Municipal News & Jobs

Kansas Municipal News

Slot machine vote in Sedgwick County?

Electronic gaming, or slot machines, could be coming to Sedgwick County and bringing dog racing back as well. It all begins with a decision Sedgwick County Commissioners have to make, possibly as early as Wednesday.

“I’m saying, let’s have a vote,” Pete Meitzner told KAKE News after a staff meeting Tuesday that ran long due to debate over whether to even include the issue on Wednesday’s agenda.

He says, while the idea was defeated by only a couple hundred votes in 2007, a new poll shows a change in attitude in the county.

(Read more: KAKE – News)

Newton votes down school improvement bond

Newton voters have rejected two bond issues that would provide school improvements as well as add a new school building.

The first issue failed with 3,359 Yes votes to 4,040 No votes. The proposal would have updated security and remodeling at Newton schools.

The second issue failed with 2,388 Yes votes to 4,986 No votes. This proposal would have added a new K-6 school south of Highway 50.

(Read more: KAKE – News)

United Way of Reno County annual campaign officially underway

The 2019 United Way of Reno County campaign has officially kicked off. This is an effort to raise $1,350,000 for 25 different nonprofit agencies in the county.

Dr. Cory Jackson and his wife, Amanda, are the campaign chairs this year. Dr. Jackson talked about the decision to take on this role in an effort to raise the needed funds.

“We started giving to United Way when we moved back, starting at 15 years now, and we just see the need every day in our daily lives,” Dr. Jackson, who practices family medicine in Hutchinson, said. “We’ve used United Way services through Hospice House, the YMCA and Hutch Rec. Also, every day at work, I see the need in the places that United Way supports, after school programs and early education programs, so we just think it’s a great organization.” Jackson said he and his wife are excited to take on this role for United Way.

(Read more: Hutch Post)

Where’s the oldest continually operating movie theater in the world? Ottawa, Kansas

The oldest continuously operating movie theater in the world might figure to be in New York or Hollywood.

How about Kansas?

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Ottawa, some 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Kansas City, Missouri, is home to the Plaza 1907 Cinema, showing films since May 22, 1907, when black-and-white, silent movies ruled the day.

What sets the theater in the town of 12,300 people apart is that over the past 112 years, it has never shut down and has remained at the same location.

(Read more: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF)

Mulvane chamber to host monthly business seminar

An upcoming business seminar hosted by the Mulvane Chamber of Commerce will feature a local entrepreneur.

Called KanLaunch, the seminar serves as a forum for entrepreneurs and startup companies to share business ideas, receive feedback and network.

The event is free and open to the public. It will begin at 10 a.m. Sept. 14 at city hall, 211 N. 2nd St.

Shawnee adopts protections for LGBTQ people

With two council members dissenting, the city of Shawnee has passed an ordinance protecting people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Its effective date is Sept. 3.

Voting against the proposal on Aug. 26 were council members Eric Jenkins and Mike Kemmling. Council member Mickey Sandifer was absent.

A number of other Johnson County municipalities have passed similar ordinances. Among them are Leawood, Mission, Merriam, Prairie Village and Roeland Park.

(Read more: Joco 913 News)

The treasures of nature: Geocaching catches on at the Overland Park Arboretum

If you want to feel like you’re uncovering buried treasure, the Overland Park Arboretum may be the place for you. The GeoArboretum program offers nine different geocaches throughout the facility.

In geocaching, participants use a GPS device, along with a set of coordinates, to find specific points around the world.

When you find a geocache, there’s usually a small trove of trinkets inside, along with a notebook for each person to record when he or she found the cache. You can take a trinket and leave a different one in its place.

(Read more: Joco 913 News)

Ribbon cuttings mark completion of three bond projects

School officials and students at Wineteer Elementary School cut a ribbon Thursday at the school’s new library, which was completed as part of a recent bond project at the school.

Other new additions in the $4.7 million project include a storm shelter with over 7,000 square feet of classroom and administration space, as well as the renovation of over 23,000 square feet.

