USD 383 board holds discussion with RCPD leadership regarding future use of SROs

8 Thursday, June 8

USD 383 board holds discussion with RCPD leadership regarding future use of SROs

info2023-06-08T11:16:32-05:00June 8th, 2023|

The Manhattan-Ogden School Board held a conversation Wednesday about the role of school resource officers (SRO’s) and the potential for adding officers at each of the two middle schools. Riley County Police Department officials including Director Brian Peete, Captain Greg Steere and resource officer Sonia Gregoire, joined in the conversation. Director Peete noted one of the most important jobs SROs have is building relationships in the schools. RCPD currently employs two resource officers, both at Manhattan High School. Board members have expressed interest in two more officers to be placed at Anthony and Eisenhower Middle Schools. Source: 1350 KMAN

8 Thursday, June 8

City Commission sends rezoning request back to Urban Area Planning Board

info2023-06-08T11:15:03-05:00June 8th, 2023|

During their Tuesday meeting, Manhattan City Commissioners voted to return a rezoning request for 407 Pottawatomie Avenue back to the Manhattan Urban Area Planning Board for further consideration. The request from Midwest Concrete Materials failed to earn approval from the Manhattan Urban Area Planning Board in a three to three vote during their May 25th meeting. MCM Owner Chris Eichman told commissioners the company hopes to rezone the approximately 1.22 acre tract of land for business commercial use and construct a training center. Source: 1350 KMAN

8 Thursday, June 8

Cemeteries, the history book of every town

info2023-06-08T11:00:34-05:00June 8th, 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. Before my dad passed, my family would sometimes ask why I spent so much time in our cemetery. It seemed odd to them. The answer is simple. It’s the history. It’s only been in the last couple of years that I have realized that I’m the type of person [...]

8 Thursday, June 8

Short-term rental program approved

info2023-06-08T10:58:55-05:00June 8th, 2023|

The Great Bend City Council Monday night approved a short-term rental ordinance aimed at making it easier for a property owner to operate an Airbnb-type business by creating and implementing a licensing and inspection program. This covers properties rented to transient occupants for periods of less than 30 days so as to “minimize the adverse effects of short-term rental uses on surrounding residential properties and neighborhoods, and to preserve the character, integrity, and stability of residential neighborhoods in which short-term rental properties are located,” Interim City Administrator Logan Burns said. This is not intended to regulate hotels, motels, lodging houses or hospitals. [...]

8 Thursday, June 8

Wichita Fire Department K-9 retiring after 8.5 years

info2023-06-08T10:56:49-05:00June 8th, 2023|

Wichita Fire Department K-9 Buddy is retiring after 8.5 years of service and is also celebrating his 10th birthday. The department said on Facebook that Buddy joined the WFD when he was just 18 months old and has responded to hundreds of fires in the Wichita area and large incidents in other states, including the 2020 riots in Minnesota and a double-homicide investigation on a reservation in Oklahoma. Buddy is a Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Accelerant Detection Canine (ATF ADC) who has trained 365 days a year, WFD's post says. "Buddy possesses a rare certification that sets him [...]

8 Thursday, June 8

Former Hillsboro administrator remembered

info2023-06-08T10:55:18-05:00June 8th, 2023|

Hillsboro council members who worked with longtime city administrator Larry Paine, whose funeral service was today, lauded Paine’s accomplishments during his 12 years at the helm of the city. Paine fought cancer from January 2018 until after he announced his resignation effective June 2020. He was Hillsboro city administrator the final years of a 47-year career in city administration. Mayor Lou Thurston took office two weeks before Paine was found to have cancer after collapsing on the steps of the statehouse. Source: HILLSBORO Star-Journal

8 Thursday, June 8

Sedgwick County looking to build new emergency management building

info2023-06-08T10:54:30-05:00June 8th, 2023|

When disaster hits, the command center for Sedgwick County’s Emergency Management Department becomes the hub for first responder's response coordination. However there is a problem. While there's room inside for staff, the department doesn’t really have the space to store their supplies and equipment. Sedgwick County Assistant Manager Rusty Leeds explains, “as we went through the pandemic, and then more recently, we had a tornado and then looking back over the past few years, several years actually, emergency management has not had adequate space to maintain supplies for disaster preparedness and response.” Source: KAKE - News

8 Thursday, June 8

Hotel Topeka auction ends, sells to new owner

info2023-06-08T10:47:16-05:00June 8th, 2023|

The online auction for Hotel Topeka has concluded and it has a new owner. Ten-X hosted the online auction which began Monday, June 6 with a starting bid of $2 million. Bidding appeared to end at $7.5 million Wednesday afternoon and ramped up in the final minutes of the auction, before the listing was removed. The City of Topeka's governing body discussed strategies on how to pay for the hotel at its Tuesday night meeting, after it expressed interest on bidding in late May. Source: KSNT 27 News

8 Thursday, June 8

Two Kansas towns make ‘Best Small Towns to Visit in the U.S.’ list

info2023-06-08T10:44:46-05:00June 8th, 2023|

Two historic Kansas towns have landed a spot on the TravelAwaits' "Best Small Towns to Visit in the U.S." list. This list is decided by the site's leaders for the Best of Travel Awards. Coming in at number one on the list, for the third year in a row, is Abilene, Kan. "Located in the heart of the Sunflower State, Abilene is home to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, and Boyhood Home. This may be what pulls hundreds of thousands of visitors off I-70 every year, but the town of about 6,500 is a unique mix of presidential history and western charm," [...]

8 Thursday, June 8

Rural done right: Cafe, food store keep Tampa alive

info2023-06-08T10:42:02-05:00June 8th, 2023|

Little Tampa might not be a shopping mecca, but it does have items its residents need. That’s why county commissioner David Mueller’s work for his home community, once a stop on the Santa Fe Trail, caught the eye of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University. Muller was subject of a Kansas Profile article by the center last week. Tampa’s Santa Fe Trail Café, operated for the last six years by Pat Dalke and her daughter, Ashley Thornhill, serves lunch every day except Saturday and offers a chicken fried steak meal on Sundays. Source: Marion County [...]