Amtrak Going Daily Again In Kansas, Easing Worries About The Future Of Passenger Rail In The State

Amtrak plans to restart daily passenger service on its Southwest Chief route across Kansas beginning May 31. In October, Amtrak cut the line’s daily service down to three days a week because of the pandemic. But the company says new federal COVID-19 relief funding will allow it to restore daily service on the Southwest Chief and 11 more of its long distance routes over the next few months. The Southwest Chief, the only Amtrak service in Kansas, runs from Chicago to Los Angeles and includes local stops in Kansas City, Topeka and Dodge City. For southwestern Kansas communities like Garden City, the route provides a connection with the rest of the state and the region. “When you live in an area like this that’s very remote,” said Lona Duvall, the president and CEO of the Finney County Economic Development Corporation, “it’s just too important that people have that freedom of movement.”
Source: KCUR News

Ranson Financial2021-04-05T07:01:19-05:00April 4, 2021|News|

Arma Community Garden looks to win grant funds

Officials with the Arma Community Garden are asking for the public’s votes. The garden is one of more than 300, nationwide – competing for gardens for good grant money. The top 21 vote-getters will receive $5,000 each to help their respective communities provide nutritious food. Since 2019, the garden is Arma has supplied produce to the pantries at the library and the high school.
Voting closes on April 7th.
Source: KSNF/KODE

Ranson Financial2021-04-05T07:21:55-05:00April 4, 2021|News|

Cowley County joins effort to promote counties

Cowley County is joining other Kansas counties in recognition of Kansas County Government during April 2021 as part of National County Government Month promoted by the National Association of Counties (NACo). County government dates to 1634 and no two counties are exactly alike. Counties are diverse in structure and services delivered to the communities vary from one county to another. During the month of April, Cowley County intends to highlight its operations and offer descriptions of services provided to the citizens. Cowley County performs numerous daily services to the public, many which are readily noticeable and many that go unnoticed.
Source: The Arkansas City Traveler

Ranson Financial2021-04-05T07:04:05-05:00April 4, 2021|News|

Natural gas penalties waived for Winfield

During a Winfield City Commission workshop Thursday, City Manager Taggart Wall said that city staff were notified earlier in the day that the city will not be assessed $4.8 million in penalties it could have faced from its pipeline company for customers’ natural gas usage during an unprecedented winter storm in February. With the penalties eliminated, this brings the city’s total gas liability down from $13.2 million to $8.6 million. “They have confirmed to us in an email that we were not assessed any penalties,” Taggart said.
Source: The Arkansas City Traveler

Ranson Financial2021-04-05T07:05:02-05:00April 4, 2021|News|

Iola sees record number of roofs, permits

When it comes to building and repair work this year, everything is going up. The number of permits are up as well as prices. In fact, they’re setting records. And that’s not likely to change anytime soon. “This year has been crazy. Prices are rising throughout our whole industry, and supplies are hard to come by,” Ron Boren, president of Boren’s Roofing in Iola, said. “It’s going to be an interesting summer.” Bill Weston, with H & H Roofing, agreed. Supplies are limited and costly. But his crews are busier than ever, thanks to a hail storm last May that damaged dozens of local homes, especially in the north part of Iola and rural areas.
Source: The Iola Register

Ranson Financial2021-04-05T07:07:49-05:00April 4, 2021|News|

Kansas counties ditching mask rules before lawmakers acted

Kansas counties already had started dropping or weakening mask rules before lawmakers toppled Gov. Laura Kelly’s newly reissued order requiring them — and more are expected to follow suit even as variants first detected in South Africa and the United Kingdom have been found in the state. The order, which was similar to one passed in November, was always porous, allowing the state’s 105 counties to set their own possibly less restrictive rules or opt out of the order entirely. Kelly, a Democrat, was required to reissue it Thursday under a new Kansas law, which also gives eight top legislators the power to reject her efforts to set rules to address the pandemic.
Source: KAKE – News

Ranson Financial2021-04-05T07:21:38-05:00April 4, 2021|News|

Concerns grow over Wichita street racing following recent hit and run

A Wichita woman is asking for the Wichita Police Department’s help in monitoring speeding in her neighborhood. She says she lives near Meridian and Pawnee. On Wednesday, police were called out to a hit-in-run that injured a 9-year-old boy. Police say two pick-up trucks were racing in the 2700 block of S. Meridian Ave. The injured child was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive. “I can watch them coming down the street and they’re flying at a high rate of speed,” said Leigh, who has lived in the area for 25 years. She wants WPD to see what she is experiencing firsthand. WPD agrees that it’s an issue, but it’s not a simple fix. “It’s not something that you can just go out in a specific location and wait for two people to come up and race, a lot of times spontaneous,” said Sergeant Keith Fort with the Wichita Police Department. Leigh fears there could be more incidents if something isn’t done.
Source: KSN-TV

Ranson Financial2021-04-05T07:01:42-05:00April 4, 2021|News|

Columbus Fire Department working to improve severe weather preparedness

A Southeast Kansas Fire Department is doing what it can to be severe weather ready. Severe weather season is approaching – and the Columbus Fire Department is undergoing training for its new Storm Command Center. The training actually began Wednesday and they’re using the May 22nd, 2011 tornado as an example. The department has also updated the community’s emergency response plan.
Source: KSNF/KODE

Ranson Financial2021-04-02T07:11:52-05:00April 2, 2021|News|

Some emergency services struggling to retain employees

Some local police and fire departments are having a difficult time filling positions. We’re talking specifically about those on the front lines – or in this case, the front phone lines. Since the start of the pandemic, agencies have been working to fill these positions for longer periods of time. This isn’t something new for departments in the area – it’s been a problem for years, nationwide. Brandy Grassl, Labette County Emergency Management Coordinator, said, “We’ve been short staffed for almost a year now.” Filling positions for first responders like 911 dispatchers continues to be difficult. Unfortunately covid-19 hasn’t helped the process.
Source: KSNF/KODE

Ranson Financial2021-04-02T07:11:34-05:00April 2, 2021|News|

Bird e-scooters now available to ride in Topeka

There’s a new way to get around the Capital City. Bird e-scooters launched its pilot program Thursday with free rides for healthcare workers. One hundred of these scooters are now around Topeka. The company said it’s planning to ramp up with more scooters in the coming weeks. The city of Topeka has cleared them to bring a maximum of 400 scooters into town.
Source: KSNT News

Ranson Financial2021-04-02T07:11:12-05:00April 2, 2021|News|