National Night Out expected to attract 12,500 in Topeka, Shawnee County

Topeka and Shawnee County had the nation’s sixth-highest participation in last year’s National Night Out, and this year’s crime prevention event is poised to attract more people, county commissioners learned Thursday.

Eighty-seven neighborhoods and more than 10,500 people participated last year while 83 neighborhoods and 12,500 people are expected to take part this year, Commissioners Bob Archer, Bill Riphahn and Kevin Cook heard from Judy Wilson, Neighborhood Watch coordinator for the Safe Streets anti-crime organization.

Wilson spoke at the commission’s morning meeting about National Night Out, an event Safe Streets oversees locally in which neighborhoods across Topeka and Shawnee County hold block parties targeted at bringing people together. This year’s event will be Aug. 10.

Ranson Financial2019-08-01T19:41:30-05:00August 1, 2019|News|

A hardware store, grocery store, and soon the medical clinic will be gone in Spearville, leaving the community questioning what will happen to the small town.

“With the clinic and what not, and then the grocery store, that’s tough,” said Spearville resident Kevin Stein.

Stein has lived in Spearville for over 50 years.

He’s seen a lot of economic setbacks in the community, but said he remains positive about the town’s future.

(Read more: KSN-TV)

Ranson Financial2019-08-01T19:33:38-05:00August 1, 2019|News|

The Great Blizzard of 1888 dumped more than 20 inches of snow on New York City, blowing down the thick web of power lines that were strung overhead. The city was plunged into darkness, and communications were disrupted for days while the dangerous live wires lay in the snow. The outage resulted in a city regulation to bury all cables in New York, a measure that was soon adopted in many other big cities.

Although the analogy certainly isn’t exact, I wonder if something similar may happen as cities deal with the explosion of delivery vehicles weaving a tangled web in their streets to fulfill Americans’ growing propensity for ordering everything they can off the internet. Industry people call this “the last mile,” the final journey of a small package from some sort of central hub to a business or residential address.

(Read more: GOVERNING.com)

Ranson Financial2019-08-01T21:23:18-05:00August 1, 2019|News|

A ceremony dedicating the Sgt. Kevin A. Gilbertson Memorial Bridge will be held on Saturday, Aug. 3, at Arkansas City – honoring a U.S. Army soldier who died in the Iraq War. A sign with his name will be unveiled. The ceremony is open to the public.

WHO: Sgt. Kevin A. Gilbertson.

WHAT: Ceremony naming bridge for Sgt. Gilbertson. The Kansas Department of Transportation will later be placing northbound and southbound signs with Sgt. Gilbertson’s name near the bridge.

WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 3, 11 a.m.

WHERE: Southeast corner of the South Summit bridge, on U.S. 77 over the Arkansas River, south side of Arkansas City.

BACKGROUND: Sgt. Gilbertson died in 2007 from wounds sustained during combat in Ramadi, Iraq. He was assigned to 1^stBattalion, 77^th Armor Regiment, 2^nd Brigade Combat Team, 1^st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany. He was 24. His survivors included a wife, infant son and stepson. He is the stepson of Randy Frank who works in the Emergency Management Department for Marion County.

(Read more: Hillsboro Free Press)

Ranson Financial2019-08-01T19:29:17-05:00August 1, 2019|News|

Architects and planners hired to redesign the riverbank area that now holds the Century II convention center and the WaterWalk in downtown Wichita told a standing-room-only crowd of about 300 that now is the time to show bold vision and create a new waterfront for decades to come.

“Every time we have an opportunity to do a master plan we realize that we are setting the foundation for probably the next 30 to 50 years,” said Todd Voth of Populous, an international consulting group hired to replan the east bank of the Arkansas River south of Douglas downtown.

(Read more: Wichita Eagle)

Ranson Financial2019-08-01T19:25:42-05:00August 1, 2019|News|

Thanks to a loophole in Kansas law, if a minor vandalizes your property, you might be left footing the bill.

Ron Paschal, deputy district attorney in Sedgwick County, said in some cases, judges do not order restitution for the crime and even if payment is court-ordered, minors aren’t legally required to pay it in full, or at all.

“The way the law’s written now, they can get by without paying it,” Paschal said.

(Read more: Local News |)

Ranson Financial2019-08-01T19:24:31-05:00August 1, 2019|News|

Belle Plaine is now one step closer to having a quiet zone within city limits, the Belle Plaine News reports.

The Belle Plaine City Council passed Ordinance No. 1677 at its July 18 meeting. It states the city will close the railroad crossing at 10th Avenue and North Line Street.

Ranson Financial2019-08-01T21:25:12-05:00August 1, 2019|News|

Several rounds of overnight thunderstorms inundated parts of eastern Kansas with heavy rains early Thursday, according to the National Weather Service in Topeka.

Ten inches of rain or more fell along a line that stretched from southern Jefferson County through Douglas County, Franklin County and into Anderson County, weather radar indicated.

The National Weather Service in Topeka issued a flash flood warning for those counties, saying radar and rain gauges indicated that the storms have dumped as much as 10 inches of rain across the area.

Ranson Financial2019-08-01T19:03:57-05:00August 1, 2019|News|

A dark shadow of angst loomed over public discussion of the county budget Monday night as residents and commissioners considered the possible impact of appeals made by big box retailers on their property values that could cost local governments millions.

“What are we going to do when we lose that tax appeal and now we’re short by hundreds of millions, probably, per year?” asked winery owner Kirk Berggren, during a public hearing on the county’s $1.26 billion 2020 budget.

Ranson Financial2019-08-01T21:35:40-05:00August 1, 2019|News|

Representatives for the City of Lawrence and the local firefighters union will soon begin mediated negotiations in an attempt to resolve disagreements regarding pay increases and other changes to the union’s contract.

The first meeting with a mediator from the United States Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service will be Thursday and is scheduled to last all day. Assistant City Manager Casey Toomay said the city and the union, Local 1596, have tentatively scheduled additional mediated meetings through Aug. 7.

“We look forward to having the assistance of a mediator and hope to reach agreement,” Toomay said.

National Night Out expected to attract 12,500 in Topeka, Shawnee County

Spearville works on improving economic growth

Does Your City Have a Delivery-Truck Policy?

Bridge at Ark City being named for soldier with local ties

Consultants call for bold vision on east bank of Arkansas River; C-II may not fit

Who pays the bill when a minor vandalizes?

Belle Plaine moves forward on quiet zone

More than 10 inches of rain brings flooding in eastern Kansas, with threat of more

Potential loss of millions in property tax revenue hangs over Johnson County budget deliberations

Lawrence and firefighters union to begin mediated contract negotiations

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