The Wineteer ceremony was one of three held last week, along with ribbon cuttings at El Paso and Park Hill elementary schools.

(Read more: Derby News | derbyinformer.com)

New bumper stickers made in Hutchinson part of state bus safety campaign

State education officials are hoping a new bumper sticker placed on the back of school buses across Kansas will raise awareness of drivers when they are near buses and remind them that all vehicles must stop when a bus “stop arm” goes out.

Two Hutchinson businesses — Collins Bus and Lowen Color Graphics — teamed up to manufacture 10,000 of the high-quality stickers, which the Kansas State Department of Education will distribute to school districts across the state at upcoming KSDE meetings.

The 12-by-4-inch “Stop on Red, Kids Ahead” stickers were the idea of a subcommittee of a Department of Education School Bus Safety group.

(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)

Report: Kansas a leader in charge toward renewable energy

A new report on clean energy production nationwide over the past decade shines a light on Kansas as a leader in wind energy gains and overall renewable power generation.

The unveiling Tuesday of a solar panel field in Baldwin City is the latest example of the state’s growing portfolio of renewable sources and an indication of ongoing progress.

Researchers, clean energy advocates and utility officials praise technological advances that have made renewable energy comparable in cost to power generated from fossil fuels. Kansas is positioned for additional gains over the next decade in the march toward eliminating all emissions in energy production.

Kansas City-area schools innovate to fill teacher vacancies

Kansas City-area schools are rehiring retired teachers and training counselors and coaches to teach due to a critical teacher shortage.

The Kansas City Star reports that last October the Kansas Department of Education logged a 19% increase in vacant teaching positions from a year earlier. About 11% of teaching positions are vacant in Missouri schools every year.

The shortage affects urban, rural and some suburban schools.

(Read more: 1350 KMAN)

Drone racers take to the sky at Wichita park: ‘You can feel like you are flying’

The racers float at the starting line. They soar into the sky at 50 mph, then dive and bend through gates.

These racers are drones, flown by pilots on the ground wearing goggles with a live video feed.

On this humid August afternoon, the pilots are racing drones they built themselves at McAdams Park in central Wichita. The racers are part of ICT FPV (short for first-person view), a local chapter of MultiGP, the largest drone-racing league in the world.

(Read more: Local News |)

Atchison set to dive in to expedition

Every generation has its great adventurers, its finders of lost treasures, its celebrated leaders of discovery.

From Howard Carter and King Tut to Neil Armstrong and the Moon, these leaders have inspired countless millions to curiosity in the arts and the sciences. One of the leading artists of imagination and exploration of our time, Robert Ballard, is due to appear at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Atchison High School, 1500 W. Riley St. in Atchison, Kansas, to speak on his career, his vision for a society built on questions about the world around us and his quest to solve one of the greatest unknowns of all: What happened to Amelia Earhart?

Strategic Doing meetings set for Ellis, Rooks and Trego counties

The Heartland Community Foundation, which serves Ellis, Rooks and Trego counties, has scheduled the next round of Strategic Doing meetings for each county.

Strategic Doing is an engaging process that actively helps residents implement their ideas for community improvement projects. Current working groups who attend will report on their progress and continue work to move their projects forward. New ideas and working groups are also encouraged to attend and start working through the Strategic Doing process.

(Read more: Hays Post)

City of Topeka, Shawnee County sued in identity case

William D. Blue sued the governments of Shawnee County and the city of Topeka this past week over a situation last September in which a man arrested after a robbery and chase falsely identified himself as Blue to Topeka police, who shared that information with news media. Topeka attorney Eric Kjorlie, representing Blue, filed the suit Wednesday in Shawnee County District Court alleging the city and county negligently placed Blue in a "disreputable false light."

Barton County Election Officer covers voters’ concerns of envelopes and signatures for mail-in ballot

Barton County Election Officer Donna Zimmerman says a typical mail-in ballot in Barton County has an 80-percent voter turnout. Barton County mailed out ballots August 20 for the Great Bend school district’s $44.87 million bond issue, and are awaiting the September 5 deadline. As of last Thursday, Aug. 29, Zimmerman noted there was a 51.9 percent turnout from nearly 10,500 ballots sent out to registered voters within the district.

