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Kansas Municipal News

Sprint lights up KC with 5G

Overland Park’s hometown wireless carrier has delivered on its promise to bring mobile 5G throughout Kansas City, covering 225 square miles and 625,000 people.

Thursday morning, Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) launched the next-generation technology that will bring new wireless experiences, from gaming and entertainment to the Internet of Things to business applications. The service also started in areas around Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston.

Kansas doctor to pay near $6M settlement for false billings

Federal prosecutors say a Wichita cardiologist has agreed to pay $5.8 million to settle claims that he and his medical group improperly billed federal health care programs for medically unnecessary cardiac stent procedures.

The Justice Department said in a news release Thursday that Joseph Galichia and his medical group, Galichia Medical Group, also agreed to be banned for three years from participation in any federal health care program, such as Medicaid and Medicare.

(Read more: Politics & Government News |)

DROP A LINE: Fish without a license this weekend in Kansas

The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism announced anglers can fish without a Kansas fishing license at public waters on Saturday and Sunday

It’s all part of the department’s Free Fishing Days. Each year, KDWPT designates one weekend when everyone can fish without a Kansas fishing license.

KDWPT said Free Fishing Days celebrates National Fishing and Boating Week – a week dedicated to recognizing the importance of recreational boating and fishing.

(Read more: KMBC)

Farmers need aid, but Kansas congressman defends House Republicans who blocked it

Rep. Roger Marshall toured farms damaged by floods in his district this week, but the Kansas Republican still defended moves by two of his House GOP colleagues that delayed those farms from getting federal aid.

Kansas and other Midwestern states have been besieged with flooding in recent weeks.

During a call with reporters, Marshall said Thursday that he saw animals on Kansas farms that looked like they were lining up for Noah’s Ark.

He said that many farmers can’t make decisions about planting until Congress passes a long-delayed $19 billion disaster relief bill. However, he defended the actions of two GOP congressmen that have halted the bill from getting to President Donald Trump’s desk.

Advisory board: Don’t name officers involved in shootings

A public advisory board in Wichita is now recommending that officers involved in shootings should not be named, citing worries about possible death threats to the families of the officers.

The Citizen Review Board has changed its position after previously suggesting that police create a new policy where names would generally be released. The new recommendation came after Police Chief Gordon Ramsay raised concerns about officer safety.

(Read more: Hays Post)

Capturing a life that changed a city

A teenaged Emerson Carey walked to Hutchinson in 1880 from McPherson County because he didn’t have the money to buy a railroad ticket.

By the time he died in 1933, Carey was a millionaire who had helped shape Hutchinson – and beyond – as an industrialist, state legislator, and philanthropist.

The location of the Hutchinson airport, the creation of the housing area Careyville, the genesis of Willowbrook, the mausoleum at Fairlawn Cemetery, the state law declaring Hutchinson the home of the State Fair, the site of Carey Park – all are linked to Carey. He also figures in the history of today’s Hutchinson Salt Co. mine, Sonoco, and Hubco Inc.

(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)

Kansas A to Z: ‘A’ is for Amelia Earhart Festival

Each July, thousands of people flock to Atchison for the Amelia Earhart Festival, named in honor of the legendary aviatrix and Atchison native.

And while the festival, set for its 23rd year July 19 and 20, includes music, food, crafts, children’s activities, a carnival, fireworks and more to appeal to every member of the family, the primary mission continues to be to honor the memory of Earhart, who was born July 24, 1897, in Atchison.

“We are constantly trying to make things better and now, as we look at new and different things, we’re trying to focus more on what we can do that would add to the awareness and education in the spirit of Amelia,″ festival coordinator Jacque Pregont said. “How can we inspire kids? How can we encourage them to think outside the box and follow the dream, whatever those dreams are? That’s what she did, and it wasn’t always easy for her.″

Hays’ first citywide garage sale draws significant interest

The first Hays citywide garage sale is scheduled for this weekend and the community has embraced the event, with sales planned across the community.

Event organizer Laurie Mortinger said she wanted to organize the event in Hays after seeing successful events elsewhere.

