Reopening starts with small steps for city of Derby

As of May 4, Gov. Laura Kelly’s phased reopening plan for Kansas is officially in effect. Over the course of the next month, businesses across the state will slowly start to return to normal operations. During its most recent meeting on April 28, the Derby City Council discussed how that reopening would look for city services and amenities. Given that all city departments stayed busy (some more than others) while the stay-at-home orders were in effect, City Manager Kathy Sexton said staff saw no rush to reopen the doors to city hall – as that would actually bring on more work in terms of preventative measures. Given that city staff are still balancing what work can be ongoing and what can be delayed in the face of COVID-19, and the ability to get a majority of work done while closed, they are in favor of keeping the doors locked for the time being.
(Read more: Derby News | derbyinformer.com)

2020-05-05T07:44:14-05:00May 4, 2020|News|

Modified Operations Continue for Garden City Facilities

Through at least May 15th, City facilities will operate predominantly in the same manner they have been operating since prior to the Governor’s Stay‐At‐Home Order. Doing so allows us to continue delivering virtually all the critical public services requested of us by the community while building resiliency through modified work environments and staffing schedules. As we’ve been doing since mid‐March, each department may make some adjustments to work environments and staffing strategies, but the basic description of operations at each worksite will be as follows…
(Read more: Greater Garden City » Feed)

2020-05-05T07:44:58-05:00May 4, 2020|News|

Sedgwick businesses are responsible for new sales tax whether they collect it or not

On April 1, Sedgwick’s 8.5 percent sales tax increased to 9.0 percent, but it seems that local business hadn’t received notice from the state and were thus still charging to lower 8.5 percent.
City Administrator Joe Turner told the city council last week that he had visited several businesses and only one—Dollar General—charged the correct sales tax amount. In an e-mail exchange with Amy Kramer of the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR), she explained to Turner how KDOR notifies business of tax increases. Quarterly sales tax rate changes are published at least 60 days prior to the tax being imposed, notice is included under the “Current News” section of the Customer Service Center home page, and the Department of Revenue updates the splash screen text for the sales and use tax accounts to advise users of every quarterly tax change.
(Read more: Harvey County Now)

2020-05-05T07:46:01-05:00May 4, 2020|News|

$400 million in aid offered to Kansas hospitals

U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) Friday announced $400 million to Kansas hospitals financially impacted by COVID-19. The assistance comes from the Department of Health and Human Services, delivered through the Provider Relief Fund,established in Phase III of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act…. Moran says the first grant for $18 million “will be distributed to a high-impact hospital in Kansas that has treated a large number of COVID-19 cases. The additional $382 million will be distributed among 201 rural healthcare providers impacted by COVID-19.
(Read more: KWCH News)

2020-05-04T09:11:00-05:00May 4, 2020|News|

Finney County extending stay-at-home order 7 days

Finney County added 99 more positive confirmed COVID-19 case, bringing the total to 503 as of 7 p.m. on Friday. The second and third deaths were confirmed by the Finney County Health Department on Friday. …At the inception of the FCHD’s drive thru testing site, there was a capability of testing 50 individuals in a day. Since then, testing supplies have increased and now allow 140-160 individuals to be tested each day. FCHD has issued an emergency public health order for Finney County, extending the governor’s stay at home order, through May 10.
(Read more: GC Telegram)

2020-05-04T09:10:24-05:00May 4, 2020|News|

COVID-19-related restrictions challenging for rural KS counties with few or no cases

Some communities across Kansas haven’t seen any confirmed cases of COVID-19, but still feel the impact of the statewide stay-at-home order. In Russell County, among several rural counties that hasn’t seen its first COVID-19 case, county commissioners are eager to start reopening. When Phase One of Kansas Governor Laura Kelly’s reopening plan starting Monday (May 4), counties in the state decide if they want to incorporate additional restrictions. Russell County Commissioner Steve Reinhardt says having zero cases in the county made it difficult for some to follow the stay-at-home order.
(Read more: KWCH News)

2020-05-04T09:00:44-05:00May 4, 2020|News|

Shawnee County announces reopening plan

Shawnee County officials are using the governor’s plan for reopening Kansas as a model for local efforts to begin opening businesses as the coronavirus pandemic wears on. In a news conference Friday afternoon, Shawnee County health officials, local leaders and emergency management personnel revealed “A Guide to Re-opening Shawnee County, Kansas,” which will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, May 4. At that time, the county’s stay-at-home order, which went into effect March 26, will be rescinded by Shawnee County health officer Gianfranco Pezzino. That will allow phase one of the local reopening plan to begin. Phase one of the county’s plan mimics phase one of Gov. Laura Kelly’s statewide reopening initiative, which she revealed Thursday evening in a televised address to Kansans.
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)

2020-05-04T08:49:08-05:00May 3, 2020|News|

Reno County produces local reopening plan

Over the last two weeks, the Reno County Health Department has been working with the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce and the Reno County Economic Recovery Taskforce, or RCERT, to present recommendations for reopening Reno County. On Thursday evening, Gov. Laura Kelly outlined the first phase of the reopening plan for Kansas local governments. This framework allows Kansas counties to retain the ability to enact more restrictive orders, but not less restrictive. Reno County, at this time, does not plan to place any further restrictions over and above that which is outlined in the Governor’s phased plan timeline. Those phases and timelines are summarized in the attached spreadsheet and the full plan can be found at covid.ks.gov.
(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)

2020-05-04T08:49:19-05:00May 3, 2020|News|

After shutting for COVID-19, University of Kansas will reopen campus for fall

The University of Kansas will open its campuses for in-person classes “in some capacity” for the fall semester, university officials announced Friday. “Reconnecting with each other in person and rebuilding our community is what we’ve looked forward to for months,” KU Chancellor Douglas Girod and Provost Barbara Bichelmeyer said in a note to the campus community. “It is important that we orchestrate the revival of our Lawrence and Edwards campuses in a way that preserves and protects the safety of our people,” the note said.
(Read more: Local News |)

2020-05-04T08:49:30-05:00May 3, 2020|News|
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