Kansas lawmakers talk about the homeless impact on cities

10 Friday, November 10

Kansas lawmakers talk about the homeless impact on cities

info2023-11-10T12:17:47-06:00November 10th, 2023|

Homelessness is an issue Kansas lawmakers are addressing. A special committee met at the statehouse on Thursday to talk about the impact on cities across the state and possible solutions. The issue has gotten so bad that the homeless are being sent to Lawrence, where it is becoming a growing problem. "People are being transported," Rep. Susan Humphries, R-Wichita. Law enforcement officers say that some are being sent across county lines to areas that may have more resources. Even in those bigger cities, resources are running low. ... Lawmakers are getting feedback from stakeholders across the state. It includes business owners who say they're [...]

10 Friday, November 10

Affordable senior housing coming to former Kansas Masonic Home facility

Chloe Henderson2023-11-10T12:18:16-06:00November 10th, 2023|

With its Spanish architecture and tile roof, the Kansas Masonic Home is a staple of Wichita just west of downtown, and it's served the community for over 125 years. Most recently, the KMH was a senior care facility drowning in lawsuits for deaths due to alleged neglect, hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, and reports from the health department saying that inspectors found horrible living conditions like nurses failing to change a resident's bandage for eighteen days. At the end of last year, the KMH abruptly announced it was closing because of overwhelming debt, giving its residents just weeks to [...]

10 Friday, November 10

Powell says Fed is ‘not confident’ it has done enough to bring inflation down

info2023-11-10T12:18:44-06:00November 10th, 2023|

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Thursday that he and his fellow policymakers are encouraged by the slowing pace of inflation but are unsure whether they've done enough to keep the momentum going. Speaking a little more than a week after the central bank voted to hold benchmark policy rates steady, Powell said in remarks for an International Monetary Fund audience that more work could be ahead in the battle against high prices. "The Federal Open Market Committee is committed to achieving a stance of monetary policy that is sufficiently restrictive to bring inflation down to 2 percent over time; we [...]

10 Friday, November 10

KDOT gives update on potential Amtrak expansion into Wichita

info2023-11-10T12:19:18-06:00November 10th, 2023|

An Amtrak passenger train rolled into Wichita’s Union Station back in 2017 as part of an inspection ride to see the viability of service. It was only a test at the time but soon, the real thing could return to the air capital. Wednesday the Kansas Department of Transportation held a virtual update on the proposed expansion of the Heartland Flyer line that would connect Oklahoma City to Newton. Sedgwick County Commissioner Pete Meitzner was listening to the update and said it seems like there is a lot of momentum behind the project. “You hate to over promise but you can kind [...]

10 Friday, November 10

Miami County voters shoot down $40 million school bond proposal and new sales tax for courthouse

info2023-11-10T12:22:13-06:00November 10th, 2023|

Voters took a stance against taxes and unseated school board incumbents in Paola and Osawatomie during the Nov. 7 general election. Two of the biggest questions on the ballot were Paola USD 368’s $40 million school bond proposal and Miami County’s proposed quarter-cent sales tax for the renovation and expansion of the historic Miami County Courthouse. Both proposals failed by similar margins, with 60 percent of voters saying “no” and 40 percent saying “yes.” ... One tax-related question was successful on election night. Osawatomie voters renewed the city's quarter-cent sales tax for public safety equipment with 233 "yes" votes to 180 [...]

10 Friday, November 10

Allen County residents seek answers on new floodplain maps

info2023-11-10T12:21:03-06:00November 10th, 2023|

An open house on Tuesday was designed to answer questions about a new floodplain maps. Most Allen County residents got good news, as 85 properties no longer are listed in the floodplain. Eight were added. Debbie Menzie was surprised to receive a notice that her home is now in a floodplain. It’s never flooded at her home in the north part of Iola, just off Washington Street. Not even close. She attended an open house on Tuesday at the Community Building in Riverside Park, hosted by the Kansas Department of Agriculture to review new floodplain maps. The new maps show 85 properties are no [...]

10 Friday, November 10

Allen County voters reject courthouse remodel

info2023-11-10T12:22:36-06:00November 10th, 2023|

A proposal to renovate the Allen County Courthouse because of security issues failed with 76% of voters opposed. The other bond issue on the ballot, for renovations at the Crest school district, passed comfortably. City council and school board races also were decided. Allen County voters overwhelmingly rejected Tuesday a proposed $9.95 million bond issue to renovate the Allen County Courthouse. ... Such huge margins represent a stinging defeat for the plan’s proponents, which included District Judge Dan Creitz and Allen County Sheriff Bryan Murphy, who attempted to convince voters the renovations were needed to improve security at the courthouse. Source: The [...]

10 Friday, November 10

Community input vital to winning public’s support on bond issues

info2023-11-10T12:23:51-06:00November 10th, 2023|

It took four bond issues for local citizens to support building a new school in Iola. Administrators learned the secret was paying attention to public input. A countywide referendum on whether to renovate the Allen County courthouse likely drew more voters to the polls Tuesday than in a typical off-year election. An estimated 2,510 voters — or about 29% of Allen County’s 8,698 registered voters — weighed in. ... As local school administrators can attest, community engagement is vital to passing bond issues. After three failed measures to build new schools — 1979, 1985 and 2014 — local voters in 2019 approved a $35 million [...]

10 Friday, November 10

Kansas officials begin process of restoring court information access after ‘security incident’

info2023-11-10T12:25:12-06:00November 10th, 2023|

Nearly a month after a “security incident” with all the hallmarks of a ransomware attack, Kansas judicial officials are slowly renewing public access to court information. But for now, that access requires a trip to the state's capital city. The state's judicial branch on Tuesday announced it has opened a public access service center at the Kansas Judicial Center in Topeka. ... efforts to bring the judicial branch systems back online will occur in phases and that no firm timeline has been established on when all functions will be fully restored. The massive outage on Oct. 12 left attorneys unable to [...]

10 Friday, November 10

An old Johnson County fire station will soon become a coffee shop. ‘It’s exciting’

info2023-11-10T12:25:34-06:00November 10th, 2023|

In the ’70s, the brick building at 19115 Midland Drive in Shawnee was home to volunteer firefighters. The side of the building, now painted with sunflowers, was once a garage door that opened for wailing fire trucks. Then the fire department built a larger station, packed up its hoses and traveled across the street. One day Courtney and John Nelson, now owners of the building, looked at the old firehouse and thought: “Coffee shop?” Yes, a great spot for a coffee shop, they agreed. “It’s exciting,” Courtney said. “It’s something that we liked and thought would be a good addition.” Early next [...]