Managing Rights of Way from Top to Bottom

There’s more than one way to look at vegetation management. The work electric cooperatives and their contractors do to help keep electric lines and other equipment separated from plant overgrowth plays a major role in service reliability. From mowing and brush work at ground level to tree trimming near or above power lines, electric co-ops regularly inspect and manage the landscape in and around their equipment. Effective to prevent outages, minimize the threat of fire damage and maintain access and serviceability. Utility providers, including electric cooperatives, have worked with local, state and federal foresters to develop integrated vegetation management practices aimed at reducing the need for chemicals, costly manual and mechanical control measures and controlled burning.
Source: Sunflower Electric

Ranson Financial2021-08-09T07:43:23-05:00August 9, 2021|News|

City of Edgerton seeks residential developers

A lack of land for sale, and an untested market has limited Edgerton’s residential growth, according to a recent housing study commissioned by ElevateEdgerton! James Oltman, ElevateEdgerton! recently provided information at an Edgerton City council meeting regarding a housing study. The board of directors for ElevateEdgerton! completed a study based only on Edgerton. … He stated the final step in the process was the final report that showed the market analysis, overview of housing challenges and assets, directions for moving forward and a memo regarding the code review. According to the report, demolitions have outpaced construction in Edgerton with 23 houses lost and six constructed. He said 79 percent of Edgerton’s housing stock was constructed between 1970 and 2009 with 36 percent being in the 1970s and less than one percent being built in the last 10 years.
Source: Gardner News

Ranson Financial2021-08-09T07:41:39-05:00August 9, 2021|News|

Majority of Gardner residents want fireworks, survey says

The majority of Gardner residents have no issue with the current fireworks ordinance, according to survey results presented at the Aug. 2 city council meeting. According to Amy Nasta, deputy city administrator, the online survey had more than 3,300 responses and 52 percent had no concerns regarding the current ordinance. A survey was conducted thru Survey Monkey, an online software program. Nasta said the survey received the most responses from any city survey with 3,358 responses.
Source: Gardner News

Ranson Financial2021-08-09T07:40:24-05:00August 9, 2021|News|

Kansas firefighters sharpening their skills while helping fight fires out west

From California to Nevada and Idaho, wildfires are raging in the west. Crews from right here in Kansas are helping battle those blazes. A group from the Hutchinson Fire Department returned Thursday night to Hutchinson. The four-man crew said it’s a trip that helped them learn more about fighting fires — an education they believe will help them here in Kansas. Firefighter Cole Inghram and Brent Fisher were the eyes in the sky for the Stateline Complex Fire. “We were able to get up on a peak lookout tower that was at 64,000 feet and be able to look down on the fire behavior and watch weather, take observations, give them trends on what the fire had been doing and where it progressed to,” said Inghram. “We’re able to communicate with everybody on the ground and tell them what we were seeing, give them a heads up and give predictions as to what the fire might do.”
Source: KSN-TV

Ranson Financial2021-08-09T07:39:49-05:00August 9, 2021|News|

Winfield seeks feedback on backyard chickens

The City of Winfield wants to hear from the public about whether to increase the number of chickens residents are allowed to keep. The planning commission will hold a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall to collect opinions on the keeping of chickens within the city limits. A local citizen has asked to change the current regulations that allows just one chicken to be kept for exhibit in 4-H or the county free fair, according to a press release issued by the city.
Source: The Arkansas City Traveler

Ranson Financial2021-08-09T07:38:55-05:00August 9, 2021|News|

Chanute Land Bank assists several local building projects

The Chanute Land Bank awarded the remainder of its moderate-income housing funds Wednesday morning and has one project lined up as soon as more money is available. The board approved requests for a historic downtown building, two home renovations and two new home construction projects under the Chanute Housing Improvement Program. They also tentatively approved a downtown project when more money is available. “I knew this would go quick and it did,” Kim Ewert with the land bank said. The funding brings a total of 15 new housing units to Chanute.
Source: The Chanute Tribune

Ranson Financial2021-08-09T07:38:20-05:00August 9, 2021|News|

Riley County gives final approval to 0.2% sales tax ballot question

Riley County commissioners on Thursday officially approved adding a question to the Nov. 2 election ballot asking whether voters would be in favor of a 0.2% sales tax for road and bridge projects. The current 0.5% countywide sales tax, which is shared by the city and county governments, comes to the end of its 10-year term on Dec. 31, 2022. If voters approve the proposed 0.2% rate, it would come with a shorter term of five years and take effect Jan. 1, 2023. If the question is approved by voters, all sales tax proceeds could only be used for road and bridge improvements, including maintenance and construction. These projects would be outside of the Manhattan city limits.
Source: themercury.com

Ranson Financial2021-08-09T07:35:54-05:00August 9, 2021|News|

Ellinwood park adds adjustable basketball goals with grant funding

Ellinwood Recreation Commission, the City of Ellinwood and Sunflower Bank announce the recent grant they received from the Golden Belt Community Foundation. The Ellinwood Community has been awarded The CPI Qualify of Life Barton County grant in the amount of $4,300, which will go toward new basketball goals at the city park. The money received will go toward two ultimate HangTime adjustable basketball systems with moveable extension arms to allow rim height adjustment from 7 ½ to 10 feet. Rim height adjustment can be accomplished by means of hand operated bevel gear crank located on the pole.
Source: Great Bend Tribune

Ranson Financial2021-08-09T07:35:12-05:00August 9, 2021|News|

Kansas hospitals are short-staffed, forcing some patients to travel miles for care

Kansas hospitals are struggling to keep up with an increasing amount of patients, as they face staffing shortages. Cindy Samuelson, a spokesperson for Kansas Hospital Association, told The Kansas Capitol Bureau on Friday that nearly all hospitals in the Kansas City metro area have reported being understaffed, forcing patients to be transferred to other hospitals, sometimes several states away, for care. “We’re in a time of flux right now,” Samuelson said. “We’ve had patients going to states not bordering Kansas, which is, unfortunately, farther than we’d like patients to have to seek care.” It’s causing a strain on workers, but also on patients, as they struggle to find hospitals with enough space to take them, having to travel hours away from home for help.
Source: KSNT News

Ranson Financial2021-08-09T07:34:50-05:00August 9, 2021|News|

Homelessness, mental illness and substance abuse are often intertwined in Wichita

Micky Maddux encounters people who are homeless three to 10 times a day. She does not live or work in a shelter or sleep on a sidewalk. She’s the owner of an art gallery in Wichita’s Old Town Square. She’s cleaned their urine and feces off her gallery front in the morning, been accosted and heard their shouting. “Sometimes it’s not always aggressive,” Maddux said. “Sometimes it’s heartbreaking.”
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle

Ranson Financial2021-08-09T00:17:51-05:00August 9, 2021|News|