The Barton County Clerk’s Office has received phone calls with voters concerned that the ballot does not fit into the return envelope. Zimmerman says it is fine to fold the ballot.

“There’s verbiage that has to be on every hand-counted paper ballot that say do not tear or deface,” said Zimmerman. “Folding it is not tearing or defacing it. I apologize if that caused any issues with the voters, that was never our intent.”

(Read more: Great Bend Post)

Collapsed manhole in Great Bend to cost north of $50K to replace

During the recent subsurface flooding event, a manhole located on 18th Street near Baker Street was damaged, causing a collapse of the manhole. The City of Great Bend states this will require a complete replacement of the structure.

(Read more: Great Bend Post)

McPherson’s historic Community Building set to reopen

The City of McPherson’s historic downtown Community Building is scheduled to reopen soon.

The public is invited to an open house and ribbon cutting from 5-7 p.m. Sept. 17. Tours and refreshments will be provided. Located at 122 E. Marlin, the facility was listed last year on the National Register of Historic Places.

Built in 1928, the Community Building has been an important gathering place for community events. Historically, the auditorium served as a venue for theater performances, talent shows and movies. The gymnasium was home court to the McPherson Globe Refiners basketball team, which formed the core group for the first Olympic gold medal championship in 1936. Community dinners, carnivals, fairs, and fundraisers occurred along the way.

In 2008, voters chose to support the building’s renovation with a half-cent sales tax.

(Read more: Great Bend Post)

Long lines, five hour wait times at the two Sedgwick County tag offices

ines wrapped around Sedgwick County’s two tag offices Friday, and one after another, the people kept coming.

“Five hours at the tag office,” said one customer.

If you tried to check in on your phone ahead of time, you’d see a message telling you the office had already reached its maximum capacity.

Customer, Charlottle Mercer, had already been waiting almost four hours when we met her. As we talked, her phone went off, giving her an update on her wait time.

“I have 261 people ahead of me. Still a 300 minute waiting time,” says Mercer. The county says lines are always long at the end of the month, but customers we spoke to say Friday was anything but typical, even saying employees working inside were shocked by the wait times.

We also asked if there would be any grace period for residents who have still not renewed tags. The county said in part, “There is no grace period for residents who have still not renewed tags…the people who are waiting today had 45 days to renew.”

(Read more: KAKE – News)

Time winds down for residents to vote on Newton bond issue

Residents in Newton only have a few days remaining to weigh-in on the school bond.

A mail-in ballot has been sent to residents. They will return them for counting soon after.

The first question increases security at schools and costs $61 million. The second part would add a new elementary school.

The mail-in ballot must be at the courthouse by noon on Tuesday, September 3.

(Read more: KSN-TV)

Community celebrates 9th Street art, improvements

This weekend, the City of Wichita will host a celebration for the improvements made to 9th Street, from I-135 to Hillside.

The dedication ceremony for 9th Street improvements will be held at 9th and Minnesota, on Saturday, August 31, at 10 a.m. The $3.5-million in improvements included paving, drainage, and pedestrian upgrades, as well as aesthetic enhancements throughout the corridor. More than 100 community members collaborated with Baccus by painting and placing tiles.

(Read more: KAKE – News)

County Commission moves forward with plans for sales tax vote

As the Ellis County Commission works to secure a better financial outlook it appears even more likely that voters will see a sales tax question on a ballot in the near future.

At a special meeting Tuesday, the commission continued discussions on a proposed countywide sales tax.

Early this year all three commissioners expressed interest in putting a sales tax question on the ballot but they were split on the size and where the money would go.

(Read more: Hays Post)

Food for thought: Talk to highlight Kansas’ historic recipes

Louise Hanson, a librarian from Lawrence whose personal bookshelves are filled with more than 500 cookbooks, will present “Tasting the Past: Exploring Kansas Food Memories” at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 10 at Bethany Home Activity Center, 321 N. Chestnut St. in Lindsborg.

