Research finds Kansas mine lands are fostering wildlife recovery in Southeast Kansas

Biology students at an area university have been doing more schoolwork than just taking classes. They’ve been conducting research on a variety of subjects. And some of what they’ve been learning is encouraging. They’re called “strip pits” and they can be found throughout Southeast Kansas. “Back in the day, huge steam shovels like “Big Brutus” would come and strip away the topsoil revealing layers of coal,” said Stuart Price, Reporting. The coal was then removed leaving pits, which over time, filled in with rain water. While the practice was less than ideal for the plants and animals that were living there at the time, what has been the long term affect?
Source: KSNF/KODE

2022-04-22T07:01:22-05:00April 22, 2022|News|

Lenexa could launch ‘smart pavement’ pilot project at major intersection later this year

The launch of innovative smart pavement technology in and around Lenexa City Center took a big step forward at Tuesday night’s city council meeting. The city council approved a series of agreements that will soon launch a 10-year pilot deployment of up to $250 million worth of smart infrastructure at five key intersections within the city’s central hub near I-435 and West 87th Street Parkway. … The smart pavement system — a series of precast concrete slabs with sensors — provides anonymous traffic data where they are deployed. The sensors are embedded with digital technology and fiber optic connectivity that can track real-time traffic data, project representatives said. Eventually, the technology could also provide wi-fi, 5G and Bluetooth capabilities and, ultimately, charging and connectivity services for autonomous vehicles.
Source: Shawnee Mission Post

2022-04-22T07:02:19-05:00April 22, 2022|News|

Group exploring workforce housing project in South Hutchinson

The South Hutchinson City Council heard a brief presentation Monday night on a new “workforce” rental housing development proposed for the city. Austin Parker … offered a PowerPoint of a similar project proposed for Benton, Missouri, that included 25 buildings composed of one- and two-bedroom units, with 99 apartments … The South Hutchinson development would start with 20 units, he said, offering one, two and possibly three-bedroom apartments “depending on what the market wants.” “The numbers are tentative, but a one-bedroom would probably lease for around $1,100 and a two-bedroom for $1,200 to $1,300,” he said. The group will seek city-issued low-interest, non-taxable Industrial Revenue Bonds for the development.
Source: Hutch News

2022-04-21T21:36:46-05:00April 21, 2022|News|

South Hutchinson city officials may allow Sunday liquor sales

About 2 1/2 years after the question failed at the polls by 34 votes, the South Hutchinson City Council agreed Monday to consider allowing Sunday alcohol sales in the city. Councilman Brian Garretson, who said a resident approached him to ask the city to consider it, raised the issue Monday during council comments. The council can simply authorize Sunday sales by ordinance, which residents would then force onto the ballot by petition if enough objected. The reverse happened in 2019 when an individual in town gathered enough signatures to require a vote. The issue failed 319-to-353.
Source: Hutch News

2022-04-21T21:31:15-05:00April 21, 2022|News|

Douglas County leaders approve solar farm standards, pending minor changes

After hearing more than an hour and a half of public comments on Wednesday evening, Douglas County commissioners gave preliminary approval to a set of rules for future solar farms in the county. The rules outline a number of limits for solar farms in the county, from how large they can be — up to 1,000 acres — to how far they must be set back from roads, homes and other structures. Commissioners voted Wednesday night to approve those standards, pending a minor technical change about grading at solar farm sites. The commission will still need to officially adopt the regulations via a resolution at a future meeting.
Source: LJWorld.com

2022-04-21T07:30:46-05:00April 21, 2022|News|

Lawrence working on plans to address spread of hundreds of invasive Bradford pear trees

The Bradford pear trees across Lawrence are replete with their springtime blooms, but the white flowers are not a welcome sight for those in the city’s forestry division. The Bradford pear is a type of ornamental pear tree native to Asia that has been popular with landscapers, but the fast-growing trees have spread to parks and other forested areas to the detriment of native tree and plant species and wildlife. It was initially thought the trees would not be able to reproduce, but that proved not to be the case as the trees began spreading, creating a widespread problem in the U.S., according to national media reports.
Source: LJWorld.com

2022-04-21T07:30:12-05:00April 21, 2022|News|

$15 million Atchison museum will celebrate the trailblazing aviator’s legacy

The trailblazing female pilot vanished as she tried to fly around the world on July 2, 1937, along with navigator Fred Noonan and their Lockheed Electra 10-E airplane. Their fate has become one of the world’s great unsolved mysteries. Only one Lockheed Electra 10-E still exists. It is named “Muriel,” after Earhart’s sister, Grace Muriel Earhart Morrissey, who died in 1998 at age 98. That plane will become the centerpiece of the soon-to-be-created Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum at Atchison, Earhart’s birthplace. Museum founder and president Karen Seaberg announced April 13 that supporters had already donated $10 million of the estimated $15 million needed to create the museum. Those donors include corporate powerhouses FedEx, Garmin and Lockheed Martin. The museum is expected to open next year, according to its website.
Source: Hutch News

2022-04-21T07:24:26-05:00April 21, 2022|News|

Fire, ambulance response times are harmful for emergency outcomes in Lawrence, Fire Medical leaders say

Over the last 15 years, Lawrence’s firefighter-paramedics have seen a 62% increase in call volume but no increase to the number of fire stations. Tom Fagan, interim chief of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical, told Lawrence city commissioners Tuesday that LDCFM’s first responders are successful when they are able to reach emergencies within their goal of four minutes or less of travel time. But the substantial increase in calls for service over the past several years — from 8,964 calls in 2006 to 14,560 in 2021, according to LDCFM’s presentation — and the simultaneous calls that occur can stretch limited resources and hinder the outcomes of fire and medical emergencies.
Source: The Lawrence Times

2022-04-21T07:20:16-05:00April 21, 2022|News|

Sedgwick County ends COVID disaster declaration, will close testing, vaccination sites

Sedgwick County is no longer under a disaster declaration for COVID-19. The County Commission voted unanimously on Wednesday to rescind the declaration that was approved in March 2020. The move comes after the county commission announced a shift from an emergency response to a recovery response to COVID earlier this month. The county also plans to close testing and vaccination sites in Wichita at the end of April, county director of communications Akeam Ashford said in a meeting on Wednesday.
Source: Wichita Eagle

2022-04-21T07:19:45-05:00April 21, 2022|News|
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