Governor appoints local foundation executive to Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board

Governor Laura Kelly appointed Johnna Norton, executive director of the Mount Carmel Foundation, to the state’s Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board on Friday.

According to a release from the governor’s office, the mission of the board is to protect the public’s health, safety and welfare from unlawful or unprofessional practitioners who fall under the board’s jurisdiction. The board establishes educational and experience-based requirements, as well as rules and regulations for applicants seeking credentialing, the release said.

Norton said she is looking forward to serving on the board.

(Read more: Community – Morning Sun)

Ranson Financial2020-01-06T20:05:28-06:00January 6, 2020|News|

County moves toward removing glass from single-stream recycling

Removing glass from Shawnee County’s single-stream recycling operation will bring the county a slight financial gain while allowing for more glass to be recycled and not wasted, county solid waste department director Bill Sutton told commissioners Monday.

Commissioners Bill Riphahn, Kevin Cook and Aaron Mays subsequently took a step toward removing glass from that stream.

They voted 3-0 to authorize the solid waste department to seek quotes from companies interested in designing and building a 75-foot-by-50-foot concrete pad and a 25-foot-by-25-foot precast block bunker at the county’s north annex at 1515 N.W. Saline.

Ranson Financial2020-01-06T19:50:39-06:00January 6, 2020|News|

Lawrence City Commission to consider city’s legislative priorities, including support for state tax relief measures

City leaders will consider adding five issues to their list of legislative priorities, including support for a measure that would effectively freeze property tax rates for low-income seniors and a measure that would provide rebates for sales tax charged on groceries to low-income residents.

As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will consider approving its Lawrence Legislative Priority Statement, which it provides annually to the local state legislative delegation and which guides input on proposed legislation, according to a city staff memo to the commission. The newly seated commission provided initial direction at a meeting last month to add support for the tax relief measures and several others, and the commission is scheduled to consider finalizing the statement Tuesday.

Municipal Bond Trends for January 3, 2019

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. Every issuer’s credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Advisors.

Ranson Financial2026-10-22T10:29:44-05:00January 5, 2020|Finance|

Rural Kansas struggles to attract psychiatrists

Psychiatrists are so hard to come by in some rural parts of Kansas that out-of-state doctors now commonly treat patients through video conference.

The Kansas News Service reports that Kansas is seeing an increase in patients seeking mental health treatment and the state can’t find enough doctors, nurses and therapists to treat them.

One measure from the federal government suggests only nine Kansas counties have enough psychiatrists, and they’re mostly in or near populated areas.

The state passed a law in 2017 adding psychiatry to the medical student loan program, but it’s too early to tell how well it’s working.

(Read more: KSN-TV)

Ranson Financial2020-01-05T20:45:13-06:00January 5, 2020|News|

Fearing noisy concerts, Johnson County residents take arboretum protest to next level

With their demands still unmet, neighbors say the fight against an expansion of the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens is far from over.

The Overland Park Planning Commission last month approved a $12.4 million expansion at the venue, off U.S. 69 and 179th Street. But neighbors — who organized over shared concerns and hired a lawyer — have filed a protest petition, sending the project to the City Council for a final vote.

Many people opposed to the project are angry the vote has been tacked on to the end of a long agenda planned for a special City Council meeting Monday night — one week before new council members are sworn in.

(Read more: Joco 913 News)

Ranson Financial2020-01-05T19:40:46-06:00January 5, 2020|News|

Former Herington officer apologizes for coffee cup hoax

A former Herington Police Department officer issued an apology for making up a story that a fast food worker wrote an expletive on his coffee cup.

William Darling, who resigned his position after admitting the hoax, issued a statement late Friday to The Herington Times.

“I want to express my deepest, most sincere apology to McDonald’s (in Junction City), the law enforcement community, the citizens and law enforcement officers in the Junction City area, the citizens of Herington and the Herington Police Department,” Darling wrote.

Police Chief Brian Hornaday posted a photo to social media Dec. 28 showing a McDonald’s coffee cup and a receipt with the words “f***ing pig.” Hornaday said Darling told him he got the coffee from a Junction City McDonald’s on his way to work that morning, and discovered the receipt with the words.

(Read more: KWCH News)

Ranson Financial2020-01-05T19:36:41-06:00January 5, 2020|News|

Officer recruitment, community policing, youth programs: Cochran discusses plans for Topeka Police Department

Nearly two years into his role as chief of the Topeka Police Department, Bill Cochran said he is staying the course by placing a high priority on community relations and actively recruiting officers that will help the department achieve its goal of being more diverse.

He also continues his efforts to reduce crime in the capital city by assigning officers to areas determined to be hot spots for crime, while also taking guns out of the hands of criminals.

Cochran on Thursday met for nearly an hour with nine members of The Topeka Capital-Journal’s editorial board, where he provided an update on the police department’s policies and goals for 2020 and entertained a wide range of questions that covered areas such as domestic violence; human trafficking; reorganizing community officers’ duties; and enhancing programs for youths in the city, including the Police Athletic League.

Ranson Financial2020-01-05T19:35:20-06:00January 5, 2020|News|

Topeka to consider proposal regarding panhandling

The Topeka City Council on Tuesday will consider banning pedestrians — including panhandlers — from interacting with people in vehicles at 23 of Topeka’s most dangerous intersections, though not at any other crossings.

“We’re just essentially asking people to choose intersections that are not as dangerous as others,” Councilman Brendan Jensen said last month.

Jensen was chairman of a committee of council members and community leaders who voted 5-0 on Dec. 9 to recommend the council approve the measure, which is among items on the agenda when the mayor and council meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday in their chambers at 214 S.E. 8th.

Ranson Financial2020-01-05T20:42:17-06:00January 5, 2020|News|

Shawnee County considers proposal regarding recycling of glass

The Shawnee County Commission on Monday will consider taking a step toward removing the recycling of glass from the county’s current single-stream recycling operations to be carried out separately.

The proposal involved is among items on the agenda when Commissioners Bill Riphahn, Kevin Cook and Aaron Mays meet at 9 a.m. in their chambers in Room B-11 of the County Courthouse, 200 S.E. 7th.

“Glass is a major component of the recycling costs in our current single-stream recycling program,” Sutton told commissioners in a recent memorandum, which is part of that meeting’s agenda packet. “By removing the glass from the current single-stream recycling operations and transitioning to a separate glass recycling program, we will have a slight financial gain as well as recycling our glass in a more environmentally sustainable way.”

Ranson Financial2020-01-05T20:42:26-06:00January 5, 2020|News|