Community cookbooks are fascinating for Hanson, who reads through them to glean what Kansas’ earliest settlers were eating both every day and for special occasions.

“It’s a great source of primary material,” Hanson said. “Of course, at the time of settlement, they didn’t have a lot of choice about what to eat because of what was available.”

Kansans who immigrated from other countries did what they could to preserve their cultural heritage — whether they were German, Czech, Scottish, Swedish, Greek, etc. — by preparing and passing down recipes of dishes that reminded them of home.

In her presentation, Hanson will show pictures of recipes and people at ethnically centered celebrations.

“It’s an endlessly fascinating story to talk about food and how we try to reinvent ourselves and our identity,” Hanson said.

Still time to take comprehensive plan survey in Leavenworth

Residents of Leavenworth County have only a few more days to take an online survey for a new comprehensive plan.

The comprehensive plan, which is sometimes referred to as a master plan, will provide a future land use plan for the county, according to Jeff Joseph, director of the Leavenworth County Planning and Zoning Department.

The last comprehensive plan for the county was put together in 2008.

In February, Leavenworth County commissioners approved a contract with the company Olsson, Kansas City, Missouri. The company will produce a new comprehensive plan for the county at a cost of $288,800.

An online survey has been set up as part of the process being used to put together the comprehensive plan.

The survey will remain open through Sunday. The survey can be found at www.lvcountyplan.com

(Read more: Leavenworth Times)

Incubator business ready for entrepreneurs in St. John

Communication is crucial for a business to succeed. In a remodeled building at 311 Broadway in St. John, offices with broadband connections are awaiting tenants eager to have a space to conduct their work remotely.

This new facility is called Work Space 311 and it is an incubator where new business can get started, said Carolyn Dunn, Stafford County Economic Director.

Work Space 311 is set up on a membership basis and each business pays a fee to use the building spaces.

Wellington Airport to hold open house

It will be a day for families to check out airplanes, talk to pilots and spark an interest in aviation in children.

The Wellington Airport, 441 N. West Road, is holding its second annual open house from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14.

There will be a handful of small single engine four to six-seater airplanes – such planes as World War II trainers, some homebuilts and Cessnas and Pipers. Pilots will give free rides to kids ages 8 to 17. Parents and guardians will be required to sign their children up for the rides and fill out a form. These introductory flights for children, tweens and teens will be provided by volunteers with the Young Eagles EAA program. Wellington’s chapter, which is only about a year old, is the EAA Chisholm Trail 1631.

“It’ll give young kids a chance to interact with aviators, get an airplane ride and get excited about aviation,” airport manager Matt Wiebe said.

Young people with an interest in aviation can join the Young Eagles club, Wiebe said.

Church said, “It’s kind of to plant a seed of interest. Most kids have never been in an airplane.”

USD 475 working through the process to obtain a federal grant to help pay for a new elementary school on Post

There is progress in the effort to obtain a federal grant to help build a new elementary school on Fort Riley.

The Chief Operations Officer for USD 475, David Wild, said the Office of Economic Adjustment is scheduled to be here for a briefing and tour of Ft. Riley on Sept. 10. Wild noted that is step two out of three steps in the approval process. “If everything goes well on the 10th the district will be invited to submit a formal proposal and application, and we’re expecting approval of that should it occur by the end of this calendar year.”

The new school would replace Jefferson Elementary that was closed at the end of the last school year. If the new school is approved it would be built on the same site as the former school. Wild also referred to nearby Morris Hill Elementary which is near the end of its’ useful life. “Should we be fortunate in receiving approval of the replacement of Jefferson then eventually we will probably also close Morris Hill Elementary, and the school we would be building would be adequate to cover both schools.”

(Read more: Junction City Post)

Kiowa County Senior Center contest was something to laugh at

More than 10 joke-tellers took to the stage earlier this month at the Kiowa County Senior Center in Greensburg in celebration of National Joke Day.

When the laughs were over, Randy Rinker was the first-place winner, followed by Bob Kilgore in second place.

