News – Page 482 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Park City equipment company expands in region with 30 jobs in next decade

info2024-03-15T12:57:38-05:00March 15th, 2024|

Midwest Truck Equipment, a Park City-based truck equipment and body parts business, was approved Tuesday by the local City Council to expand its footprint at 61st Street North near Seneca St. The truck equipment company is constructing a 35,000 square-foot building to add to its current building across the street at 200 W. 61st North, according to an agenda report. Midwest Truck is a distributor for Knapheide, a national truck body and bed manufacturer with roots in Quincy, Illinois. It serves the Wichita area and southern Kansas with Knapheide truck bodies. With 17 employees, the company plans to expand operations and add three [...]

City of Wichita deploying Veo electric scooters ahead of spring

info2024-03-15T12:55:32-05:00March 15th, 2024|

The City of Wichita says with the nice weather residents and guests will start seeing Veo electric scooters around town again. During the winter, most of the electric scooters are put away. "As of [Wednesday], they have deployed around 80% of the rest of the fleet," said Megan Lovely, the communications manager for the City of Wichita. There are rules for riding an electric scooter in city limits. (...) The City of Wichita also encourages riders to wear a helmet for safety. You can ride a Veo by downloading the VeoRide mobile app, available for Apple and Android. Source: KSN-TV

Half dozen tornados hit Wabaunsee County, sheriff’s office says

info2024-03-15T12:51:11-05:00March 15th, 2024|

The Wabaunsee County Sheriff's Office shared pictures of Wednesday's storm. At 7:43 p.m., the National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for Wabaunsee, Geary and Morris Counties. Shortly later, at 7:50 p.m., a tornado was reported on the ground in Alma heading northeast. The KSN Storm Tracker and Meteorologist Jack Maney caught video of the tornado above. According to the sheriff's office, at least half a dozen tornadoes were confirmed by spotters and sheriff's office staff. Damage has been reported to structures in the rural area of the county. The sheriff's office reports that tornadoes struck no cities. Wabaunsee County Emergency Management will be [...]

Kansas congressman introduces bill to help rural hospitals

info2024-03-15T12:48:13-05:00March 15th, 2024|

Kansas congressman Jake LaTurner has introduced a bill that would allow previously closed rural hospitals to re-open and apply for a designation to help them continue to serve their communities. The Rural Emergency Hospital Adjustment Act would create a designation of Rural Emergency Hospitals. Previously closed hospitals can apply for the designation and if they meet the eligibility requirements, they can re-open their emergency and outpatient operations. The designation will allow certain hospitals to convert to the new Medicare provider designation, which would allow rural hospitals to continue operating with limited services. Hospitals are only eligible for the designation if they met the [...]

County extends wind farm construction moratorium

info2024-03-15T12:42:10-05:00March 15th, 2024|

Labette County commissioners, on a 2-1 vote, agreed to extend the moratorium on wind energy project construction in the county through the end of September. The delay allows the county’s planning and zoning committee more time to get zoning regulations in place. The current moratorium expires on April 21, commissioners heard Monday. Commissioners Terry Weidert and Vince Schibi approved the extension. Commissioner Cole Proehl voted against it. The vote followed an update by Marc Jones, planning and zoning committee chair, on the planning committee’s progress toward zoning regulations. Jones offered commissioners three options for action. The first was to allow the [...]

Grant could bring ‘welcome’ change

info2024-03-15T12:38:31-05:00March 15th, 2024|

New “Welcome to Humboldt” signs could be in the making thanks to Allie Utley, granddaughter of the late Dick Davis, baseball historian and founder of Humboldt’s Walter Johnson and George Sweatt Fan Club. Utley most recently spearheaded the erection of a sign along U.S. 169 south of town recognizing hometown baseball greats Johnson and Sweatt. Utley, an Iola native who now lives in Overland Park and is an active organizer, plans to apply for a grant through the Kansas Department of Commerce’s Rural Murals program to help replace Humboldt’s aging signs on the south and north entrances to town. They were installed in [...]

City crews working to clean up homeless camps in south Topeka

info2024-03-15T12:37:06-05:00March 15th, 2024|

The City of Topeka is working to clean up homeless camps in south Topeka on Monday. City Spokeswoman Rosie Nichols said the City of Topeka's Street Department is currently working on the abatement of the encampments. She said crews started Monday morning and should be finished by Tuesday, but the cleanup could take until Wednesday. Several camps belonging to homeless individuals living along the Kansas River were cleared on Tuesday, Feb. 27 as part of a larger enforcement effort. The work is being implemented in a phased approach to enforce a camping ordinance passed last year limiting where people can camp in city limits. The city [...]

City of Lawrence plans: Open Pallet village, prohibit camping, establish police office downtown

info2024-03-15T12:21:11-05:00March 15th, 2024|

The City of Lawrence is planning to open a village of shelters for people experiencing homelessness Monday, soon end support at the sanctioned North Lawrence campsite, prohibit camping in that area and establish an office for police officers who will patrol downtown full time. A two-page report in the Lawrence City Commission’s meeting agenda for Tuesday, March 19 lays out staff members’ plans in a bit more detail on all the planned changes. The report does not ask for the commission to vote to approve any plans. The Lawrence Community Shelter will operate the Village, a community of 50 cabin-like structures on North [...]

Rossville community clears debris after EF2 tornado damages town

info2024-03-15T12:19:10-05:00March 15th, 2024|

A local man lost much of his property to Wednesday's EF2 tornado. The next day, many in the community showed up to lend a helping hand. Chad Shafstall's friend experienced the wicked storm that rolled through Rossville around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. "It messed his house up pretty good," Shafstall said. "Took out all of his buildings to speak of. Luckily, he was just fine. He was in a safe room in the basement and that kept him from having any issues." From roofing companies, to Rossville's chief of police directing traffic, Shafstall said the community quickly came to their aid. "We've got Free [...]

Shawnee County tornado sirens turn controversial for some local residents

info2024-03-15T12:17:54-05:00March 15th, 2024|

A local emergency management spokesman is weighing on why the decision was made to turn tornado sirens on during Wednesday night's storms. Tornado sirens could be heard across Shawnee County in the evening hours on March 13. 27 News spoke with Dusty Nichols with Shawnee County Emergency Management about the thinking behind setting off the county's tornado sirens. Tornados were reported in nearby counties with Shawnee County being placed on alert by the National Weather Service (NWS) as the storm system moved through northeast Kansas. Nichols said the sirens were activated as reports of tornadic activity came in from weather radar and storm [...]