News

At its recent meeting, the Bentley City Council reluctantly passed water restrictions forced by the City of Wichita, the sole supplier of water to the city. While drought conditions persist throughout the area, Wichita has been increasing pressure on customers of its untreated water supply to implement water conservation plans that limit outdoor water use. The most recent restrictions limit watering lawns to three specific days per week, before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m., at each address. The particular days are based on each residence’s even or odd house number. City Administrator and Police Chief James “Tim” Bryan read out [...]

Holton Community Hospital (HCH) officials are asking Jackson County residents for their support during the Nov. 4 general election. Registered voters in Jackson County will be asked on the ballot whether they support a special .25 percent retailers’ sales tax specifically for hospital services. To help the public understand the need for the sales tax, several public town hall meetings will be held throughout the county this month and next, it has been reported. Read more: The Holton Recorder

Another Johnson County city is cracking down on e-bikes by adding new rules for younger users. In the city of Fairway, e-bike users must now be at least 15 years old, or under the direct supervision of an adult. The city also now requires minors to wear helmets. The new rules went into effect Tuesday, a week after the Fairway City Council voted Sept. 8 to adopt the new e-bike regulations. Recently, e-bikes and e-scooters have grown in popularity among Johnson County children and, as such, have become the subject of new restrictions in Prairie Village as well as outright bans [...]

The Overland Park Police Department is about to get a multimillion-dollar technology overhaul, including new body cameras and drones. The new technology from Axon Enterprise will replace many of the police department’s independent programs with an integrated platform that department officials say will be more efficient and easier to use for evidence management, data storage and other functions. In addition to software, the department will also get new body cameras and other digital recording devices, tasers, training, drones and more. Read more: Johnson County Post

From luxury single-family homes to for-sale villas, western Lenexa is seeing a surge in residential development that caters to a wide range of homebuyers and renters. Here's a look at five residential projects that, together, aim to add more than 1,700 housing units. Read more: Kansas City Business Journal

People new to Marysville will have the chance to get connected and find out how things work in their community. Welcome to Marysville: Newcomers & Networkers takes place Thursday, September 25, from 5–7 p.m. at Venue 36, 1195 Pony Express Highway. The event is sponsored by OneMarysville.  The gathering is designed for those who have lived in Marysville five years or fewer. It’s a casual, come-and-go evening where people can meet others, learn about local organizations and discover community traditions—from the Black Squirrel Fall Fest to when Santa will be in his house.  Read more: KCLY Radio

Picture three-and-a-half football fields with earth piled onto them — piled as tall as the Empire State Building. That’s how much sediment flows into Tuttle Creek Lake each year. After decades of this, mud has eaten up so much space that about half of the lake near Manhattan has disappeared. Put another way, about half of its volume for storing water is gone. That’s why the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Kansas Water Office will start a first-of-its-kind pilot test this week to try to clear out some mud. They’ll use an underwater dredging technique that they hope will [...]

In general, Colwich residents are quite satisfied with life there, but there are areas for improvement, they say. That was the main takeaway from a presentation at Monday evening’s City Council meeting by the Wichita firm of PEC, which surveyed local residents as part of its work on Colwich’s comprehensive plan. Lance Onstott, a planner with PEC and who made the presentation, said he was pleased with the survey’s response, in which 203 people took part, a 12.5% rate.As for the city’s upsides, most respondents cited Colwich’s “small-town lifestyle,” and said they live there because it’s where their family and friends [...]

The city of Maize wants in on the region's growth. Historically, the bedroom community has struggled to compete for retailers and commercial development against the neighboring city of Wichita and the NewMarket Square shopping center. "One of the biggest complaints we hear from residents in Maize is the lack of options for food," said Joe Dessenberger, the deputy city manager for Maize. But the city has grown over the past few years with new housing and is projected to reach more than 10,000 residents by 2030. To support its population and the visitors that come to Maize for school and sporting [...]

Way back in 1963, as he tells it, Steve Hirsch’s father traveled farm to farm in the rural areas surrounding Simpson, Kansas, to gather signatures in support of a rural fire district. He got the support of all but one of his neighbors, and the fire service was born. Hirsch was just 1 year old. Today he’s an attorney by trade, but his passion is firefighting. He’s the training officer for Sheridan County Fire District No. 1 – an all-volunteer fire department – as well as treasurer for the Kansas State Firefighters Association and chair of the National Volunteer Fire Council. There are [...]