“I am not for sure it really was National Joke Day, but I read it somewhere on the internet so we ran with it,” said Kari Kyle, director of the senior center. “We are always trying to find ways to have fun here.”

Those in attendance (more than 75) enjoyed a special meal sponsored by Ron and Roberta Seiler, during which the jokers came up to the front to tell their prepared jokes.

“I didn’t think we would have more than three or four people participate,” Kyle said. “But we had 11 contestants. It was a lot of fun.”

Parsons Planning Commission to talk about wind turbines

Planners this week will discuss a zoning amendment to restrict or ban commercial wind energy conversion systems in the area surrounding Parsons.

The Parsons Planning Commission will have a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the commission room at the Parsons Municipal Building.

Concerned about the possibility of 600-foot wind turbines encroaching on the city limits, City Commissioner Tom Shaw urged the city staff to have the planners consider restrictions in the 3-mile extraterritorial zone. Labette County has no zoning in its unincorporated areas, but Parsons controls zoning and codes in the area comprised generally of a 3-mile radius surrounding the city.Shaw’s concerns were brought about by the controversial Neosho Ridge Wind project that will consist of 139 turbines in the southwest portion of Neosho County.

(Read more: Parsons Sun)

Garden City benefits from updated Black Hills Energy infrastructure

Black Hills Energy is on time and on budget to complete a construction project to replace natural gas pipelines in the Garden City area. Black Hills Energy estimates the project will last through October and is intended to meet existing needs for safe and reliable natural gas service.

“Our customers rely on Black Hills Energy to keep their homes and businesses safely connected to natural gas,” said Garden City Supervisor Red Garone. “Proactive pipeline replacement investments help us continue to deliver on that promise.”

Nearly three miles of natural gas lines will be replaced in the Wagon Wheel neighborhood outside Garden City. The public can visit www.blackhillsenergy.com/safekansas to learn more about timelines and completion statuses in their neighborhoods. Black Hills Energy’s Facebook page and Twitter feed also provide information on the infrastructure replacement program and the company’s services.

(Read more: Western Kansas News)

Pratt electrical crews now in Florida awaiting Hurricane Dorian

Five linemen from the City of Pratt Electric Department left Pratt on Saturday, heading to Orlando, Florida so as to be in a position to help restore electricity after Hurricane Dorian hits the area sometime in the next few days. They arrived at their destination late Sunday, September 1.
“We’re here in Orlando waiting on [you] Dorian,” said Jamie Huber, Director of Electric Utilities for Pratt. “The City of Pratt and KC BPU had been requested that we come join them for Storm Restoration, after being there two years ago for Irma. Now we wait.“
Pratt’s interim city manager Bruce Pinkall said the Pratt crew was specifically requested by the Orlando Utility Commission (OCU) because of their good work and involvement in a previous mutual aid event. They were part of a large contingent of electrical crews from across that country that responded to the disaster left in the wake of Hurricane Irma that hit Florida in September 2017.

(Read more: Pratt, KS – Pratt Tribune)

Redesign still has many questions as rollout is underway, says KASB advocate

School redesign is not going to be a transition without challenges. That was the observation of Mark Tallman, Vice President for Advocacy at the Kansas Association of School Boards after he attended a forum earlier this month at the Kansas Leadership Center.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt, as we go through this redesign process around the state, there’s going to be problems with it,” said Tallman. “We know that. There’s going to be opposition. Some mistakes will be made. The issue is, will it overall let our schools be more responsive to what kids actually need today?”

The jury is still out on that point, but it is becoming about teaching skills, not teaching subjects.

(Read more: WIBW News Now)

Miami County seeks to renew quarter-cent sales tax

Renewal of the county’s quarter-cent sales tax for roadway construction and improvements will be put before voters in November.

County commissioners voted 5-0 Wednesday, Aug. 28, to put the sales tax question on the ballot. The current quarter-cent sales tax will sunset Dec. 31, 2020. If approved by voters, the renewal would extend the tax for five years – from Jan. 1, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2025.

