Flags to be Flown Half-Staff June 29th for Fallen Linn County Firefighter

27 Monday, June 27

Flags to be Flown Half-Staff June 29th for Fallen Linn County Firefighter

info2022-06-27T07:50:53-05:00June 27th, 2022|

In accordance with Executive Order 20-30, Governor Kelly directs flags be flown at half-staff at all state grounds, buildings, and facilities on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, in honor of Linn County volunteer firefighter Joshua Haynes of Rural District 1 Fire Department, who suffered fatal injuries while battling a fire in Pleasanton, Kansas. “I am directing flags statewide be flown at half-staff to honor Joshua Haynes, a volunteer firefighter from Linn County,” Kelly said. “My deepest condolences are with Joshua’s loved ones and the Linn County community during their time of loss. His bravery and service to our state will never be forgotten.” Source: 101.3 KFDI

27 Monday, June 27

Building the disc golf capitol of the world

info2022-06-27T07:50:38-05:00June 27th, 2022|

Let’s go to the disc golf capitol of the world. We could travel around the globe looking for such a designation, or we could go directly to… Emporia, Kansas. ... What has caused the sport of disc golf to grow? “It really is inclusive,” [Doug Bjerkaas] said. “When I go to the course, I see families with elementary school kids up to a couple of ladies in their 80s,” he said. “Regardless of your skill level, you can play with other people and have fun.” ... It is also less expensive for a community to install a disc golf course. This [...]

27 Monday, June 27

Snow Cones with Gardner Police

info2022-06-27T07:44:39-05:00June 27th, 2022|

Over 500 snow cones were served to local residents who came out to support the Gardner Police Department Thursday June 9 at the Dollar General on Moonlight Road. The family friendly event welcomed everyone with a patrol car to see and touch, a drone and patrol bicycle. K9 Handler Officer Anderson and K9 Zeus greeted attendees with Officer Weathers showing off the department’s drone and Patrol Bicycle. Community Policing Officer John Stimatze, Student Resource Officer Davidson and Patrol Officer Weathers also enjoyed snow cones with the public. Source: Gardner News

27 Monday, June 27

Supply chain issues hit Hutchinson area fire departments

info2022-06-27T07:39:21-05:00June 27th, 2022|

Nearly four months after a wildfire destroyed dozens of homes in Hutchinson, the Hutchinson Fire Department chief says the department will have to wait even longer to replace damaged equipment. One of the HFD's brush trucks valued at $250,000 was destroyed in the Cottonwood Complex Fire in March 2022. The biggest difficulty in replacing that truck is purchasing the base frame or chassis. While the department currently has four base frames on order, what would normally take three to four months to replace now has an estimated wait time between six months to two years. "In my 34 years on the [...]

25 Saturday, June 25

City of Lawrence sees dozens of vacant houses as potential way to create more affordable housing

info2022-06-26T16:31:35-05:00June 25th, 2022|

As climbing prices intensify the City of Lawrence’s need for more affordable housing, city leaders are interested in looking to a new option: the dozens of houses sitting vacant in Lawrence neighborhoods. City staff recently recommended the creation of a vacant structure ordinance to the Lawrence City Commission, among several other potential policy changes, and a few commissioners indicated Tuesday they were interested in further exploring the idea. The local nonprofit Tenants to Homeowners recently began piloting a program that seeks to repair and rent out vacant homes, and representatives said such an ordinance would be significant for affordable housing. Housing [...]

25 Saturday, June 25

Municipal Bond Trends for June 24, 2022

info2022-06-26T08:12:26-05:00June 25th, 2022|

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS "investment grade" yields. Every issuer's credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.

25 Saturday, June 25

Finney County continues researching bird mitigation options

info2022-06-26T08:12:45-05:00June 25th, 2022|

The Finney County Commissioners had a follow-up discussion on nuisance bird mitigation Monday... The large bird population can cause damage to the area with feces accumulation from roosting, which causes a human health and safety hazard; damage to HVAC systems, electrical substations and power stations; damage to vegetation including trees and landscaping within city limits; lost crop yields; and economic loss for feedlots, dairies and granaries throughout the county. They are also noisy.... the purpose of the discussion Monday was to see if ... commissioners are interested in continuing looking into funding sources, partnerships, acquiring information from the community members and [...]

25 Saturday, June 25

Kansas towns anticipate strong tourism this summer

info2022-06-26T08:04:38-05:00June 25th, 2022|

Kansas tourism is doing well but for a few hiccups due to high fuel prices, labor shortages and post COVID-19 jitters. ... Topeka, Salina and Hutchinson have noticed tourists are making plans for a visit, and the towns are getting ready for their visitors. I'd say we're we're really good so far," said Visit Topeka president Sean Dixon. "Obviously, starting the year with a dinosaur festival helps. The overall impact on the attendance numbers to our attractions have been fantastic. We just tallied everything on the T. Rex in Great Overland Station. We did 17,000 visitors for that. Source: CJonline

24 Friday, June 24

Frontenac Mining Days set for July

info2022-06-24T07:59:15-05:00June 24th, 2022|

The Frontenac community is inviting the public to celebrate its heritage in Southeast Kansas during the 2nd Annual Frontenac Mining Days, in downtown Frontenac, beginning Thursday, July 7, and continuing through Sunday, July 10. A variety of activities are planned for Frontenac Mining Days, including the Pride Amusements carnival, contests, games, historic presentations, live bands, and street dances. The live bands and street dances will feature the Paul Holt Band on Friday, June 8, and the band Members Only on Saturday, June 9. This year the Frontenac Mining Days also added a new event for community members to participate in during [...]

24 Friday, June 24

SEK counties top list of best value in Kansas for property taxes

info2022-06-24T07:58:28-05:00June 24th, 2022|

A new study ranks Kansas counties by the value that residents get relative to what they pay in property taxes, and the majority of the top ten are located in the southeastern region of the state. According to the study by financial technology company SmartAsset, the best value county in Kansas for property taxes is Coffey County, followed by Greenwood, Labette, and Crawford counties. The next three counties on the list — Doniphan, Brown, and Rice — are not in the southeastern quarter of the state, but Neosho and Cherokee County also made the list in 8th and 9th place respectively. [...]