrence City Commission to consider 5 traffic-calming projects, including bike boulevard

info2018-06-12T06:45:20-05:00June 12th, 2018|

The city is recommending that speed bumps and other traffic calming devices be added to five Lawrence streets, one of which would be converted into a bicycle boulevard. As part of its work session Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will consider approving the 2018 traffic-calming project list. City staff used a ranking system to decide which projects to recommend for the $200,000 allocated for traffic calming, according to a staff memo to the commission. The traffic-calming project list is part of the commission’s consent agenda. The projects and their rankings are as follows: (Read more: LJWorld.com / Lawrence, Kansas)

Bike share program comes to Lakin, Deerfield

info2018-06-11T08:43:20-05:00June 11th, 2018|

A free bicycle rental service has been launched in Lakin and Deerfield by the Kearny County Wellness Coalition, courtesy of a local consulting company and a body shop. “We are so excited about this opportunity to share bikes with everyone and make it much easier to get outside and add activity into the day,” Krysta Harvey, chairperson of Kearny County Wellness Coalition, stated in a release. MountainHawk Corporation, a technical consulting company based out of Lakin, was hired by the Coalition to provide access to BikeShareMaps.com and help establish a local Bike Share Committee who will be responsible for maintaining the [...]

Annual Bike Across Kansas starts Saturday

info2018-06-11T08:42:24-05:00June 11th, 2018|

The 44th annual Biking Across Kansas will start Saturday at the Colorado border and follow a 558-mile southern route across the state. Some 700 bicyclists and support registered for the ride, which will end at the Missouri border on June 16.Participants represent 26 states and 124 cities in 65 Kansas counties, with ages ranging from 10 to 85. This year’s route will pass through Ulysses, Meade, Greensburg, Coldwater, Zenda and Belle Plaine in the western ... (Read more: Local - The Hutchinson News)

Pratt announces solar farm will become major local power source

info2018-06-11T07:46:29-05:00June 11th, 2018|

Pratt city officials this week announced plans for the construction of a 6-megawatt solar farm in the northeast corner of town intended to provide most of the cities electricity for at least the next 15 years. The city, which operates a municipal power company, has entered into a long-term contract with Inovateus Solar and Kenyon Energy for the project. Inovateus, of South Bend, Indiana, will construct the farm and Kenyon Energy, headquartered in Safety Harbor, Florida, with an office in Colorado, will manage it. At the end of 15 years, the city will have an option to buy the solar farm [...]

Valley Center Community center coming to life

info2018-06-11T07:44:26-05:00June 11th, 2018|

Their bosses called it a team-building exercise, a way to bond while performing a task that was a bit out of the box. Some Valley Center city employees put aside what they normally do on a Tuesday this week to assemble tables, chairs, desks and racks in the new Community Center & Library. “It was a great team-building experience," Neal Owings, director of parks and public buildings, said during a city council meeting June 5. “I was really taken back by how much effort was given by the staff. It was great. It's looking good over there." This week's work is [...]

City manager’s recommended budget calls for holding Lawrence tax rate flat, increases in utility rates

info2018-06-11T07:40:12-05:00June 11th, 2018|

As part of his recommended budget for next year, City Manager Tom Markus is proposing the city’s mill levy rate remain flat. The recommended operating budget totals about $206 million and will be presented to the City Commission for initial input at its work session Tuesday. As proposed, next year’s budget would see $14.6 million of unfunded capital improvement projects, personnel requests and equipment purchases. A memo to the commission notes that many tough decisions had to be made about priorities, and Markus said that for him, the capital improvement projects are the most difficult. (Read more: LJWorld.com stories: Local news)

Great Bend hoping for the best with “Opportunity Zones” designation

info2018-06-11T07:38:33-05:00June 11th, 2018|

It is just the beginning for the Opportunity Zones in Great Bend and what sort of boost they could provide to the economy and the landscape of the town. As Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer visited Great Bend last Wednesday, business and community leaders learned more about the two census tracts or zones that were designated in Great Bend. Investors will be able to receive capital gains incentives for investing in construction, renovation, or real estate within the zones. Great Bend business consultant Mark Mingenback felt the Opportunity Zones open the City to new possibilities of receiving private investments from near and [...]

Butler County discusses community college funding

info2018-06-11T07:37:12-05:00June 11th, 2018|

Rep. Kristey Williams visited the Butler County Board of Commissioners Tuesday and discussed funding options for Butler Community College. Williams said she would like to see the college’s mil levy reduced by five mils. She also said that 60 percent of Butler Community College employees live outside of Butler County, enrollment is dropping and expenses are going up. In the state of Kansas there are 19 counties that have community colleges. Of those 19 counties, 55 of the 125 members of the House of Representative have those counties as part of their district. That is a challenge when trying to get [...]