County Administrator Shane Krull said the county has used the tax for the past 19 years to finance a number of roadway construction and improvement projects. The tax not only pays for improvements to the county’s road system, it has also benefited the county’s communities.

(Read more: The Miami County Republic)

Wichita ready to sell three land parcels not used in East Kellogg projects

Three parcels of land acquired by the city of Wichita for the current East Kellogg construction projects will be sold to private buyers now that they’re not needed.

The City Council will vote on approval of the three proposed sales at Tuesday’s 9 a.m. meeting.

(Read more: Wichita Business Journal)

Gorilla Century bike ride largest yet

On Saturday, people from all across the United States traveled to Pittsburg to bicycle 100 miles, just for fun.

This is the largest group to go on the Gorilla Century bike ride since the event started in 2003.

That morning there was an estimated 600 riders, with over 400 pre-registered and many more who registered the day of the event.

The event, hosted by Tailwind Cyclists’ Roger Lomshek, was created to celebrate Pittsburg State University’s 100th year, hence the name Gorilla Century.

City of Wichita considers joining legal action against opioid manufacturers, distributors

The Wichita City Council at its next meeting Tuesday (Sept. 3) will consider joining nationwide legal action against opioid manufacturers and distributors, and pharmacy chains, “alleging a variety of civil claims (including but not limited to public nuisance) and violation of federal laws.”

The consideration comes in the form of a resolution on the council’s meeting agenda.

“As plaintiffs, local governments are seeking damages for costs of law enforcement, first responders, courts, jails, etc., that are alleged to be direct results of the prescription opioid epidemic,” the City of Wichita explains.

(Read more: KWCH News)

Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission votes to recommend allowing two houses per lot, but with some restrictions

Lawrence-Douglas County planning commissioners have voted in favor of a proposal that would allow two houses to be built on one lot if both homes are affordable, but they’re recommending the city limit where and under what requirements the so-called density bonus would be allowed.

At its meeting Wednesday, the Planning Commission voted 7-2 to recommend the proposal, which would be the city’s first land use rule to be directly connected to the affordability of homes. The changes, which were originally proposed by the nonprofit organization Tenants to Homeowners, would allow two homes to be built on one lot as long as both are permanently designated as affordable housing.

The density bonus would allow a second home to be added alongside an existing home or two new homes to be built on a single lot.

Sedgwick County adopts energy plan

Over the last year or so, there has been plenty of regional discussion on renewable energy.

Several counties around Sedgwick County have had robust community hearings or have quietly worked out the details and witnessed hundreds of wind turbines pop up. That said, what works in one area may not work great everywhere.

We made the news this week when Sedgwick County unanimously passed an update to the Community Investment Plan along with zoning regulations for commercial wind and solar farms. Over the last year, we have heard quite a bit of opposition from neighbors concerned about the “flicker-effect,” how these turbines kill birds like eagles, and how they emit a low persistent drone and how living near a towering generator will cause property values to plummet. Nearly everyone says they are in favor of renewable energy production. The disagreement comes when we start defining details about where to place these farms.

A week to go for Great Bend school bond mail-in ballot

The September 5^th deadline to return your mail-in ballots in Great Bend is steadily approaching, and USD 428 Superintendent Khris Thexton says it has been an interesting summer with getting information to the community about the bond issue.

The combined bond of $44.87 million is asking for facility improvements to address safety, security, early childhood education, and renovations.

The mail-in ballot was sent to all registered voters within the Great Bend school district last week, and Thexton is excited to find out the results next week.

(Read more: Great Bend Post)

McPherson College teams with McPherson Hospital to offer new model for rural healthcare

An initiative introduced by McPherson College and McPherson Hospital with a focus on community health sets out to become a new model for community health care in rural areas. It features a new enhanced health science degree at the college with a wide variety of hands-on educational opportunities, thanks to a partnership with the hospital.

Working together toward healthier communities is the goal of the partnership. The partnership will provide opportunities for student learning and community outreach with the intent to create a new model for rural community health in Kansas. There is more to a healthy community than just treating people who are sick, explained McPherson College President Michael Schneider.

