Newly renovated fire station in Shawnee will re-open Saturday. What’s changed?

1 Wednesday, May 1

Newly renovated fire station in Shawnee will re-open Saturday. What’s changed?

info2024-05-01T11:49:42-05:00May 1st, 2024|

A once-outdated fire station in Shawnee will re-open as a state-of-the-art facility for firefighters in the area. Located at 6805 Hedge Lane Terrace, Fire Station 73 will host a grand opening from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday for people to check out the building’s upgrades. The renovations are part of a roughly $26 million project to upgrade the station, as well as the John B. Glaser Fire Station Headquarters, set to open later this year, at 6501 Quivira Road. “When you look at fire services around the country, these will be considered cutting-edge fire stations,” said Fire Chief Rick Potter. [...]

1 Wednesday, May 1

Kansas attorney general concludes Junction City Commission broke open meeting law

info2024-05-01T11:47:22-05:00May 1st, 2024|

An investigation by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach revealed the Junction City Commission violated the Kansas Open Meetings Act by convening a closed-door meeting to discuss an economic development project that included a livestock slaughter facility on the outskirts of the city. Public opposition to the once-confidential project, which could have forced sale of farmland for construction of roads and a traffic exit from Interstate 70, appears to have derailed the meatpacking project that was to have been built by Foote Cattle Co. During debate on the proposal, landowner Michelle Munson filed a two-part complaint in July 2023 with the attorney general containing [...]

1 Wednesday, May 1

Kansas Tourism Announces Participating Attractions for the Sunflower Summer Program for Kansas Families

info2024-05-01T11:33:34-05:00May 1st, 2024|

Kansas Tourism is pleased to announce the lineup of attractions participating in the 2024 Sunflower Summer program. Designed as a benefit for Kansas families with school-age children, Sunflower Summer offers a way to explore and fall in love with Kansas by providing complimentary access to tourism attractions across the state. The 2024 Sunflower Summer season will run from May 25 through August 11. More than 220 tourism attractions are participating in the program – a 97 percent increase from 2023. In order to participate in the program, Kansas families with school-age children must download the Sunflower Summer app and claim tickets to [...]

1 Wednesday, May 1

Governor Kelly Signs Balanced Budget Strengthening Workforce and Economic Development Opportunities; Addressing Water Issues

info2024-05-01T11:27:28-05:00May 1st, 2024|

Governor Laura Kelly today signed the state’s budget, Senate Bill 28, which allocates funding for Fiscal Years 2025, 2026, 2027, and 2028. The budget makes expenditures to continue the Kelly administration’s progress to make Kansas the best place to live, work, and raise a family. “Thanks to the work we have done to get our state’s economy where it is, we can use our record surplus to make a positive impact on communities across the state,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “The investments we make now in our infrastructure, our workforce, and our economic development put Kansas on a path of continued growth.” [...]

1 Wednesday, May 1

Severe weather rocks Kansas, other Midwestern states

info2024-05-01T11:22:45-05:00May 1st, 2024|

A tornado ripped apart a family barn Saturday just outside of Dexter in Cowley Co. KAKE News spoke with the owner of the barn, Jim Lindley, shortly after the twister passed through. He said he and his mother never expected to lose the barn this way. "We built this house and she's lived here. 40 some years. I thought she would be okay. We have a good safe place in the basement. But I was not prepared for this," Lindley said. "This was a century farm and a family over 120 years old and finally the buildings aren't that old, but [...]

1 Wednesday, May 1

City of Hays buys bank to expand police department

info2024-05-01T11:20:46-05:00May 1st, 2024|

The City of Hays has bought a bank to expand its police department. Commissioners signed off on the purchase on Thursday. The police department currently shares a building with the Ellis County Sheriff's Office. The Hays city manager says they outgrown it. "A myriad of reasons. One is Hays grows, and then we require more officers, more administrative staff. Ellis County Sheriff's Office shares the first floor of the law enforcement center and they're growing as well," said Hays City Manager Roby Dougherty. Dougherty says buying the bank is more cost-effective than starting from scratch. Source: KSN-TV

1 Wednesday, May 1

Storms lead to flooding, water rescue

info2024-05-01T11:19:11-05:00May 1st, 2024|

Water rescue teams arrived in Allen County this morning to help with recovery after severe storms pounded the area overnight. Flooding left limited routes into or out of Iola, with the U.S. 169/54 intersection closed to traffic. Motorists who need to get to Iola from the east can take a detour east on U.S. 54 to Moran, south to K-39 to Chanute and north to 169 to the Minnesota Road exit to State Street, or take the old highway from Humboldt to Iola. Emergency management officials were working to set up a shelter for those displaced by flooding. A water rescue [...]

1 Wednesday, May 1

New Kansas law provides way to remove racist covenants from property records

info2024-05-01T11:14:35-05:00May 1st, 2024|

A new state law allows Kansas homeowners a way to more easily remove racist language from their property records. Signed into law by Gov. Laura Kelly on April 19, an amended section of House Bill 2562 makes racially restrictive covenants — such as those that exclude Black and Jewish people within homes associations deeds — unenforceable under state law. At the federal level, racist covenants in property deeds have technically been unenforceable since the 1948 U.S. Supreme Court case Shelley v. Kraemer. The new Kansas law now offers homeowners ways to remove racist covenants from their property records. This comes after the cities of Roeland [...]

1 Wednesday, May 1

Jackson County dropped the ball, so Kansas making last-minute drive to lure Chiefs, Royals

info2024-05-01T11:11:07-05:00May 1st, 2024|

Kansas House and Senate members worked Monday to consider whether to approve an economic development package designed to attract the Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals or professional hockey or basketball franchises to Kansas. The legislation would specifically limit the state’s incentives to sports facility projects costing more than $1 billion and the state Department of Commerce would be authorized to negotiate and make offers to no more than two sports teams. The bonds issued for the projects could be used for all costs associated with stadiums and other infrastructure and would be repayable over a 30-year period. The incentive packages would be [...]

1 Wednesday, May 1

Few short-term rentals have registered with Wichita since the city passed regulations last year

info2024-05-01T11:05:59-05:00May 1st, 2024|

The first deadline for owners of short-term rentals like Airbnb and VRBO to get a license from the city of Wichita has passed, and only 13 properties have registered so far. Five short-term rentals have their license, while eight properties have a license pending, according to a city database of short-term rental licenses from last week. The March 12 deadline only applied to owner-occupied properties, according to the city. Short-term rentals where the owner does not live on-site still have until Sept. 12 to be in compliance. The city is aware of more than 400 short-term rentals in Wichita, said council member Brandon [...]