Kansas Municipal 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.
(Read more: DerbyInformer.com – news,news/)
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.
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)
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?
(Read more: www.chanute.com – RSS Results in news,news/* of type article)
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."
(Read more: News – The Topeka Capital-Journal)
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)