“I know a lot of people that go to garage sales, and a lot of people that have them, and we thought we go out of town, and we go to those sales all the time in the surrounding communities they are kind of fun,” she said. “You take a day and go out and eat with the girls, goof off and garage sale. It is just a blast so I said ‘Let’s do it in Hays.’ ”

RELATED: Let the community know about your weekend GARAGE SALE for FREE!

(Read more: Hays Post)

Pittsburg City Commissioners debate differences between city ordinance and website wording

For the second meeting in a row, the Pittsburg City Commission on Tuesday discussed the differences between the wording of its street maintenance sales tax ordinance, and the description of the sales tax on the city’s website.

“The revenue from said sales tax shall be used to pay for the maintenance and repair of city streets, and not to exceed Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) annually to pay for a sidewalk repair matching fund for property owners,” states the text of Ordinance No. S-1048, passed in July, 2017.

The tax “shall be used to maintain and repair city streets, and shall expire five (5) years from the date such additional retailers sales tax is first collected,” an earlier version of the ordinance passed in 2015 states.

A description of the street maintenance sales tax on the city’s website, however, uses slightly different wording, stating that “Pittsburg voters overwhelmingly approved renewal of a quarter-cent street sales tax in September 2015 to provide additional funding for the construction, alteration, repair, and maintenance of City streets.”

(Read more: Pittsburg, KS – Morning Sun)

Hillsboro’s Larry Paine receives Kansas Municipal Utilities Schowalter Award

Colin Hansen, Executive Director of Kansas Municipal Utilities, presented the award to Larry Paine.
Hillsboro City Administrator Larry Paine was presented with the 2019 Edgar P. Schowalter Award by Kansas Municipal Utilities (KMU), the statewide association of municipally-owned and operated electric, gas, water and wastewater utilities in Kansas. Paine was presented the award, the highest honor provided by the state association at the KMU 2019 Conference in Wichita on May 9, 2019. The award is given annually to a manager, employee, or policymaker from one of KMU’s member municipal utilities.

Larry Paine has left a lasting legacy while continuing to innovate and work tirelessly for his community, his association and his municipal energy agency,” said Colin Hansen, KMU Executive Director. “Larry is a true and utter joy to work for and with. He has a wonderful sense of humor and is one of the strongest and most ardent supporters of KMU that I have ever had the honor of working with. Of all the things I admire most about Larry, his spirit, optimism, toughness and unwillingness to give up are at the very top of the list.”

(Read more: Hillsboro Free Press)

JoCo mental health experts say they can’t meet demand till private insurance pays more

Johnson County mental health officials — facing what they say is the highest suicide rate in any county in Kansas — told U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids on Wednesday they need private insurers to pay more for treatment, especially outpatient care.

Erin Dugan, the president and CEO of the KidsTLC treatment center in Olathe, told Davids that Medicaid pays more for those services than the private sector — something that’s almost unheard of in the physical health realm.

“You cannot even break even in this industry (on private insurance rates), and as a nonprofit that’s all we want to do. We don’t want to make money,” Dugan said. “But the reimbursement rates for preventative, early, low-intensity level mental and behavioral health is awful.”

Medicaid is often the lowest payer in physical health care, with private insurance offering much higher reimbursements to hospitals and other providers.

But in mental health that’s flipped, Dugan said.

Reno County receives $3.3 million in budget proposals from outside agencies

Eight agencies that receive funding from Reno County made pitches Tuesday for increases in their budgets for next year totaling more than $400,000.

One agency, Reno County Emergency Medical Services, accounted for more than 80 percent of the proposed hikes, primarily for new ambulances.

At least three, however, asked for extra dollars to expand staff.

Commission chairman Bob Bush opened the afternoon meeting noting it was unlikely the county would fund all the additional requests. Though commissioners had questions for some of the presenters, none indicated what they thought of the proposals or which might receive support.

(Read more: News – The Hutchinson News)

Tornado that hit Douglas County rated an EF-4, stayed on ground for 31 miles

When Lanae LaBonte called her in-laws Tuesday evening to check on them before a tornado touched down in south Lawrence, her father-in-law, Mike LaBonte, said it was “no big deal, I’m just sitting here eating ice cream.”

About 10 minutes after convincing her in-laws to head to their basement closet, Lanae’s mother-in-law, Karen LaBonte, called her son, Brad, and Lanae and said she didn’t think there was anything left of the house.