“We are looking at this from a holistic, patient-centered approach to health care in rural communities,” President Schneider said. “In small communities, you need to be resourceful uncovering ways to build a healthy community. It includes everything from mentoring at-risk youth to making sure our elderly citizens are safe when they return home from a hospital stay. It also includes solving our challenges to provide good mental health support and treatment for all. This partnership will put our students out in the community working with support from McPherson Hospital to solve these challenges.”

(Read more: Hutch Post)

Kansas lake is called an ‘oasis on the Plains’

It’s not what you expect to find amid flat farmland.

“The uniqueness of being in the middle of western Kansas and having a lake where a lake probably shouldn’t be,” said Greg Mills, park manager for Historic Lake Scott State Park.

In a wooded canyon with rocky bluffs, Lake Scott is fed by natural springs and is known nationally for its beauty.

“We are recognized as the 23rd most scenic state park in the U.S.,” said Mills. “Previously we were recognized as one of the top 50 beaches in the U.S.”

(Read more: KSN-TV)

KDOT projects population growth for Crawford County

In a recent study by KDOT, Crawford County is the only county in Southeast Kansas expected to grow in population.

Last week, Pittsburg city leaders went to a conference held by the Secretary of the Kansas Department of Transportation.

The conference was held to show how transportation plays a large role in population growth.

The state department predicts Crawford County to grow about 14 percent between 2014 and 2044.

In addition, the study revealed that the county has seen a four percent increase in the number of 20 to 39-year-olds in the area.

Sedgwick County Commissioners, Wichita’s Police and Fire Chiefs rappel down hotel for good cause

This afternoon, Sedgwick County Commissioners Lacey Cruse and Jim Howell will rappel down the Ambassador Hotel, 104 S. Broadway, as part of the Access the Ledge fundraiser for Project Access. The first 70 fundraisers who raised a minimum of $1,000 in donations for Project Access were allowed to rappel down the building.

Commissioner Cruse was scheduled to rappel at 4 p.m. and Commissioner Howell at 5 p.m.

“This is probably one of the craziest things I’ve ever done but knowing that one in seven residents in this community goes without healthcare is even crazier.” Commissioner Cruse said. “I’m happy to bring attention and awareness to this issue and if it means rappelling of a 14-story building to do so … well so be it!”

(Read more: KWCH News)

Wellington police use Facebook memes to reduce theft

If you follow the Wellington Police Department’s Facebook page, you have no doubt seen the memes that show up at 9 p.m., reminding residents to lock their houses, cars and not to leave any expensive belongings in their cars.

“It is another way for us to reach out to our community just to take another reduction out of property crime,” Wellington Police Chief Tracy Heath said.

Seventy to 80% of crime in the city is property theft, Heath said. Living in a small town, people might think they are safe or it’s never going to happen to them, but “we still see the array of crime the big city does,” Heath said.

(Read more: Leavenworth Times)

Oktoberfest coming to Liberal?

The Liberal community could have a new event to mark on the calendar in October after a presentation to the Liberal City Commission during its most recent meeting Tuesday night.

Kris Musgrave and Greg Standard came before the commission Tuesday night to propose a new event to help engage the downtown area.

“Our Masonic Lodge, when I came back, was very small, but it’s been growing exponentially,” Musgrave said. “We’ve acquired about eight new members in the past two years and our lodge is one of the faster-growing ones in Kansas right now. We’re working on putting together more things for the community and we give out special awards to teachers and students in USD 480 every year. So we’re working on expanding our presence in the community and one of the things we’re especially working on is a downtown rejuvenation project. And many of us in the lodge and in the community have German descent, so we thought it would be fun to have our version of Oktoberfest. When this idea was initially born, I contacted Alicia [Hidalgo] with the City about it and she suggested I talk to Cal [Burke] about it. So I talked to Cal and he said ‘This is great, it’s what our downtown needs and it will get a lot of people involved!’ and then he told me to come talk to the commission about it. So here I am.”

(Read more: Liberal First)