News – Page 69 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Could farmland tract in Olathe help fill ‘missing middle’ housing gap? Developers think so

info2024-08-28T10:18:57-05:00August 28th, 2024|

Olathe Commons, a mixed residential rental project boasting “missing middle” housing, is moving forward. On Monday, the Olathe Planning Commission recommended approving a rezoning and a preliminary site development plan for the project in an 8-0 vote. Commissioner Jim Terrones was absent from the meeting. The development, which will have both townhomes and more compact cottage-court-style single-family homes for rent, is proposed on a 23-acre piece of farmland southwest of 119th Street and Greenwood Street near the Olathe Pointe Shopping Center. “It’s nice to see a housing project like this kind of come in and meet the middle,” Commissioner Taylor Breen [...]

Words from the Wizard: How Dodge City sizzled its way to my heart

info2024-08-28T10:14:01-05:00August 28th, 2024|

I came to Dodge City when I was Big City bound. I stopped to visit for just a couple of weeks. Five years later, I’m still here, and I’m hooked – meat plants and all! I still remember when I was waiting for my transport at the smallest airport I had ever seen. I went back inside and reported to the nice girl at the counter that there was a strong smell outside and I thought “something might have died nearby.” I noticed the familiar “this guy is way out of his route” on her eyes, but she kindly said: Oh [...]

Walton continuing to evaluate sinkhole problem

info2024-08-28T10:10:39-05:00August 28th, 2024|

After multiple sinkholes opened up on Osage Road, the Walton Township has been doing what it can to find out how to move forward with fixing the problem. Mike Spangler, the Walton Township trustee, said he’s working with a Wichita contractor to find out how deep the sinkhole is. Spangler said they completed a core drill a couple weeks ago that drilled down 30 feet into the Earth to complete a check of the ground structure underneath the sinkhole. He is still waiting on the results of the core drilling. Kelsea Abney, the township clerk, is also working on the issue. [...]

Lengthy Walton boil advisory from lack of kits

info2024-08-28T10:08:27-05:00August 28th, 2024|

Boil advisories generally last no more than a couple days at most, but delays in testing kits extended the advisory in Walton to a week. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued a boil advisory on Wednesday, Aug. 14, but it wasn’t lifted until the following Wednesday, Aug. 21. Walton City Clerk Stephanie Ashby said the delay was caused by a lack of available testing kits. Ashby said they hadn’t dealt with a boil advisory in so long that the test the city had on hand was expired. The city had the kits overnighted on Thursday but didn’t receive them [...]

Pickleball Court Comes To Uniontown

info2024-08-28T10:05:53-05:00August 28th, 2024|

Pickleball has come to Uniontown, with equipment provided by community members and a court provided by a grant. Pickleball resembles tennis in which players use paddles to hit a perforated plastic ball over a net, according to Oxford Languages Dictionary A grant provided the concrete court to play the sport on. Recently, the court had been marked for pickleball play. Last Thursday, pickleball equipment was made available in a storage container located under the community bulletin board at Uniontown’s City Hall on the east side of the town’s square. “There is no charge to use the equipment and we ask that [...]

Newton BOE contracts for future planning

info2024-08-28T10:03:41-05:00August 28th, 2024|

A company will soon begin work drafting an overarching plan for the future of the Newton School District and its facilities. The Newton Board of Education approved spending $93,500 at its Aug. 26 meeting to contract with RSP and Associates of Overland Park for the work. “There’s boundary analysis, enrollment analyses and they look at utilization of the facilities,” Superintendent Fred Van Ranken stated. “It’s a facility master plan, essentially.” The group will provide data and analyses to predict enrollment and help the Board of Education evaluate future needs, according to its presentation. The data could be used in redrawing building [...]

Bus drivers needed in Hesston as routes cut

info2024-08-28T10:00:06-05:00August 28th, 2024|

It’s a skeleton crew when it comes down to the USD 460 bus driver situation, and the problem doesn’t just exist in Hesston, but rather across the state. With very few bus drivers, the USD 460 transportation crew is stretched to the thinnest of levels. This lack of drivers forced the district to eliminate the in-town school bus routes. “A few parent emails had some concern,” Superintendent Kevin Logan said. “It’s a change and there’s not an easy solution for us, unless we can find a driver. There is a lot of emotion because it’s a change.” One driver would fill [...]

Lenexa commission deals big blow to Johnson County homeless shelter plan. What happens now?

info2024-08-28T09:58:30-05:00August 28th, 2024|

A plan to convert a Lenexa hotel into Johnson County’s first permanent, year-round homeless shelter will head to a City Council vote next month — without the support of city staff and planning commissioners. On Monday night, the Lenexa Planning Commission voted 9-0 to deny a request for a special use permit to operate a homeless shelter at the La Quinta Inn and Suites hotel off of Interstate 35 and 95th Street after a public hearing when more than 70 members of the public spoke. It’s a significant blow, though not necessarily fatal, to the county’s plan to address a growing [...]

Wichita school board approves $450 million plan to rebuild some schools, close others

info2024-08-28T09:52:26-05:00August 28th, 2024|

The Wichita School Board has unanimously approved a plan to significantly reshape the state’s largest school district — a plan filled with school closings, consolidations and new “right-sized” buildings as the district braces for shrinking future enrollment. School district officials also laid out the stakes of a $450 million bond issue that would be needed to pay for the plan. The specifics of the bond issue are expected to be discussed and voted on by the board on Sept. 9. A bond issue would require approval from voters during a special election. Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld said the “newer and fewer” plan [...]

Inclusive playground opens at Newton elementary school

info2024-08-28T09:49:27-05:00August 28th, 2024|

Slate Creek Elementary in Newton officially opened its inclusive playground, designed for all students to play together. The kids started the project by raising $20,000 in the spring of 2021. “It’s absolutely wonderful to hear the screaming and the laughter to see them all playing together. It just brings my heart so much joy. I’m so proud that the students noticed this was an issue, and this is where we ended. It’s amazing,” Lenae Alfaro, Slate Creek Elementary principal, said. The principal says the original goal was just to have a swing, but the idea grew, and the entire playground cost [...]