″(Karen) said she looked out the closet and all she could see was blue sky,” Lanae LaBonte said.

The LaBonte family’s house took a direct hit about 6 p.m. Tuesday from the tornado that swept across the south side of Lawrence, destroying multiple houses in its path. The National Weather Service said Wednesday afternoon the tornado was rated an EF-4 and stayed on the ground for 31.82 miles.

Debris from Linwood tornado found at Kansas City airport, other parts of Missouri

Kansas City International Airport is open again after a harrowing night of storms that left debris over the runway, including debris apparently from a tornado-ravaged town nearly 50 miles away. A tornado warning Tuesday night forced officials to move people from the terminal to a tunnel leading to the parking garage, where they stayed for about an hour.

But flights were delayed for several hours because of debris strewn about the airfield. Airport spokesman Joe McBride says debris that included pots, plants and wall panels was apparently blown to Kansas City from a tornado that struck Linwood, Kansas, 47 miles to the southwest.

(Read more: KWCH News)

Hillsboro hears proposal for storage units

Larry and Joyce Smith own storage facilities in Salina, Lindsborg and McPherson. They made an offer to purchase part of lot 2, and all of lot 3 (both located to the East of the old Dollar General building) in the Hillsboro Heights area in order to build storage units. They are also asking to make purchase options on lots 4 and 5.

City Administrator Larry Paine explained that the current zoning code does not permit storage units although there are already existing storage units in the subdivision by Rod’s Tires. Those storage units were approved under the old zoning code that did allow storage units.

“The condition on the sale would be based on the planning commission hearing the case and then turning around and recommending an answer back to the council. It will be a conditional sale at this point,” said Paine.

The council voted in favor of the sale on all lots contingent on a text amendment approved by the planning commission and the city council.

(Read more: Hillsboro Free Press)

City profile: Merriam small city with roots in American Indian culture

To learn more about Merriam, Kansas, go back almost 200 years and study the Shawnee Indian Tribe.

Members of the Shawnee Tribe settled in the Turkey Creek basin after they moved from Ohio and Missouri to what became Kansas Territory in 1854 and a state in 1861. They had found in their new home “a rich and healthy country and were well pleased with the change,” according to one historic account.

Today, Merriam is a vibrant city that continues to prosper.

Christopher Engel, the city administrator notes Merriam is “20 minutes from anywhere you want to go.”

To look at the roots of the city, historians go back to 1832, when Quakers rejoined the Shawnee friends they had worked with in Ohio. They established a mission in 1836, opening a school that operated for 32 years.

(Read more: Joco 913 News)

Chanute makes rules for dome, tiny houses

Chanute commissioners passed ordinance amendments Tuesday evening that allow dome and tiny houses – under certain conditions.
The measure proposed by the Planning Commission passed 3-2 with Commissioners Tim Fairchild and Phil Chaney opposed.
Developer Bernard Neyer has proposed building dome houses of smaller square footage, but said the rules passed Tuesday will make it difficult. Dome houses will be allowed within the Mobile Home Overlay District with a conditional use permit from the Planning Commission.
Tiny homes will be allowed within R-1 districts, except for lots of less than 3,000 square feet.
The ordinance prohibits metal shipping containers, accessory structures designed as utility sheds, scuttled aircraft, buses, railcars and campers used as tiny homes. Both dome and tiny homes must have a minimum of 600 square feet.
Chaney said he needs more information and although he has tried to research other cities, there is not much precedent. He said square footage and multiple units on one lot were concerns, but he thinks there is a market for it.
“I want to go a little bit slow,” he said. “I want to be sure we do it right.”

(Read more: The Chanute Tribune)

President grants federal emergency disaster declaration for Kansas

President Donald Trump has granted a request from Governor Laura Kelly for an emergency federal disaster declaration for 18 Kansas counties affected by severe weather, heavy rains and flooding that currently is impacting the state.

According to a news release from the governor’s office, the president’s assistance is for the counties of Anderson, Butler, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Coffey, Cowley, Crawford, Elk, Franklin, Greenwood, Harvey, Montgomery, Neosho, Osage, Reno, Sumner, Wilson, and Woodson. Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further evaluation.

