Overland Park introduces e-bikes

6 Wednesday, July 6

Overland Park introduces e-bikes

info2022-07-06T07:50:49-05:00July 6th, 2022|

The long-anticipated electric bikes have officially flocked to the Overland Park area as of late last week. A total of 40 e-bikes supplied by Bird Rides Inc. are now available to ride in various parts of the city. Overland Park officials have been exploring the concept since 2018. The bikes are part of a two-year pilot program the Overland Park City Council unanimously approved in February. In addition to the bikes, the city introduced 75 electronic scooters in April as part of the program. Most of the bikes can be located in northern Overland Park, but city officials said they are working to expand into [...]

6 Wednesday, July 6

Digging It Up at two Arkansas City sites: Large crowd hears latest on Etzanoa discoveries

info2022-07-06T07:51:42-05:00July 6th, 2022|

Archaeology students and volunteers working at two Arkansas City sites last month uncovered many valuable artifacts that will help archaeologists piece together the Etzanoa story, said Wichita State University archaeologist Don Blakeslee. He described Etzanoa — a five-mile settlement of 20,000 ancestral Wichita located along the banks of the lower Walnut River — as a “mega-site.” Mega-site is a relatively new term that archaeologists have been using for the past five years or so, he said. It is a new concept that is not fully understood yet. They are using it to describe really large settlements that don’t quite match terms [...]

6 Wednesday, July 6

Olathe, Spring Hill annexation pact silences ‘will of voters’ in future

info2022-07-06T07:52:23-05:00July 6th, 2022|

Attorneys representing the city of Olathe argued the Kansas Supreme Court’s derailment of an annexation pact between Spring Hill and Olathe could jeopardize similar alliances among municipalities guiding development throughout Kansas. On the contrary, said lawyers for the city of Spring Hill, the type of open-ended annexation truce adopted in 2006 by the neighboring cities in Johnson County shouldn’t be construed to unfairly bind elected officials of those cities. The Spring Hill argument was that voters shouldn’t be perpetually disenfranchised by policy decisions of city council members who served more than 15 years ago. Source: The Iola Register

5 Tuesday, July 5

Hays, Russell Receive Favorable Ruling In R9 Ranch Water Use

info2022-07-05T10:21:21-05:00July 5th, 2022|

Thursday, the Cities of Hays and Russell received official ruling from the Chief District Judge of the Edwards County District Court denying Water PACK's Petition for Judicial Review of the State's order allowing the conversion of water irrigation rights of the R9 Ranch in Edwards County to municipal use. The District Judge's decision affirmed the Kansas Department of Agriculture's Chief Engineer's 2019 approval of the Cities' change applications. The City of Hays purchased the approximately 7,000-acre R9 Ranch and its thirty water rights in southwestern Edwards County in 1995, and a year later Russell purchased an 18-percent interest in the property, [...]

5 Tuesday, July 5

Walmart wants lower property taxes, but the Kansas Supreme Court pushes back

info2022-07-05T08:45:06-05:00July 5th, 2022|

The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday dealt a blow to what’s known as dark story theory, an idea used by big box retailers to reduce their property taxes. The decision reversed a previous ruling in favor of Walmart’s argument that its properties in Johnson County were overtaxed by tens of millions of dollars. For now, the ruling effectively rejects the dark store theory big box retailers pursue to lower their tax rates. The theory says that big box stores should be valued as if they were an empty building, not an operating business. The case has much larger implications beyond simply [...]

5 Tuesday, July 5

City of Olathe v. City of Spring Hill

info2022-07-05T08:28:11-05:00July 5th, 2022|

From the Kansas Supreme Court opinion: This is a tale of two cities. On March 23, 2006, the cities of Spring Hill and Olathe entered into a written agreement (Agreement) to restrict their future growth by establishing boundaries for annexing land lying adjacent to the two cities. Olathe agreed not to seek annexation of property south of the boundary line, while Spring Hill agreed not to seek to annex property north of the line. Each city reserved the right to annex land within their respective boundary lines.... The Agreement had no fixed expiration term. Instead, it was to "remain in effect [...]

5 Tuesday, July 5

Chase County Courthouse sesquicentennial planning underway

info2022-07-05T08:17:58-05:00July 5th, 2022|

Planning for Chase County Courthouse's sesquicentennial celebrations has been officially greenlighted by the county commission, following a Thursday morning meeting at the courthouse. Chase County Historical Society director Dawn Sisson, CCHS board members Sharon and Delwin Burton, and Chase County Chamber of Commerce director Toni Schneider presented preliminary research and ideas related to the courthouse's 150th birthday. Sisson said she's been collecting history since before COVID-19 and has found a number of useful items. That includes a centennial book that was published in 1972 that included basic community information. She also found newspaper collections, scrapbooks and cookbooks. Source: Emporia Gazette

5 Tuesday, July 5

WyCo will pay Lamonte McIntyre settlement with bonds

info2022-07-05T08:17:21-05:00July 5th, 2022|

A $12.5 million payout to Lamonte and Rose McIntyre will be funded by a bond that will accumulate interest, raising the cost to taxpayers. The settlement was unanimously approved Thursday by the Unified Government’s board of commissioners, marking an end to years of litigation. Lamonte McIntyre spent 23 years in prison for a double homicide in Kansas City, Kansas, that he did not commit. The commissioners voted unanimously in approving the settlement financed with general obligation bonds, meaning the money will be borrowed and paid back over a period time with interest. Source: KC Star Local News

5 Tuesday, July 5

New community mural unveiled in downtown Salina

info2022-07-05T08:15:53-05:00July 5th, 2022|

On Saturday, a new community mural was unveiled in downtown Salina. The new mural is called 'Dream Cartographers'. It is on the new stage background that was moved to N. Santa Fe Ave. and W. Ash St. The new mural was based on ideas, likes, places, and more from over 100 citizens. Source: KSN-TV

5 Tuesday, July 5

Kansas may ditch class hours for real-world training as graduation requirements

info2022-07-05T08:15:24-05:00July 5th, 2022|

For more than a century, Kansas students have earned credits — and, after enough of them, a high school diploma — based on how much time they spend in a classroom. The age-old “Carnegie unit” approach to education became the academic law of the land way back in 1906. And it stuck: One credit equals about 120 instructional hours in one subject. Kansas requires students to pass at least 21 credits to graduate from high school. But a group in charge of evaluating the state’s graduation requirements says that classroom time makes for a poor yardstick for measuring learning. So it [...]