Kansas lawmakers use subpoena to force Ford County clerk to cooperate with election audit

The Kansas Legislature’s bipartisan auditing committee voted to issue a subpoena to compel the Ford County clerk to cooperate with the state’s security examination of voting-related documentation and equipment used in the 2022 general election. House and Senate members participating in the committee meeting Monday took the extraordinary step of immediately relaunching the election security audit investigation that had been stalled long ago by Ford County Clerk Debbie Cox. The committee directed Cox to comply with audit team information requests helpful in evaluating accuracy of voting machines relied on during the statewide election two years ago. In addition, Cox must provide auditors access by Aug. 14 to storage units, ballots and devices used to count votes in that election. Rep. Shannon Francis, a Republican from Liberal in southwest Kansas, offered the motion to affirm the post-auditing staff’s authority to investigate Ford County’s election processes. He proposed a separate motion triggering Article 10, Chapter 46 of Kansas statute that outlined how investigating committees could use power of a subpoena to compel individuals to cooperate with audits. Both motions were approved without debate. When the Division of Post Audit initiated a 15-county review of election security standards, they discovered Ford and Chase county officials sealed most election documents in the same containers with original paper ballots. The practice of locking away ballot activity documents or equipment transfer records in containers with ballots didn’t comply with the Kansas Open Records Act mandating retention and inspection of certain election-related records.
In addition, Ford County refused to let the Legislature’s auditors inspect the county’s election management computer. That meant auditors couldn’t determine whether the election computer was properly disconnected from the internet or had non-election software installed on it.
Source: Dodge City Daily Globe

info2024-08-12T11:01:11-05:00August 12, 2024|News|

‘Under Five Flags’ documentary premieres at Boot Hill Museum

Dodge City has always been a melting pot of diversity, and the documentary titled “Under Five Flags,” which premiered on Thursday, Aug. 1 at the Boot Hill Museum Mariah Gallery, reflects this rich history. Tracing history, the short film reveals how Ford County has been governed by five different flags in its history: France, Spain, the Republic of Texas, Mexico, and the United States. A collaborative effort between various organizations, including Humanities Kansas, Dodge City Community College (DC3), the City of Dodge City’s Cultural Relations Advisory Board, Main Street Dodge City, and Boot Hill Museum, the documentary condenses more than 500 years of history into a 13-minute film. Following the screening, a panel of experts and the film’s historians took the stage to answer questions and discuss the film. Included on the panel were Holly Mercer, DC3 Library Director; Melissa McCoy, Dodge City Assistant City Manager of Public Affairs and staff person for the Cultural Relations Advisory Board; Coral Lopez, Main Street Dodge City Director; Keith Wondra, Boot Hill Museum Curator of Exhibits and Interpretation; and Dr. Leo Oliva, Kansas historian, who served as a consultant for this Humanities Kansas project.
Source: Dodge City Daily Globe

info2024-08-12T10:49:30-05:00August 12, 2024|News|

Burrton working to attract more industry

With the assistance of Harvey County Economic Development, Burrton is taking steps to start an industrial park. Missy Ducimetiere, mayor of Burrton, said talks began a few years ago but never were finalized. When Ducimetiere took over as mayor in January, the committee reached out to her. When she attended her first meeting, she was immediately interested. “I said, ‘How can we do this?’” Ducimetiere said. The first step is estimating costs to add utilities to areas that aren’t developed. “We’re in very preliminary stages,” Ducimetiere said. She hopes to have the estimates ready for the economic development committee (EDC) by December. Then they would make a plan of potential areas with acreage available and potential costs. Then Harvey County Economic Development can give that information to potential businesses. “When the industries make requests, if we have properties that fit those parameters, the EDC can recommend Burrton,” Ducimetiere said.
Source: Harvey County Now

info2024-08-12T10:47:52-05:00August 12, 2024|News|

Why doesn’t Harvey County have a brewery? Local businesses, brewers, police talk about 30 percent food rule

Why doesn’t Harvey County have a brewery? It’s a question enjoyers of craft beer, supporters of economic development and people looking for social spaces have asked over the years while watching neighboring communities. By fall, Butler County will have four. Reno County and McPherson County both support breweries. And Sedgwick County has had 14 different licenses granted for the establishments. The law in Harvey County is that any establishment with a liquor license—which breweries must obtain—has to derive 30 percent of its revenue from food sales.
Four Kansas brewery owners referenced the “30 percent rule.” “It’s a ridiculous rule,” Walnut River Brewing Partner B.J. Hunt said. “You don’t go to Dillons and say, ‘You bought four packages of hot dogs; you have to buy four packages of buns.’ Maybe you just like hot dogs.”
Adam Kraft, opening Park Bench Brewery this fall in Augusta, explained that he’d not have opened in Augusta, had the rule not recently been repealed in Butler County. “I would have sought out a place that didn’t have that rule,” he said. “It’s enough of an expense what I’m doing to start this up. I don’t have the capability to open this up and have a kitchen.” “The way the law was set up, it was literally impossible for us to hit 30 percent food sales without building a whole restaurant,” he said. “If you’re a beer-selling establishment, you’ll never be able to hit 30 percent food sales.” On Nov. 5, a question as to whether to opt out of the 30 percent food requirement is on the ballot for Harvey County.
Source: Harvey County Now

