Kansas House moves to make counties keep electing sheriffs

The Kansas House has approved a measure aimed at ensuring that counties don’t stop electing their sheriffs. The vote Wednesday was 97-24 on a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution declaring that sheriffs are elected to four-year terms. The constitution now says only that lawmakers will create county offices “as may be necessary.” The measure had far more than the two-thirds majority necessary for passage in the House. If the measure passes the Senate, it will go on the ballot in November for voters’ possible approval. Backers said electing sheriffs makes them more accountable to voters. Opponents said counties should be allowed to decide how to manage law enforcement. Under the proposed language, legislators could no longer change how sheriffs are selected by law. Counties have been electing sheriffs since 1857, four years before Kansas was admitted to the Union.
Source: Andover American

Ranson Financial2022-02-24T01:43:01-06:00February 24, 2022|News|

Sedgwick County to lease downtown Wichita building for administrative offices

Sedgwick County commissioners have voted to approve a lease agreement for a building in downtown Wichita for a three-year-period. The Ruffin Building at Douglas and Broadway will be used for the commission offices, the County Manager, the Clerk, the Treasurer, the Register of Deeds, the County Counselor, and the communications department. The move will free space in the courthouse for an expansion of courthouse space and the creation of more space for the District Attorney. The expansion project is expected to begin later this year and would be finished in the spring of 2023. It will allow the District Court to address a backlog of cases and provide space for a veterans’ court, a mental health court, and the addition of two judges and a magistrate judge.
Source: Country 101.3 KFDI

Ranson Financial2022-02-24T01:36:45-06:00February 24, 2022|News|

WSU litter study finds room for improvement

A study on litter from Wichita State’s Environment Finance Center suggests there is room for improvement. The study was put together after people in the community voiced concern about the number of plastic bags seen floating around. People involved in this study looked at 12 city parks across Wichita, which came out to two parks per city council district. Study leaders say their findings were close to what was expected. “Wichita is a unique place, but our litter certainly is not unique,” said Michelle DeHaven, program manager at the EFC. “When we compare it to other litter studies, our study showed that Wichita’s litter is similar to what communities are experiencing across the country.” Of all the trash collected during pickup events, 47% was single-use plastics. “The majority of the plastic that we found was food and beverage containers — water bottles, Gatorade-type drinks, soda bottles, alcohol bottles, chip bags and wrappers that come off convenience foods at gas stations,” DeHaven said. “A second runner up was cigarette butts. We found cigarette butts all over the place.”
Source: Country 101.3 KFDI

Ranson Financial2022-02-24T01:33:15-06:00February 24, 2022|News|

Amendment on sheriff elections proposed for KS Constitution

Many Kansas legislators want to make sure that counties don’t change the longstanding tradition of electing sheriffs by enshrining the policy in the state constitution. The Republican-controlled state House gave first-round approval Tuesday to a proposal to add language to the Kansas Constitution’s short article on county government to ensure that sheriffs are elected to four-year terms. A final vote was expected Wednesday. Only Riley County out of the state’s 105 counties doesn’t elect a sheriff. However, a commission in the state’s most populous county of Johnson County reviewed a proposal to appoint their sheriff, but ultimately decided against the change.
Source: Country 101.3 KFDI

Ranson Financial2022-02-24T01:25:16-06:00February 24, 2022|News|

Some Kansas jails now allowing medical care for opioid addiction

A recent decision to let people continue treatment for drug addiction while in the Sedgwick County Jail in Wichita reflects a significant shift in thinking at Kansas sheriffs’ offices that is gaining momentum. Sedgwick officials no longer take people off of their prescriptions for medications such as buprenorphine when booked into jail. No one keeps a tally of how many Kansas jails allow incarcerated people with opioid or alcohol addictions to receive the combination of medication and counseling that can help them.
Source: Derby Informer | News

Ranson Financial2022-02-24T01:20:27-06:00February 24, 2022|News|

Hesston hears of vision for 40,000 square foot municipal complex

Brad Heppner, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors for The Beneficient Company, unveiled his vision for Hesston during a called meeting Wednesday morning of Hesston City Council. A schematic he showed council members depicted a 40,000-square foot building for city hall, police and fire services on one end of a downtown square and a non-denominational chapel anchoring the other end. Hesston Village Park, the name Heppner gave to the vision, would include a plot of green space that is 20 percent larger than Heritage Park. He said the complex would include a 12,500-square-foot grocery store and possibly an upscale hotel modeled after the Rapp House. He said the city would need to get rid of portions of Old Highway 81 to create more density and a feeling of community.
Source: Harvey County Now

