Manhattan gives initial approval to Manhattan Development Code

After years of working on updating and replacing zoning and subdivision regulations, commissioners on Tuesday approved the first reading of the Manhattan Development Code. John Adam, Manhattan senior planner, presented the first reading of the code, which will replace the current zoning and subdivision regulation with a unified set of regulations.
Source: themercury.com

2021-11-18T07:01:04-06:00November 17, 2021|News|

Kansas opens vaccine booster to all eligible adults

The State of Kansas has announced that it’s opening vaccine boosters to all eligible adults. We spoke with the Crawford County Health Department about the announcement. On Wednesday, Governor Laura Kelly and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced the COVID booster shots will be open to all vaccinated Kansans ages 18 and up. Teddi Van Kam with the Crawford County Health Department says “It puts the decision you know, to the individual themselves, for them to kind of assess what their, what they feel like their exposure risk is at home, at work, out in the community.”
Source: KOAMKOAM

2021-11-17T23:37:45-06:00November 17, 2021|News|

Parsons to remove pit bull ban

Parsons city commissioners plan to revoke the city’s ban on pit bulls. Commissioners on Monday unanimously agreed to remove the section of the animal ordinance that states pit bull dogs are prohibited. “This is something that’s been brought up a time or two over the past several months. … My hope is, anyway, that we could remove the breed-specific ban on pit bulls,” said Mayor Tom Shaw at the beginning of the discussion.
Source: Parsons Sun

2021-11-18T07:03:15-06:00November 17, 2021|News|

All Ark City schools will close to quell COVID outbreaks

Arkansas City schools will take a 10-day wellness and mental break, hoping to slow the spread of COVID-19 throughout the district. At a special meeting Tuesday night, the school board approved adding Friday, Monday and Tuesday to the Thanksgiving break starting Wednesday (Nov. 24). All school sports and activities can continue as normal. Students will return to class Nov. 29. Superintendent Ron Ballard said the extended break would be the equivalent of the standard 10-day quarantine. “We have COVID going on at a pace that takes us all the way back to last year, and perhaps above in terms of the speed that it is increasing.” he said.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler

2021-11-17T07:45:18-06:00November 17, 2021|News|

TIF District approved for bare land

Finney County Economic Development Corporation is working with Western Kansas Corridor LLC on the development of property located at the northeast quadrant of the north interchange of U.S. Highway 50/400 and U.S. Highway 83. … Lona DuVall, President/CEO of the FCEDC said the Western Corridor TIF is … primarily a way for the developer to pay for the cost of establishing infrastructure in a bare piece of agricultural ground by way of utilities, roads, water runoff, etc. … the way Kansas law is written in regards to creating a TIF is the city has to make the termination that the property is either blighted or not producing as much as it could … “With this property being on the intersection of a very highly trafficked highway interchange, we would believe that it has the higher value than just what it’s being currently used for,” she said.
Source: Garden City Telegram

2021-11-17T07:41:32-06:00November 17, 2021|News|

Lawrence-Douglas County continues discussion of solar farm regulations

As part of its meeting Monday, the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission continued its discussion of new zoning regulations for rural Douglas County for commercial or utility-scale “solar energy conversion systems,” or solar farms. A committee has been working with planners to make revisions to the draft regulations, and committee chair Jim Carpenter said they were taking great care in that process. “We’ve not seen a text amendment come forward like this before that is of such big scale or duration,” Carpenter said. “We are trying to work out the rules here to allow industrial scale solar out in the rural parts of the county that could be in place for 30, 50 or more years.”
Source: LJWorld.com.

2021-11-17T07:33:44-06:00November 17, 2021|News|

TikTok 911: Lyon County dispatch draws a crowd

TikTok isn’t only for teenagers and milk crate stacking anymore. It’s now used by Lyon County first responders. The Lyon County Emergency Communication Center launched its own TikTok feed in late August. It’s now approaching 4,800 followers. “See a new side of dispatch,” a Facebook post about the feed said this past week. The first TikTok post was serious, marking “National I Am 911” Day. Other videos are humorous, with several “education bloopers” available.
Source: Emporia Gazette

2021-11-17T07:52:46-06:00November 17, 2021|News|

Gov. Kelly Announces Legislature Will Reconvene Nov. 22nd

Governor Kelly announced Friday that she will use her constitutional power to reconvene the Kansas Legislature for a special session on November 22. This after the Legislature filed a petition with 86 signatures from members of the Kansas House and 29 members of the Kansas Senate, surpassing the two-thirds majority needed for a legislative petition. The focus of the special session will be the Biden administrations string of federal vaccine mandates and ways to protect Kansas workers who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Source: Country 101.3 KFDI

2021-11-17T07:24:30-06:00November 16, 2021|News|

U.S. 69 toll lane project to expand, with Overland Park paying an extra $10 million

The Overland Park City Council on Monday agreed to add an additional $10 million in local costs to the U.S. 69 toll lane project, which will now include the reconstruction of the 167th Street interchange. This past spring, the council approved the first phase of the U.S. 69 expansion, to widen the highway to six lanes from 103rd to 151st streets — a $300 million project paid for in part by making one lane in each direction an express toll lane. Drivers could choose to pay a toll for a faster commute. The other lanes would remain free. Now, thanks to the passage of the federal infrastructure bill, the state will receive new funding to dedicate to the project, said Lindsey Douglas, deputy secretary with the Kansas Department of Transportation. And that will help accelerate work to improve the 167th Street interchange, from Metcalf Avenue to Antioch Road. Plans call for U.S. 69 to eventually be expanded south to 179th Street.
Source: Joco 913 News

2021-11-16T17:05:48-06:00November 16, 2021|News|
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