Lenexa wants to add more ‘missing middle housing’

17 Monday, July 17

Lenexa wants to add more ‘missing middle housing’

info2023-07-18T10:54:28-05:00July 17th, 2023|

Lenexa is hoping to add more midrange housing options — including potentially townhomes and affordable starter homes — to areas of the city still open for development. This type of housing, often called “missing middle housing,” tends to be more dense and attainable cost-wise, though it’s lacking in many communities where there might be a market for it, Community Development Director Scott McCullough said. Encouraging these new housing options has so far been a major focus of the city’s comprehensive plan update process. Exactly what the end result of this process will look like for Lenexa is unclear at this stage, [...]

17 Monday, July 17

Water transfer battle continues in Wichita hearings

info2023-07-17T11:01:25-05:00July 17th, 2023|

A hearing is scheduled to begin next week in Wichita District Court, allowing a non-profit Central Kansas water advocacy group to present additional evidence why it opposes a plan by the cities of Hays and Russell to implement a water transfer from a location in Edwards County to Ellis County in the Smoky Hill river basin. The evidentiary hearing, set to begin July 19, results from a remand order by the Kansas Supreme Court in June that places the challenge issued by the Water Protection Association of Central Kansas back within the confines of the district court to consider supplemental additions [...]

17 Monday, July 17

Tap water in Kansas was tested for ‘forever chemicals.’ Here’s where they were found

info2023-07-18T10:55:27-05:00July 17th, 2023|

Forever chemicals, also known as polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, have been detected in recent years in drinking water in the Lawrence, Topeka, Manhattan and Wichita areas, according to a study published July 5 by the U.S. Geological Survey. The federal agency collected tap water samples from 716 locations across the country, including water from public supplies and private wells. The agency modeled that data and found at least 45% of drinking water could contain at least one PFAS. Some of the PFAS, which have been linked to health problems, found in Kansas water exceeded proposed limits. Those samples were taken from [...]

17 Monday, July 17

Russell community reacts to vandalism at new park

info2023-07-18T10:55:38-05:00July 17th, 2023|

A brand new Historic park, splash pad, and visitors center opened July 8th and by July 14th three different instances of vandalism had already occurred at the facility. “I just don’t even understand why anyone would do that. I mean, it’s just absolutely disheartening,” Russell community member, Jeannine Byers-Long. This is the sentiment echoing throughout Russell, Kansas as they work to get to the bottom of an ongoing vandalism problem. “There has got to be something more fun and more entertaining for people to do than to ruin and vandalize property,” said Byers-Long. “There was some damage in the restroom facilities [...]

17 Monday, July 17

After school shutdown, rural Kansas community tries to divorce district

info2023-07-18T10:55:46-05:00July 17th, 2023|

Barton County residents will decide whether to break up with their school district and “start fresh” following heartbreak and anger over the closure of a rural community’s high school. The change could result in hundreds of students displaced and three more schools shut down. The Aug. 1 disorganization vote is a test case for rural communities that increasingly have to make decisions to shut down or consolidate as populations dwindle and schools face financial strain. “This is brand new territory for the Department of Education, for the State Board of Education and basically every district in the state of Kansas,” said [...]

17 Monday, July 17

Wheat Festival wraps up in Wellington

info2023-07-17T10:43:13-05:00July 17th, 2023|

The 123rd Kansas Wheat Festival came to a close over the weekend. Saturday was about teaching kids the process of wheat harvesting as well as more information on elements of the farming community. “We had the southwest dairy farmers down there this morning, and they had wheat threshing demonstrations and just a lot of tractors on display, and it was just really neat and really cool, and it was popular,” said Valerie Earl, executive director of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce. Source: KSN-TV

17 Monday, July 17

Johnson County feels lingering impacts of storm

info2023-07-18T10:57:03-05:00July 17th, 2023|

For Midwesterners used to sudden summer storms, Friday night still felt unusual. “That … was terrifying,” one Kansas City area resident said on Twitter, echoing the sentiments of many others in the aftermath of a powerful storm system that downed tree limbs, uprooted whole trees and knocked out power to tens of thousands. As of Sunday afternoon, Evergy said nearly 90% of metro customers had power restored. But more than 16,000 Johnson County customers were among those who remained without power and officials with the utility warned it could be into Tuesday before all customers’ power was back on. “It’s going [...]

17 Monday, July 17

Olpe Downhome Days celebrates community improvements

info2023-07-17T10:28:46-05:00July 17th, 2023|

Since the Olpe Downhome festival was reinstated in 2003, its purpose has been fundraising for improvements at Olpe’s Jones Park. Multiple activities on Saturday provided a day filled with family-oriented fun, from a 6:30 a.m. breakfast provided by the Methodist church to a street dance lasting until midnight. “This is our 21st year,” Joyce Wilson, festival organizer and Olpe City Clerk, said. “There was no event in 2020, due to COVID. We actually had celebrations sporadically through the 1980s and early 1990s–originally, the festival was put on by the fire fighters to raise money.” Wilson and her husband brought the festival [...]

17 Monday, July 17

Marion’s new city administrator is settling in

info2023-07-17T10:25:18-05:00July 17th, 2023|

Marion gained a new city administrator on May 1. Marion City Administrator Brogan Jones graduated in May with his Masters in Public Administration from Wichita State University. He just turned 28 at the end of June. This is his first time being a city administrator, but he lived in and worked for the city of Lyons in code enforcement building inspections so there is some crossover for him. Jones, who is married with a child on the way—his wife is due in August—is happy to be settling into small town Marion. He and his wife moved there recently and enjoy many [...]

17 Monday, July 17

Kansas has record high teacher vacancies. But are schools finally at a turning point?

info2023-07-17T08:26:29-05:00July 17th, 2023|

The number of teacher vacancies in Kansas schools remains at a record high, but state education officials have reason to believe a tide of increasing educator attrition is starting to turn. Kansas, as of earlier this spring, had 1,634 teaching vacancies, as reported by school districts to the Kansas State Department of Education’s licensure division, said director Shane Carter. That’s compared to 1,628 vacancies in fall 2022. Comparatively, school districts reported 1,381 vacancies in spring 2022, and 1,253 vacancies in fall 2021. Source: CJonline