Overland Park is overhauling its long-range development plan. Where do things stand?

24 Wednesday, January 24

Overland Park is overhauling its long-range development plan. Where do things stand?

info2024-01-24T11:23:50-06:00January 24th, 2024|

Overland Park is getting closer to adopting its first new long-range land use plan in decades, which will serve as the roadmap for development into the future. The much-anticipated draft plan was recently handed over to city planning staff for a preliminary review, Overland Park’s Strategic Planning Division Manager Erin Ollig told the Overland Park Planning Commission earlier this month. Right now, city planners are going through some edits and revisions with the consultant. That puts the Overland Park City Council on track to finalize the plan — dubbed FrameworkOP — in the next few months, likely early in the summer. The city’s existing comprehensive plan is roughly [...]

24 Wednesday, January 24

City leaders give update on Topeka’s city manager search

info2024-01-24T11:20:32-06:00January 24th, 2024|

City leaders are getting closer to selecting Topeka's next permanent city manager. Richard Nienstedt has served in the interim position since June, 2023 when former City Manager Stephen Wade took an extended leave of absence and was ultimately fired. Alongside Mayor Mike Padilla at a city briefing Tuesday, Nienstedt said the city is working with a consultant to hire a long-term city manager. He said he anticipates the city council will have a list of candidates by mid-February or the first of March. Nienstedt said finding the right city manager for this city will take time. "This is an important city in the state. [...]

24 Wednesday, January 24

New Johnson County assistant county manager Adam Norris begins work

info2024-01-24T11:12:16-06:00January 24th, 2024|

Johnson County Government is proud to announce that Adam Norris, who has 20 years of executive leadership and management experience in government, has joined its leadership staff as assistant county manager. Norris began his duties on Jan. 22. Most recently, Norris was deputy city manager and assistant city manager in Independence, Missouri, though his career in public service had its start in Johnson County. While still in school, Norris worked for the Overland Park Public Works Department where he repaired potholes, served on chip and seal teams, and even provided traffic control. “From an early age, I knew I wanted to dedicate [...]

24 Wednesday, January 24

Leawood weighs reducing office space quotas required in mixed-use projects

info2024-01-24T11:10:46-06:00January 24th, 2024|

Revisions to Leawood's zoning requirements soon could reshape how developers approach mixed-use projects. Leawood's current mixed-use zoning requires developers to dedicate a certain percentage of a project for specific uses, setting quotas of 15% for office space, 5% for retail and at least 15% for residential. In an effort to keep up with economic trends in commercial real estate, city leaders will review an amendment to the Leawood Development Ordinance softening those ratio requirements for mixed-use projects. The change has been prompted by feedback from local developers representing projects along the 135th Street Corridor. Last fall, the City Council received a letter from area [...]

24 Wednesday, January 24

How many Wichita schools could close? Superintendent answers that and other questions

info2024-01-24T11:07:19-06:00January 24th, 2024|

The Wichita school board has directed staff to formulate a plan for closing some elementary and middle schools at the end of the spring semester. It’s a cost-cutting measure USD 259 hopes will save at least $16 million as Kansas’ largest school district scrambles to address a projected $42 million budget shortfall. Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld fielded questions Tuesday about the building closure process and the district’s financial path forward. Here’s what we know so far. “I think it’s fair to say we’re looking in the area of four to seven schools total,” said Bielefeld, who took over as superintendent in July. The school board will have [...]

24 Wednesday, January 24

Healthcare tops concerns for rural Kansas townsfolk

info2024-01-24T11:02:55-06:00January 24th, 2024|

Rural Kansas communities are critical to the future of our state. We know that for our communities to thrive, rural Kansans require core services to raise a family — access to early childhood services, high quality education and health care. Our two organizations — Thrive Kansas and United Methodist Health Ministry Fund — are based in rural communities and are invested in improving the health and future of all Kansans. We are committed to improving the health of rural communities and support innovative policies that sustain health care and encourage the development of vitally important services. To better understand rural Kansans’ concerns and ideas, [...]

24 Wednesday, January 24

Council members agree to ‘start small’ during debate over city-run recycling

info2024-01-24T11:00:44-06:00January 24th, 2024|

Heeding the warning of “start small,” Iola Council members agreed to a phased approach to recycling Monday evening. Members discussed the potential of establishing a city-run recycling utility, agreeing it would be best to start small and gradually expand the initiative. The ultimate vision includes weekly residential curb-side pick-up of recycling materials and would require a three-person crew for pick-up; two-person crew for sorting and baling. A monthly fee of $15 would be necessary to pay for the additional service. A substantial portion of the proposed initial costs would be dedicated to the construction of a building modeled after Nemaha County’s recycling [...]

24 Wednesday, January 24

Fast food hamburgers are helping Kansas ranchers save dwindling native grasslands

info2024-01-24T10:58:46-06:00January 24th, 2024|

Kelly Anthony, a cattle rancher in southwest Kansas, drives through his pasture, blaring a siren he uses to get the attention of the herd. As he flicks it on and off, the cattle surround the truck. Cattle ranching has been Anthony's way of life for 25 years. Cattle ranches fuel the beef industry and the western Kansas economy. People like him also own much of the remaining native grasslands that once covered 71 million acres of the southern High Plains. Now, 80% of those native grasslands in Kansas are lost, and cattle ranchers like Anthony could be the key to saving [...]

24 Wednesday, January 24

Liberal repeals ordinance on color of buildings after pink building controversy

info2024-01-24T10:52:48-06:00January 24th, 2024|

On Tuesday, the Liberal City Commission repealed the ordinance requiring color changes in the Kansas Avenue Overlay District to get approval from the zoning and planning commission. The vote to repeal the ordinance passed 5-0. "[If] someone wanted to do something as minor as paint, paint the building, right? They could add a month to their project, just waiting for the proper approval. And that's the kind of thing we've been trying to get to get away from," said Liberal Vice Mayor Jeff Parsons during the City of Liberal Commission Meeting on Tuesday. The repeal comes after a local business, Chikas Fresas, was forced [...]

24 Wednesday, January 24

Counties where children have the best opportunity for economic mobility in Kansas

info2024-01-24T10:51:03-06:00January 24th, 2024|

Americans have long understood that their birthplace can significantly affect their futures, and academics have increasingly been able to connect tangible early life factors like where they live and the friendships they've cultivated with potential future income. Among the most recent studies shedding light on what's known as economic mobility—a person's ability to move themselves and their families up the socioeconomic ladder over their lifetime—are a series of papers authored by Harvard University researchers leveraging vast troves of social networking data. As part of a national analysis, Wealth Enhancement Group used data from Harvard University's Social Capital Atlas project to identify where in [...]