Working for Lenexa: Taking on new responsibilities at home and in the workplace

8 Tuesday, November 8

Working for Lenexa: Taking on new responsibilities at home and in the workplace

2022-11-08T06:53:51-06:00November 8th, 2022|

Getting engaged. Planning a wedding. Then suddenly having five kids. It’s been nearly two years since Lenexa Police Department Public Service Officer II Sarah Bell got married to her husband, Jeremy, and became a stepmom to their five children, ages 4 to 12. ... Connecting a citizen with the appropriate county services. Handling record requests. Processing paperwork for a report. Sarah is typically the first person you see when you enter the police department lobby. “You need to have the ability to talk to all kinds of people and keep a calm attitude,” she said. “I could have three people waiting [...]

8 Tuesday, November 8

Wichita State earns national designation for economic development efforts

2022-11-08T00:52:30-06:00November 8th, 2022|

Wichita State University has been designated as an Innovation & Economic Prosperity University, which recognizes public research universities and their work with public and private sector partners to support economic development. Wichita State is one of 80 higher education institutions to earn the national designation from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. Source: Wichita Business Journal

8 Tuesday, November 8

Johnson County school board bans trans students from preferred bathrooms, sports teams

2022-11-08T00:45:46-06:00November 8th, 2022|

After months of tense debate, the Gardner Edgerton school board on Monday approved a policy prohibiting transgender children from using their preferred restrooms or participating on sports teams that align with their gender identity. The school board voted 5-2 to approve the policy, which has sparked ongoing controversy and student protests. It states that students must use the facilities, and participate on the athletic teams, that conform with their sex at birth. School board members Katie Williams, the lone liberal on the board, and Greg Chapman voted against it. The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas argued that the policy violates [...]

8 Tuesday, November 8

Jackson County Commission gathers input ahead of vote on 18-month solar farm moratorium

2022-11-08T00:43:36-06:00November 8th, 2022|

Terry Kaufman wears opposition on his shirt and his cap to development of a 2,000-acre solar energy facility on rolling hills in Jackson County. Kaufman, who handed out yellow “no solar” pins ahead of a public meeting Monday on the issue, said he supported imposition by the Jackson County Commission of an 18-month moratorium on consideration of applications for utility-grade solar. Commissioners listened to a couple dozen people eager to share clashing perspectives but didn’t vote on a pause that would give them time to study zoning regulations applicable to solar projects. Source: Kansas Reflector

7 Monday, November 7

Cities approve agreement on future water rights

2022-11-07T12:41:08-06:00November 7th, 2022|

In a mega meeting, four different Harvey County cities came to an agreement about their shared water future. The governing bodies for Newton, North Newton, Halstead and Sedgwick all approved an agreement governing how the cities would share a possible 536 million gallons in annual water rights that the State of Kansas will soon consider granting. “I think we’ve accomplished what we needed to,” Newton City Engineer Suzanne Loomis said after all bodies approved the agreement. “This is just the beginning of a continued good relationship for neighbors.” Since 1997, the cities have been working together to perfect (secure) the water [...]

7 Monday, November 7

Governor Announces Nearly $16M to Expand Broadband in Rural Kansas

2022-11-07T12:39:59-06:00November 7th, 2022|

Governor Laura Kelly announced today $15.7 million will be awarded to seven service providers that will bring high-speed broadband service to underserved, economically distressed, and low-population areas of the state. This is the first of three rounds of awards from the Kansas Capital Project Funds (CPF) Broadband Grant Program. This phase of funding will connect more than 1,900 homes, businesses, schools, healthcare facilities, and other public institutions to fast, reliable internet in the next 24 months. This funding aims to solve the “last mile” of broadband needed in critical areas. The targeted counties have as few as five locations per square [...]

7 Monday, November 7

Overcrowding at Wichita high school spurs BOE to consider redrawing boundaries

2022-11-07T12:33:07-06:00November 7th, 2022|

As overcrowding strains Southeast High School, the Wichita school board will consider altering district boundaries to move some students to another high school. Southeast’s functional building capacity is 1,982 students. This year, the school enrolled 2,192 students, the second most of any Wichita high school behind East. “Building and classroom safety due to overcrowding at Southeast is a problem that will continue to harm students and faculty at Southeast until we do something about it,” debate teacher Michael Harris told the board of education last month. Source: Wichita Eagle

7 Monday, November 7

Wichita moves to tighten access, increase oversight on secretive police surveillance program

2022-11-07T12:33:27-06:00November 7th, 2022|

Where are you going, where have you been — and where are you right now? If the answer is Wichita, and you got there by motor vehicle, it’s likely the Wichita Police Department already knows. Or it can find out with a reasonable degree of certainty using its Flock Safety license plate reader surveillance system, a high-powered database that has helped Wichita police rescue kidnapped children, arrest murder suspects and recover stolen vehicles. But the power of Flock — which has been used by Wichita police since 2020 — comes with privacy concerns. Source: Wichita Eagle

7 Monday, November 7

Rural Sedgwick County residents mistakenly given ballots for city elections, official says

2022-11-07T12:33:52-06:00November 7th, 2022|

Roughly 200 voters in rural areas outside Colwich and Garden Plain were able to vote in city elections after a mistake by the Sedgwick County Election office didn’t provide them with a separate ballot. Election Commissioner Angela Caudillo said they learned about the mistake midday Friday when the Garden Plain city clerk emailed them that a voter said they lived outside of town but had city council races on their ballot. Caudillo said they looked into Colwich after that because that city also had a precinct that covers the city and rural area. They found the same problem there — that [...]

7 Monday, November 7

Parsons to consider raising court costs

2022-11-07T12:34:12-06:00November 7th, 2022|

Parsons city commissioners’ agenda for Monday’s meeting includes topics of drainage, a closure request for the upcoming Christmas parade and a potential increase to court costs. Commissioners will look at increasing court costs from $90 to $110. Officials said court costs haven’t been raised since 2019. Of the $110, $45 would be dedicated to a fund for jail medical bills, administrative expenses and training of officers. The reason for the increase is because of rising costs of prisoners’ medical care and the ongoing cost of housing prisoners at the county jail. Source: Parsons Sun

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