“Due to extreme weather and flooding, Kansas is facing significant weather related challenges,” Kelly said. “I’m pleased the president granted these counties emergency support. Sadly, with additional devastating storms hitting several communities tonight, this may only be the beginning of the support Kansas needs.”

(Read more: Junction City Post)

Boeing CEO wouldn’t change growing up in Derby

Leanne Caret is president and chief executive officer of Boeing Defense, Space and Security (BDS), a $26 billion unit that works with customers in the U.S. and around the world.
But before earning the position that requires her to travel as far as India and Saudi Arabia, she spent her formative years in the small city of Derby.
“I meet people [from] all around the world who have the most incredible backgrounds, and I would not change how I grew up for any of theirs,” Caret said. Caret was born Leanne Guyette in Cocoa Beach, Florida near the Kennedy Space Center, where her parents Ray and Deneen worked for Boeing on the Saturn 5 Apollo Program. They eventually moved to Seattle before settling in Derby, where her parents worked at the nearby Boeing headquarters in Wichita.
“I’m second-generation Boeing. My whole life is Boeing; that defines who I am,” she said.

(Read more: Derby News | derbyinformer.com)

Winfield sales tax decision voting slow so far

Mailed ballots deciding a sales tax vote in Winfield are coming into the Cowley County election office, but not in big numbers.
As of Tuesday, 1,694 ballots had been received, or 29 percent, according to clerk Karen Madison. The ballots, 5,820 of them, were mailed to every voter on May 5 and are due back by noon June 4. Voters are deciding whether to approve a 1-percent sales tax to fund an estimated $14 million public safety center that would combine police and fire departments.
Madison said that turnout is tracking with a 2014 mail-in vote in Winfield that reached 48 percent. “For a mail ballot election, it is poor turnout,” Madison said about Tuesday’s totals. “It should be closer to 65 to 70 percent. Every active voter receives a ballot and there is no charge to mail it back.”
But it might be better than the 40-percent turnout last year for a mail-ballot election in Arkansas City. There, voters overwhelmingly approved a 1-percent sales tax for the local medical center.

(Read more: The Arkansas City Traveler)

Lenexa approves TIF financing for luxury apartments

Last week, officials in Lenexa broke ground on a new luxury apartment and office complex called the Lofts at City Center.

The $14 million project is part of a massive development near 87th Street and Renner Road. The 67 apartments, to be finished next year, will be pricey — roughly $2,200 a month for a two-bedroom unit. For that kind of money, builders say, you get 21st-century cool: a fitness center, a courtyard, high speed Wi-Fi.

But cool costs money, and the Lofts will use all the tools of modern development. Builders will get tax increment financing — in the first five years of the deal, all of the higher taxes from the site will go back to the project, much of it to pay for parking. Developers can use something called industrial revenue bonds to exempt building materials from sales taxes. The lack of affordable housing isn’t just a crisis in Kansas City. By one estimate, one in four Johnson County residents is burdened by excessive housing costs — that is, rents or mortgages that exceed 30 percent of income. High housing costs are huge hurdles for young teachers, retail clerks, blue-collar workers and others.

In Lenexa, one in 10 homeowners — and one-third of all renters — face excessive housing costs, according to a 2016 housing needs assessment.

‘In shock by the destruction’: Daylight reveals devastation of tornado near Lawrence

The morning after a massive rain-wrapped tornado tore through northeast Kansas, friends, coworkers and strangers banded together to help pick up the pieces.

The daylight Wednesday morning revealed just how much devastation was done by the tornado that ripped through the south side of the Lawrence area Tuesday night.

Hundred-year-old trees were uprooted, street signs were knocked over and the powerlines that weren’t toppled were tilted. It was nearly impossible to know the origin of the debris scattered across fields and in trees and ponds. The tornado that arrived southwest of Lawrence, spun its way to Linwood and then into the Kansas City metro area turned out to be an EF-4 with 170 mph winds, according to the National Weather Service. No one was killed.

(Read more: KC Star Local News)

New Lenexa City Center Library to open June 2, with tours, works of art

The new Lenexa City Center Library will open to the public at 1 p.m. on June 2, when the ribbon cutting will take place.

