Harvey County pledges $250000 for grant application with IdeaTek

15 Thursday, June 15

Harvey County pledges $250000 for grant application with IdeaTek

info2023-06-15T09:20:13-05:00June 15th, 2023|

After much discussion, the Harvey County Commissioners approved a motion to commit $250,000 in matching grant money to partner with IdeaTek in applying for the Lasting Infrastructure and Network Connection (LINC) grant through the Kansas Department of Commerce. The motion also included providing a letter of support. It was approved by a 2-1 vote, with Commissioner Becky Reimer voting against. During the weekly commissioners meeting, Ethan Kaplan, a representative from IdeaTek, requested that the county partner with them in the application in order to enhance their chances of being successful. Kaplan told the commissioners that the total project, which includes three [...]

15 Thursday, June 15

Wichita temporarily drops aptitude test for police officers amid recruiting slump

info2023-06-15T09:18:24-05:00June 15th, 2023|

The Wichita Police Department has temporarily lowered its standards at a time when it is struggling to recruit officers, a move that appears to conflict with a report that found a lack of minimum standards was sowing discontent within the ranks. The Wichita City Council has approved funding for more officers than the department has been able to recruit and hire. But the police union says lowering entry standards isn’t the answer. At issue is an aptitude test given to police recruits as an entry exam that was recently — and quietly — eliminated by the department after consultation with new [...]

15 Thursday, June 15

Newton could soon smoke tobacco out of city parks

info2023-06-15T09:16:41-05:00June 15th, 2023|

The practice of using tobacco products in city parks might soon go up in smoke. The Newton City Commission got the chance to review and discuss language that would forbid tobacco products in all city parks, excluding the Sand Creek Station golf course. The discussion follows work by the health department and others picking up large amounts of cigarette butts in parks to show the commission the litter smoking caused in order to advocate for the change. The policy isn’t criminally enforceable. Offenders can be told they must leave the park for smoking and can be made subject to trespassing violations. [...]

15 Thursday, June 15

Editorial: Cemeteries the history book of every town

info2023-06-15T09:15:19-05:00June 15th, 2023|

Cemeteries are on my mind a lot lately, due to the time of the year I suppose, although I tend to think about them often. I sometimes watch videos on how to clean headstones and about people who repair headstones that have fallen over, I research people and photograph headstones for others. You can go out to most cemeteries on any given day and see someone walking the paths and of course, people placing flowers on graves and spending time in reflection. When people think about visitors coming to our towns, they don’t often think about the number of out-of-town visitors [...]

15 Thursday, June 15

Governor Kelly Announces WaKeeney Selected as Newest Kansas Main Street Community

info2023-06-15T09:09:11-05:00June 15th, 2023|

Governor Laura Kelly visited WaKeeney today to announce its selection as the latest community added to the Kansas Main Street program, a Kansas Department of Commerce initiative to preserve and revitalize downtown districts across the state. This brings the total number of Designated Main Street communities in Kansas to 36. The Kansas Main Street program was originally launched in 1985. The Kelly Administration revived the program in 2019 after it was shut down in 2012 and has since welcomed 11 additional communities to the program. “I congratulate all who worked to ensure WaKeeney was added to the list of cities in [...]

15 Thursday, June 15

Fed Holds Rates Steady but Expects More Increases

info2023-06-15T09:07:39-05:00June 15th, 2023|

Federal Reserve officials agreed to hold interest rates steady after 10 consecutive increases but signaled they were prepared to raise rates next month if the economy and inflation don’t cool more. New economic projections, released Wednesday after their two-day policy meeting, strongly suggested officials were leaning toward slowing down their increases rather than stopping them altogether. Most of them penciled in two more rate increases this year, which would lift them to a 22-year high, and boosted their expectations for growth and inflation. The Fed fights inflation by slowing the economy through raising rates, which causes tighter financial conditions such as [...]

15 Thursday, June 15

City of Emporia unveils new mass notification system

info2023-06-15T09:02:59-05:00June 15th, 2023|

The City of Emporia unveiled a new mass notification system Monday, after receiving community feedback. According to a written release, moving to a new notification platform, Civic Ready, will allow the City to distribute information in a more efficient and streamlined manner; directly connecting its social media platforms, website, and other city platforms used for distributing information. Source: Emporia Gazette

15 Thursday, June 15

Marion cops get big raises

info2023-06-15T08:44:05-05:00June 15th, 2023|

Marion City Council voted Monday to raise entry-level police pay 47.1% after Chief Gideon Cody said doing so would help recruitment. Top pay scale wages also will increase with first-year assistant chief pay rising 63.6%. Officers will make $20 to $25.09 an hour, up from a low of $13.59 now. Source: HILLSBORO Star-Journal

15 Thursday, June 15

Committee recommends $82K tax break for Borders building project in Lawrence but votes against $830K tax rebate

info2023-06-15T08:40:07-05:00June 15th, 2023|

A city committee voted Wednesday in favor of one tax break for a project to redevelop the long-vacant Borders bookstore in downtown Lawrence, but against a much larger tax incentive that First Management Inc. had requested. First Management plans to remodel the building at 700 New Hampshire St. into corporate headquarters. The company seeks Industrial Revenue Bonds for a 100% sales tax exemption on construction materials for the building, and a 15-year, 90% Neighborhood Revitalization Area (NRA) rebate. The Public Incentives Review Committee voted 4-1 Wednesday to recommend approval of the IRB. According to agenda materials, that amounts to a value [...]

15 Thursday, June 15

City of Holton sales tax renewed

info2023-06-15T08:34:33-05:00June 15th, 2023|

Holton voters approved a 10-year extension on the city’s half-cent sales tax for infrastructure improvements by a margin of nearly six to one, despite a low voter turnout, it has been reported. Holton Interim City Clerk Teresa Riley thanked the city’s voters for showing support for extending the sales tax, which will now be extended through Dec. 31, 2033. “The city is grateful and thankful to the citizens of Holton for continuing to support the improvement of our city through the sales tax,” Riley said. “Work will continue on our aging sewer system, maintenance of our electrical generation plant and other [...]