Agreement announced on water rights for south central Kansas region

13 Friday, October 13

Agreement announced on water rights for south central Kansas region

info2023-10-13T11:19:29-05:00October 13th, 2023|

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and U.S. Senator Jerry Moran have announced a bipartisan agreement to resolve water needs in an area of south central Kansas. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Kansas Department of Agriculture have agreed to work together on water rights issues for the Rattlesnake Creek Basin, which has provided water for area farms and for the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Stafford, Rice and Reno counties. The Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to pause its request to secure its senior water right as agriculture officials and local stakeholders look for a solution to the region’s [...]

13 Friday, October 13

Governor Kelly Invites Public Input on Volume 2 of Broadband Plan

info2023-10-13T13:45:31-05:00October 13th, 2023|

Governor Laura Kelly announced the release of the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Initial Proposal Volume 2. As part of the planning process, the public is invited to submit their comments on the planning document. Together with the BEAD 5-Year Action Plan, Volumes 1 and 2 will help identify areas of need for high-speed internet buildout across the state and outline requirements for applicants to access grant funding. “Our vision for Kansas is one where every resident, regardless of their location, has access to affordable, reliable internet,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “The Volume 2 planning document sets a clear path [...]

13 Friday, October 13

New Derby city prosecutor balancing full docket

info2023-10-13T13:45:50-05:00October 13th, 2023|

Since joining city staff over the summer, Melissa Ricke has been hard at work on multiple fronts for Derby as the new assistant city attorney and city prosecutor. On the city side, Ricke helps City Attorney Jaci Kelly with business affairs as needed, while she also handles all the municipal prosecution at the court building. Additionally, she noted she helps law enforcement in a number of capacities as needed. “If they need a training, I will assist with that,” Ricke said. “If they need a consultation on maybe charging a case or if it should go to Sedgwick County as a [...]

13 Friday, October 13

Despite objections, Johnson County city approves office park to replace city park

info2023-10-13T11:16:24-05:00October 13th, 2023|

In a 5 to 1 vote Thursday night, the Westwood City Council approved turning what currently is its only city park into an office park. The issue had been debated fiercely in recent months not only in Westwood, a town of 1,800 residents in northern Johnson County, but also among some residents in the bordering communities of Westwood Hills and Mission Woods who live close to Joe D Dennis Park, a green space with jungle gym and tennis courts at Rainbow Boulevard and 50th Street. The park effectively is Westwood’s only city park, at least for now. The six-member council’s decision allows for [...]

13 Friday, October 13

Iola vies for federal infrastructure dollars

info2023-10-13T13:46:37-05:00October 13th, 2023|

With infrastructure funds flowing from Washington, D.C., It’s in Iola’s best interest to apply for every penny it can, Mayor Steve French said. “That money’s gonna go someplace,” French said at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. “We might as well bring some of it back home if we can.” City Administrator Matt Rehder gave Council members a preliminary list of potential projects that could utilize Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation funds. The two biggest-ticket items would be to replace all of the bare steel gas mains in the city, expected to cost about $10 million, and relining Iola’s 75 miles of sewer lines, which carries a [...]

13 Friday, October 13

Wyandotte County mayors announce task force that could reshape KCK’s unified government

info2023-10-13T11:13:52-05:00October 13th, 2023|

The mayors of Kansas City, Kansas, Edwardsville and Bonner Springs on Wednesday announced plans to form a task force that could reshape Wyandotte County’s consolidated government structure. Edwardsville Mayor Carolyn Caiharr said a “citizen-focused” group will begin neighborhood discussions in November to hear resident concerns about the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, which consolidated in 1997. “What has served you well over the last 25 years, and what improvements need to be made?” Caiharr asked during a press conference outside Memorial Hall in downtown KCK. “We are not only looking for complaints, but solutions.” The group will consider recommendations [...]

13 Friday, October 13

As aquifer levels decline in the Great Plains, states weigh the need to meter irrigation wells

info2023-10-13T11:12:31-05:00October 13th, 2023|

About a quarter of the United States’s irrigated cropland sits on top of the Ogallala Aquifer in the Great Plains. But water levels are dropping, and states are taking different approaches to monitoring how much groundwater irrigators are pumping out. Mike Shannon first learned about the Ogallala Aquifer because he made a costly mistake. In the mid-1980s, Shannon was new to city government when one of his hometown’s wells started to go dry. “I just assumed, maybe I ought to go somewhere else and stick another hole in the ground and we’ll get more water,” Shannon said. “Well, unfortunately, I stuck [...]

13 Friday, October 13

Sedgwick County home prices jump in September compared to a year ago

info2023-10-13T11:10:48-05:00October 13th, 2023|

Even with elevated mortgage rates delivering a consistent headwind to demand and sales volume, Sedgwick County saw its fifth straight month of year-over-year home price increases in September, according to a new report. South Central Kansas MLS data, covering last month's housing market activity, found the median sale price in the county rose 8.6%, compared to September 2022, to $240,000. That's the largest year-over-year percentage increase since March's 8.7% jump. Meanwhile, the decline in Sedgwick County sales volume versus 2022 didn't let up, with September sales dropping 10.5% to 614 closed listings. So what's maintaining the seller's market with mortgage rates over 7% and overall sales [...]

13 Friday, October 13

New federal law modifies 2022 Safer Communities Act to allow archery in schools

info2023-10-13T11:09:04-05:00October 13th, 2023|

More than a million students in 49 states will be able to participate in school archery programs using "dangerous weapons" after bipartisan legislation sailed through U.S. Congress and was signed into law by President Joe Biden. The “Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act” passed with unanimous consent in the Senate and a 424-1 vote in the House of Representatives in September. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, was the only vote against the act. When President Biden signed the bill into law last week, it amended the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow schools to use federal education funds to [...]

13 Friday, October 13

Kansas becomes the 10th state to require 2-person train crews, despite the industry’s objections

info2023-10-13T11:05:42-05:00October 13th, 2023|

Kansas became the 10th state in the nation Wednesday to require two-person railroad crews despite objections from freight railroads, but the industry may challenge the rule in court as it has in other states like Ohio. The major freight railroads have long pushed to cut crews down to one person, but unions have resisted because they believe it’s safer to have two people working together to operate trains. Gov. Laura Kelly said two-person crews “will protect workers from the effects of fatigue, prevent train derailments and reduce risks in the many Kansas communities along our railroad tracks.” The new administrative rule took effect Wednesday. [...]