The $21.1 million library, at 8778 Penrose Lane, will be one of six library branches that will be open on Sundays. Activities will include building tours and a chance to see work of public art by children’s book illustrator Stephen T. Johnson.

The library replaces services previously offered at the now-closed Lackman branch.

(Read more: KC Star Local News)

Photo gallery: Tornadoes leave trail of damage through Lawrence, Linwood, Bonner Springs and Clay County

A tornado caused wide-spread damage after hitting Lawrence, Linwood, Bonner Springs in Kansas and Clay County in Missouri.

(Read more: KC Star Local News)

Derby’s long-range plan gets underway

For new Derby resident Lavonda Norrod, spending time visiting about what the city’s future could be was an occasion well spent.
“It was very interesting,” she said after viewing display boards and talking with city and planning officials at the first Vision Derby 2040 gathering, which was held on May 21 at The Venue. “A city this size needs to focus that far in advance.”
Norrod, who moved to Derby in October after living for 39 years in Rose Hill, said she’s pleased with the city and its resources. “One of the reasons I moved here is that you have everything you need,” said the civil service retiree. “I’m pretty happy so far.”
Of course, there’s always room for improvement. Things change, and needs and wants shift – and that’s one of the many reasons why it’s necessary to put down what the future could and should be. That’s what planners such as Marty Shukert, principal with the Omaha-based firm of RDG Planning and Design, stress.
“One of our jobs is to take ideas and recommendations and pull them together in a unified vision,” he said. There are common themes that can be connected.”

(Read more: Derby News | derbyinformer.com)

Massive tornado rips through Linwood, Kansas, destroying homes and keeping KC on edge

A tornado ripped through northeast Kansas Tuesday evening, leveling homes and other structures in one small community, as residents across the Kansas City area weathered the latest round of severe storms.

Meteorologists tracked the devastating storms starting after 4:30 p.m. and the warnings and funnel cloud sightings continued through the night in both Kansas and Missouri.

Before 8 p.m., emergency crews headed to Linwood, Kansas, in Leavenworth County, after reports of damaged structures. As darkness fell, and an eerie quiet set in, the destruction was clear: At least a dozen houses were damaged or destroyed, some wiped from their foundations and others ripped apart by violent winds.

About a dozen people had been reported injured in Douglas County, but the extent of those injuries was unknown late Tuesday.

Damage reports come in from Lawrence, Bonner Springs after tornado hits NE Kansas

After a tornado ripped through northeastern Kansas Tuesday evening, at least a dozen people were reported injured in Douglas County, several homes were damaged and more than 13,000 were without power.

In Lawrence police reported large trees down, along with power lines and debris along roads on the southeastern edge of the city. Sgt. Kristen Channel of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said there were injuries reported in Douglas County from the tornado, but as of Tuesday evening could not say how many or severe they were. “We know some have gone to Lawrence Memorial Hospital and we do know that some have been taken to other area hospitals,” Channel told The Star.

Lawrence Memorial Hospital spokeswoman Janice Early said the hospital had received 12 patients with injuries from the tornado.

(Read more: KC Star Local News)

Damaging tornado passes through Douglas County, destroying homes, trees, power lines; at least a dozen people injured

A large tornado touched down in Douglas County shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday, destroying multiple homes, trees and power lines, and injuring at least a dozen people.

The majority of damage to structures appears to have occurred outside the Lawrence city limits, the Lawrence Police Department said. However, damaged trees, power lines and other debris were spotted on the southeastern edge of the city, and some roads were impassable as a result of downed power lines and flash flooding.

In the rural Shank Hill neighborhood south of Lawrence — a high spot along U.S. Highway 59 between Pleasant Grove and the Wakarusa River — more than a dozen homes were severely damaged. Many of them had lost their roofs and their contents were drenched and scattered.

Leawood to widen scenic stretch of Lee Boulevard to accommodate cyclists

A scenic stretch of Lee Boulevard in north Leawood, known for its popularity among cyclists, is getting bicycle lanes and some related road improvements this summer.

The city plans to widen the roadway on Lee Boulevard between 93rd and 103rd streets by two feet and narrow the driving lanes to accommodate four-foot-wide bike lanes going both directions.