Ranson Financial2022-02-24T07:28:33-06:00February 24, 2022|News|

Critics say the Kansas criminal justice system’s fees and fines trap people in a cycle of poverty

After Tyler Williams spent much of his teenage years locked up in the juvenile jail system, he found himself at 19 owing more than $1,000 to the state of Kansas — including an $840 fee for hauling him from Oklahoma to face charges in Junction City. Working a minimum wage job, it took Williams two years of his young adulthood to wipe out all the fees and fines from his crimes as a kid. “It was a sigh of relief,” he said. “Having that burden gone definitely helped me get into a better mindset and take control of my life.” Fines and fees are commonly used to punish offenders and fund the court system, but critics argue they mostly make it harder for people to get their lives on track. That’s fueled a push to make the courts less reliant on ringing up revenue from people convicted of crimes. Advocates for tossing aside many of those fees and fines say lawmakers should consider dumping them if they want people to escape from cycles of poverty and crime that tend to land people back in jail.
Source: KAKE – News

Ranson Financial2022-02-24T00:50:55-06:00February 24, 2022|News|

Wichita police using social media to connect with families and spread awareness

Wichita police are now using social media to reach teens– before it’s too late. TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat are just a few places that investigators say kids are setting up drug deals that have ended in shootings. “We have something important to discuss,” said Officer Alex Avendano with the Wichita Police Department in a TikTok video posted Tuesday. It might just seem like a simple video on your social media feed. But it’s a new way Wichita Police officers in the Juvenile Intervention Unit are trying to spread awareness. “So, in the video, you see a guy taking pictures of drugs, and then posting it to social media, and then go on and setting up a deal and the deal goes bad,” said D.L. Watson. Officers Watson and Avendano said they made this reenactment in hopes of stopping illegal drug deals through social media.
Source: KAKE – News

Ranson Financial2022-02-24T00:43:39-06:00February 24, 2022|News|

Kansas House overwhelmingly rejects proposal to ban no-knock warrants

Rep. Tim Johnson says he can count on one hand the number of times he executed a no-knock search warrant during his 31 years in law enforcement. The Bonner Springs Republican says he is certified in the use of special weapons and tactics and has written articles on the subject. There are times, he said during a debate Tuesday in the House, that officers need a no-knock warrant. “I still remember one particular night,” Johnson said. “We did not have a no-knock search warrant. I was the point man. And as we went in, things went south very rapidly. I never saw the man with the shotgun. I didn’t. “Not sure I remember hearing the blast. I do remember feeling pellets or projectile striking my leg. But I was engaged with another armed suspect. We should have had a no-knock search warrant. If we take that away from our law enforcement people, you’re taking away something that they need as a tool.”
Source: Kansas Reflector

Ranson Financial2022-02-24T07:44:13-06:00February 24, 2022|News|

Russia’s Ukraine incursion could complicate the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions

The outlook for Federal Reserve rate hikes after March may become less clear if Russia continues its incursion into Ukraine. That’s because the tensions have pushed up the price of oil and gasoline, a major purchase for many Americans, and it’s the U.S. consumer that drives about 70% of the U.S. economy. The prices of oil and other commodities have been rising on concerns that Russia’s troop movements into Ukraine and sanctions from the U.S. and allies could potentially lead to limited supplies. Russia is a major exporter of oil and natural gas. … Economists said it will be the price of oil that could ultimately drive Fed policy. The jump in oil prices is first a catalyst for inflation, and eventually it could become disinflationary if the price goes higher and endures, dampening economic growth. … “It makes things more complicated,” said Bruce Kasman, JPMorgan’s chief economist. … Kasman expects the Fed will proceed with a quarter-point increase in the fed funds rate in March, with the Ukraine situation weakening the argument for a half-point hike. His forecast is for six more rate hikes over the balance of the year. This is where the outlook becomes muddy for the central bank: On the one hand, a growth scare could slow the pace of hiking. On the other hand, economists say, the Fed may become even more aggressive if it sees a sharper pickup in inflation.
Source: CNBC

Ranson Financial2022-02-23T09:29:26-06:00February 23, 2022|News|

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