News – Page 420 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

A Mammoth mitigation plan

info2024-06-26T09:24:15-05:00June 26th, 2024|

Killing two birds with one stone. This was the idea behind Mammoth Sports Construction’s presentation at Monday evening’s joint meeting of the Iola City Council and school board. Riverside Park poses flooding issues for the city and USD 257 has a need for ballfields that can still be utilized following heavy rains. The solution? Synthetic turf fields, bigger holding ponds and larger pumps to mitigate and redirect flood waters, according to Mammoth. The scope of the $3.733 million project includes an artificial turf softball, baseball, and football field that will help store flood waters during a major storm event. The fields [...]

SE Kansas under drought watch, Galena enacts emergency measures

info2024-06-26T09:23:05-05:00June 26th, 2024|

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly put all of Southeast Kansas under a "drought watch" on Monday. A water drought emergency ordinance continues in Galena. It came from the state through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and required the city to establish three stages of water conservation measures in case of an emergency. The city uses wells and is working on getting another one up and running. "I hope everybody, myself included, is conscious of their water usage - because I think we take a lot of things for granted - and at any time, something could turn on the dime," said [...]

Sedgwick County regulators hold up giant solar farm on Wichita’s outskirts amid objections from neighbors

info2024-06-26T09:21:04-05:00June 26th, 2024|

Sedgwick County appeared poised to follow its ban on wind farms with widely vetted regulations that would allow acre after acre of solar panels pumping renewable energy into the electrical grid. Instead, the county still has a moratorium on the construction of large-scale solar farms. “Boils down to a simple phrase: not in my backyard,” said Walt Chappell, a solar power booster and longtime critic of local government. The stall leaves the industry frustrated and some environmentalists upset that objections from neighbors who’d be near a proposed Chisholm Trail utility-scale solar project west of Maize may have blocked the project. Sedgwick County needed regulations for [...]

New expressway officially opens in SE Kansas

info2024-06-26T09:19:52-05:00June 26th, 2024|

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) has officially opened the newly constructed U.S. 166/400 four-lane expressway, improving travel from Baxter Springs to the Kansas-Missouri border. This long-anticipated development is set to streamline traffic and enhance connectivity in the region. Currently, eastbound traffic on the new lanes is limited to a single lane until the final placement of pavement markings is completed. Motorists are advised to follow the signs and exercise caution as work continues. As construction activities are still ongoing in the project area, KDOT urges drivers to stay vigilant, obey traffic signs, and adhere to reduced speed limits to ensure safety for [...]

Riley County firefighters host ‘forced entry’ training

info2024-06-26T09:18:15-05:00June 26th, 2024|

Firefighters in Riley County came together to host a 'forceful entry' training session Tuesday evening. The firefighters were given a vacant home to use during the training. Workers filled the home with fake smoke to simulate an actual house fire, which firefighters forcefully entered to put out the source. Riley County Emergency Management Director and Fire Chief Russel Stukey told 27 News the two most important things firefighters need to remember when forcefully entering a burning building are safety and following procedure. "Do the least amount of damage as possible, but enough to get the job done, to get us in the building safely [...]

Per Federal compliance requirements, local law enforcement communication channels to become encrypted effective July 8

info2024-06-26T09:17:14-05:00June 26th, 2024|

With identity theft and cybercrime becoming a more pressing concern almost daily, local law enforcement will be making major changes to radio traffic to help safeguard personal information. According to Lyon County Emergency Communications Center Director Roxanne Van Gundy, effective July 8 all radio transmissions for local law enforcement — Lyon County Sheriff’s Office, Emporia Police and Emporia State University Police and Safety — will become encrypted. Van Gundy says a significant amount of personal data is communicated over the airwaves when it comes to emergencies. She says many have access to these law enforcement channels whether through police scanners or apps and [...]

Zoning moratorium among items up for consideration when Lyon County Commissioners convene Thursday

info2024-06-26T09:14:15-05:00June 26th, 2024|

Lyon County Commissioners will consider signing a resolution that would establish a moratorium and suspend any applications related to zoning, land use and building permitting within Lyon County during their regular action meeting Thursday. The purpose of the moratorium is to allow the Lyon County Planning and Zoning Board to review zoning regulations related to medical buildings. It was reported earlier this month that Stormont Vail Health had purchased land to build a new multi-million dollar medical facility in the county, however, calls for confirmation from KVOE to Stormont have not been returned. Commission Chairman Rollie Martin tells KVOE News the resolution being [...]

Equipment super load coming to Emporia soon

info2024-06-26T09:13:14-05:00June 26th, 2024|

Just how big is the equipment super load moving through Emporia on Tuesday morning? The city of Emporia Facebook page says the boiler is 22 feet tall, 22 feet wide and 216 feet long — or over 70 yards. It also weighs 660,000 pounds. The equipment stopped in Madison overnight on its way from Oklahoma to California. It is using Kansas Highway 99 north to reach Emporia. The city of Emporia has already made several traffic adjustments, temporarily disabling the stoplights at 12th and Merchant starting Monday and detouring northbound traffic on Merchant — starting at 12th — east to Burlingame Road once the load [...]

Diverse event schedule helping Emporia tourism efforts: ‘We have found our home in the unexpected’

info2024-06-26T09:11:26-05:00June 26th, 2024|

Late spring and early summer are typically busy times when it comes to Emporia’s event schedule, and this year has been no different. Emporia has seen record-setting participation with Unbound Gravel, as well as heavy attendance for the Pro Disc Golf Association Masters and Dynamic Discs Open disc golf tournaments. This week has the National Teachers Hall of Fame induction process and Emporia Pride overlapping. Next week has the Kansas Shrine Bowl. Visit Emporia Director LeLan Dains says it’s important to have what he calls diversity in the event schedule. That diversity has helped to drive Emporia’s transient guest tax receipts to record levels [...]

City looking at staff reductions to address revenue shortfalls

info2024-06-26T09:10:29-05:00June 26th, 2024|

As Manhattan faces a revenue shortfall, one city official suggests staff reduction could be a solution. The city will have just over $1 million in revenue remaining near the end of 2025, and officials previously have said they’d rather not see numbers dip below $10 million in the general reserve. Interim city manager Jason Hilgers said reducing staff has been an effective solution in the past. “There are different ways we can look at revenue,” Hilgers said. “But I think historically, pressure really comes on reductions in people because people are primarily what compromises the city. It’s individuals out delivering services [...]