Brian Scovill, city engineer of the city of Leawood, said the city’s pedestrian and bicycle master plan “Self-Propelled Leawood,” a document created in collaboration with residents, identified Lee Boulevard as a principal route for cyclists.

Bond Yields Fall Near Multiyear Lows

Investors around the world pushed government bond yields near multiyear lows Tuesday, reflecting growing concern that global economic growth is slowing.

Bond yields, which fall as prices rise, have slid in recent weeks in response to a host of factors, including tepid economic data, geopolitical tensions and signs of caution from the Federal Reserve. While few see an imminent recession, many investors worry that economic growth could falter as the effects of Trump administration tax cuts fade, companies cut back on spending and higher tariffs restrict global trade.

Falling Treasury yields can be a warning sign to riskier assets, like stocks, if the decline signals doubts about the economy.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note settled Tuesday at 2.268%, its lowest close since Sept. 2017. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9%, after on Friday notching a fifth-consecutive week of declines, its longest string of weekly losses since June 2011. U.S. markets were closed Monday for Memorial Day.

Tuttle Creek Lake expected to begin small water releases as level approaches all-time high

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to start small releases of water from the outlet works over the next three days.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Tuttle Creek Operations Manager Brian McNulty said the releases will range from a couple thousand cubic feet per second, to 5,00 CFS. As of Tuesday morning, Tuttle Creek Lake reached 1133.21 feet, which means the lake is three feet from capacity. This puts the lake at 92 percent capacity. McNulty says they also have more room downstream, with Waverly, Missouri being their target point. Riley County Emergency Management Director Pat Collins told reporters they’ve reached the third level of the emergency management response, with his office now actively set up in a 24-hour Emergency Operations Center, located at the Manhattan Fire Department headquarters.

(Read more: 1350 KMAN)

Crawford County aims to retain more local control of Highway 69 sewer work

Jim Zibert of Earle’s Engineering & Inspection Inc. spoke at Friday’s Crawford County Commission meeting about work his firm has been doing to assist in planning a sewer line relocation in Franklin the county is responsible for handling as part of the Highway 69 expansion project.

Of two options, one where the project would largely be managed by the Kansas Department of Transportation, and another “where the county controls their destiny” and would also be able to use more local contractors for the work, Zibert said he strongly suggested the second option.

“Inherently on these dang things, KDOT projects, when you’re dealing with them, they deal with highway contractors, that’s the people that get their jobs,” Zibert said. “So if they include the sewer on this project, they’re not sewer people, they’ll sub[contract] it out. And so it’s hard to say who they’ll sub it to. Also when they’re combining things like that, the contractors’ bids will sometimes monkey around on different things, so you’re really not having a lot of control there.”

(Read more: Pittsburg Morning Sun)

Reno County commissioners extend emergency declaration because of flooding

Reno County commissioners agreed Tuesday to extend the emergency declaration for another week because of the continued flooding and the potential for more rain this week.
Emergency Management Director Adam Weishaar wants to remind residents, children and adults alike, that playing in floodwaters is dangerous. Floodwaters potentially contain raw sewage. “We’ve had several complaints of kids playing in floodwaters. There have been adults walking through floodwaters,” Weishaar said. “With all the rain, with all the groundwater coming up, we do have a whole lot of raw sewage, we have a whole lot and field runoff, so there’s hazardous chemicals, it’s really dangerous for these people to be entering the floodwaters.”

He adds that, with the disaster declaration, it’s also illegal.

(Read more: Hutch Post)

Johnson County signs use flashing lights to warn of flooding. But they aren’t working

In Mission Hills, a sign along a road with a light at the top is meant to warn drivers to stop and turn around.
If the light is flashing, the sign is meant to say, it is because the road ahead has been flooded by Brush Creek.
On Friday night, the light wasn’t flashing when emergency services performed a water rescue just past the sign. Crews pulled a woman from a car in high water. The sign at 66th and Indian Lane is part of a larger, county-wide flood warning system. Eleven signs like the one at 66th and Indian Lane in Mission Hills have been broken for about two weeks, according to city administrator Courtney Christensen.
The warnings are part of the StormWatch system, which is maintained by the City of Overland Park. The flashing light warnings in Mission Hills “aged out” Christensen said, and the company that developed the system no longer makes replacement parts for it.
Mission Hills and Merriam were the only cities that used the flashing light signs, according to Sean Reilly, spokesperson for the City of Overland Park. Merriam has updated their system.