info2024-08-12T10:45:21-05:00August 12, 2024|News|

New slides make positive impact at Holton pool

Recent oppressive heat drove several young people in Holton to the city’s municipal swimming pool, where kids of all ages took advantage of a pair of water slides in their quest to keep cool that day. One of them was nine-year-old Jaxon Miller of Holton, who took turns going down each of the slides, a recent addition to the pool. “They’re really fun! We’re really happy to have them,” Miller said of the slides, which he added provides him with opportunities to go down differently each time. Eleven-year-old Graysen Aubert of Holton, joining Miller in using the slides that afternoon, agreed, saying the two slides were a great addition to the pool. And when the two youngsters were asked which slide they liked best, their answer was the same: “Both!” It’s a common reaction to the slides, according to pool manager Jessica Rogers, who noted that kids of all ages have been enjoying them since their addition to the pool in early June.
Source: Holton Recorder

info2024-08-12T10:42:16-05:00August 12, 2024|News|

Jackson County donates $30K toward library expansion project

Fund-raising efforts to expand Beck Bookman Library received a boost on Monday after the Jackson County Commissioners presented a $30,000 check on behalf of the county to Amy Austin, library director. The donated funds were from the county’s tax on alcohol sales. “We think this is a great way to use that money,” Commissioner Keith Kelly said. So far, about $1 million of the $2.5 million fund-raising goal has been raised for the expansion project, which will allow the library to provide a free meeting space and private work/meeting rooms in the community, as well as make the building compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The project will also nearly double the children’s area at the library and add a space specific for teens. Austin and library board members and supporters have been meeting with different organizations and business owners to discuss the project and ask for support. “In the last couple of weeks, we’ve had an influx of families coming in because we have great air conditioning,” Austin said. “We have to run it constantly, and we’re hoping it holds out until we can get new AC units.”
Source: Holton Recorder

info2024-08-12T10:41:03-05:00August 12, 2024|News|

‘I get to keep my memories’: Tenant purchases home, former public housing unit

Lawonder Markham’s home is her comfort place — it’s where she raised her daughter, where she took care of her mother until she died and where she’s lived since 2003. But she didn’t own her home until July. It used to be public housing. The city of Wichita announced plans in January of 2022 to sell its 352 single-family public housing units. Tenants were given the option to begin the process to purchase and own their home. Markham leaped at the opportunity to purchase her home. “I’ve been through a lot of stuff in this house. I don’t want to lose my memories,” she said. Markham said the City was attentive to all of her needs throughout the process and it went “so smoothly.” “God didn’t want me to move; He wanted it to be my home because I got so many memories here, and I didn’t want to move,” she said.
Source: KLC Journal

info2024-08-12T10:30:22-05:00August 12, 2024|News|

Kansas counted 2,800 homeless people this year. There are likely many more.

Every year on a single night in January, hundreds of volunteers fan out in several communities across the state of Kansas to count every homeless person they encounter – on streets, in shelters, along rivers and within motel rooms. This year, organizers counted 2,815 homeless Kansans across the state, according to numbers released Wednesday by the Kansas Statewide Homeless Coalition. This is a 6.8% increase from last year’s total of 2,636. This tally, called the point-in-time count, is important for establishing a foundation for how prevalent homelessness is in communities across the country. But it’s data gathered on one night in the dead of winter – and homelessness fluctuates throughout the year. Why does the point-in-time count matter? What does counting our homeless tell service providers? How does surveying homeless people benefit local policy? “Point-in-time gives us an idea of what the gaps are and where we need to focus these resources. There’s also a housing inventory count that takes place at the same time,” Lowe says. “So if we go out and do the count and see that there’s an increasing number of unsheltered people, we’ve got to focus our resources on addressing unsheltered homelessness,” which involves a person living in a place not meant for human habitation, whether that’s a car, park or abandoned building. “If we go out and there’s a whole lot of senior citizens, we need to go after resources to address that population,” Lowe says. Another incentive: the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires communities to conduct a point-in-time count at least every other year for points in the nationwide competition for federal funding.
Source: KLC Journal

info2024-08-12T10:28:52-05:00August 12, 2024|News|

Arma gears up for 78th annual VJ Day homecoming

The community of Arma is preparing for its 78th annual Arma VJ Day Homecoming. The celebration is to remember and mark the end of World War II. The event is starting on Thursday, August 8 with activities including pickleball and golf tournaments, a parade, concert, car show and a dance.
Source: KOAM News

info2024-08-12T10:19:43-05:00August 12, 2024|News|

City of Lawrence on latest count of unhoused people: ‘City is focused on knowing each person by name’

In response to the latest point-in-time count of people experiencing homelessness in Douglas County, the City of Lawrence says employees are making individual connections with people, leading to “powerful milestones of impact.” The latest count of people experiencing homelessness in Douglas County show a total just slightly higher than 2020, the previous record year. “The point-in-time count represents real people, each with their own stories, struggles, and hopes,” the city said in a news release Thursday morning. “Through collaborative efforts with Douglas County, the Lawrence Community Shelter, and other dedicated service providers, the City is focused on knowing each person by name, face, and story, ensuring a personalized approach to care and support. This commitment to responsibly providing services has led to powerful milestones of impact, marking significant progress in addressing homelessness in Lawrence.” Of 414 people experiencing homelessness in Douglas County on one day in January 2024, 137 were sheltered in transitional housing, 136 were in emergency shelter and 142 were unsheltered, according to data released Wednesday and the city’s news release.
Source: The Lawrence Times

info2024-08-12T10:16:57-05:00August 12, 2024|News|