“It’s a system that’s aged out and we weren’t enough aware of it to get anything fast enough to get it replaced before it just stopped working,” said Christensen, the Mission Hills city administrator.

(Read more: Wichita Eagle)

Saline County approves contract to share Planning Director with Dickinson County

The Saline County Commission approved a joint contract with Dickinson County Tuesday morning to share the labor and expertise of Tim Hamilton, who will serve as planning and zoning director for both counties.

Dickinson County had already approved the joint contract, and Saline County’s approval made the arrangement official.

Saline County didn’t have a planning and zoning director for five months after David Neal, the previous director, left Oct. 2, 2018 after accepting a job as a site design planner in Arizona.

Hamilton has been serving both Saline and Dickinson counties as planning and zoning director since March 5. Before then, Hamilton was a full-time Dickinson County employee.

Saline County Administrator Andrew Manley thanked Dickinson County for sharing Hamilton.

(Read more: News – Salina Journal)

Great Bend basement flooding & Wastewater system update

The City of Great Bend Administration & Public Works Departments would like to put out additional public information on Basement Flooding and our current wastewater treatment plant update.

The City of Great Bend is posting the KDHE – Kansas Department of Health & Environment Wastewater Incident Report Form to the City Website. This form needs to be filled out and given to KDHE for tracking and incident reporting because of the excessive rainfall we’ve had in Great Bend. As for our Wastewater system update, our wastewater plant is still working as it was designed however due to the excessive amounts of extra water being pumped into our wastewater system we are concerned about the overload. City Public Works Director Simon Wiley said, “Our system is designed for 3.6 million gallons per day, we typically average 1.2 Million per day and since May 22 we are running on 8 million per day.” City staff want to remind people to drain flooded basements or extra water into the street drains, NOT into the sanitary sewer system via floor drains, bathtubs, toilets, sinks, etc., this can and will create sewer backups in residents’ homes.

(Read more: Great Bend Post)

As Airbnb Grows, This Is Exactly How Much It’s Bringing Down Hotel Prices and Occupancy

Airbnb has grown exponentially since its founding in 2008 and is expected to soon go public in an initial public offering that would rank it among the world’s most valuable hotel companies.
In fact, U.S. consumers spent more money on Airbnb last year than they did on Hilton and its subsidiaries, the second-biggest hotel chain in the world, which was founded a century ago.
Our research included data from 2008 to 2017 in Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, San Francisco and Seattle. In those cities, the number of properties on Airbnb—from room shares to entire houses—surged from just 51 in its first year of operation to more to 50,000 five years later and to over half a million in 2017. But another important factor is the lack of regulation Airbnb faced during its first decades, which gave it more flexibility and made it easier to add new properties to its inventory. While this is now changing as cities clamp down, this provided Airbnb with a significant competitive advantage against the hotel industry. Indeed, the typical regulatory framework in cities across America means it can take several years to add a new hotel to the market and requires permits, adherence to safety codes and more tax collection.

(Read more: Route Fifty – All Content)

Final tally – sales tax issue fails by 29 votes in Brown County

The final votes were tallied Tuesday morning and the outcome remains the same – the sales tax to benefit the hospital was defeated by a mere 29 votes.

The Special Election Question was Tuesday the 21st, and voters were able to cast their ballots on whether to approve a half-cent sales tax to benefit the Hiawatha Community Hospital. Of the estimated $700,000 expected to be raised annually over the 10 year period of the proposed tax, 20 percent was earmarked for healthcare in Horton.

This week’s numbers are different than unofficial vote tallies as released last Tuesday evening. This is due to 51 provisional ballots, which were considered at the Brown County Commission’s formal canvassing of the votes at Tuesday morning’s regular meeting.

(Read more: Hiawatha World Online)

American Red Cross sets up to help tornado victims in Lawrence

Volunteers were on hand to help as the American Red Cross was setting up a shelter for people displaced by Tuesday’s tornado. The group set up in building 21 at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, 2120 Harper St., in Lawrence.

New dog park with agility area to open soon in Wichita

In a few weeks, dogs of Wichita will have another public park to play in.

A newly constructed dog park in the eastern portion of W.B. Harrison Park, 1300 S. Webb, is expected to open to mid-June, according to Troy Houtman, director of Wichita’s Park and Recreation Department.

It will have separate areas for large dogs and small dogs, as well as shade structures, areas for open play, benches, tables and an agility course. The large hill in the northeast corner of the park — often used by neighborhood kids for sledding in wintertime — is within the dog park area.

That doesn’t mean this is end for sledding in Harrison Park, however.

“There was a concern about would people still have access when it snows,” Houtman said. “By all means. I’m not sure there will be a lot of dogs there in wintertime. When it snows really big the kids in the neighborhood, and even dogs, can sled.”

(Read more: Local News |)

Mandatory evacuations underway in Coffeyville Monday

The City of Coffeyville initiated mandatory evacuations Monday morning as the Verdigris River continued to rise.

According to a Facebook post from Coffeyville Police, the river level at the time was 23.1 feet and had been rising steadily overnight.

According to the latest information from the National Weather Service, the river in Coffeyville is expected to be at 25 feet Tuesday morning. The Coffeyville Police Department and Coffeyville Fire Department have begun notifying businesses and citizens in the flood prone areas.

The City is instituting a mandatory evacuation for those in the flood areas.

(Read more: WIBW News Now)

Kansas town’s treasurer kept taxpayer cash for herself, went to casino, prosecutor says

The former treasurer of a Kansas town has been charged with defrauding the city, allegedly keeping taxpayer money for herself and spending some of the money at a casino.

Deborah Sell was charged Thursday in federal court with wire fraud and filing a false tax return, court records show. The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges that Sell schemed to defraud the Miami County town of Fontana while serving as its treasurer.

Sell’s alleged scheme to use public money to pay for personal expenses began sometime before July 2015 and continued until she left employment with the city in September 2017, according to court documents. Prosecutors accuse Sell of using city checks and a debit card to pay for personal expenses. Sell is also accused of keeping a portion of cash used by taxpayers to pay bills.

(Read more: Politics & Government News |)

Think this May is wet? It hasn’t broken the rainfall record – yet. But it’s close.

If you think this month seems a little wetter than usual in Wichita, you’re right.

We haven’t hit the rainfall record — yet. But it’s close.

And there’s a good chance we could break it.

The National Weather Service tweeted Sunday that with the morning’s rainfall, this is officially the second-wettest May on record. So far 11.96 inches of rain have fallen in Wichita at Eisenhower National Airport since May 1. The record for the month of May, set in 2008, is 13.14 inches.

“We’re just an inch and a half away or so from breaking it,” National Weather Service meteorologist Roger Martin said in a phone interview Sunday afternoon.

What’s even more impressive, Martin said, is that if the rain continues as forecast, this month could end up the city’s wettest of all time. That record was set in June of 1923, when 14.43 inches of rain fell on Wichita.

(Read more: Wichita Eagle)

Kansas County Showing What Wind Farms Haven’t Seen Much Before: Local Opposition

Standing near the corner of his property in southeastern Reno County, Nick Egli looked east and pointed to the proposed locations for several 500-feet-tall wind turbines. Egli is standing on a grass airstrip he’s spent the last 10 years building. He pictures a few more homes, some hangars and, eventually, a residential community for pilots of small planes.

“If there’s turbines there, you’ve completely killed everything I’ve been working on the last 10 years,” he said.

Egli is one of many people in the area fighting against a wind farm proposed by Florida-based NextEra Energy.

It’s the latest of several projects NextEra has already completed in the state. And the company isn’t alone.

Businesses from all over the world have cashed in on Kansas’ abundant wind in the past decade. Most projects went up without much fanfare.

But stiff opposition facing the Reno County project has raised some anxiety in the industry as companies consider its implications for future development.

(Read more: Junction City Post)

Gardner City Council revises personnel manual to allow employees to display political signs

the council approved revisions to the personnel manual to allow city employees to display political signs on their private property. The revisions also allow city employees to wear apparel displaying political badges, buttons or signs while off duty.

(Read more: Gardner News)