Governor Kelly meets with Sedgwick County leaders on mental health needs

15 Monday, August 15

Governor Kelly meets with Sedgwick County leaders on mental health needs

info2022-08-15T23:55:20-05:00August 15th, 2022|

Governor Kelly met with Wichita and Sedgwick County leaders as well as state lawmakers on Monday to talk about mental health issues and the need for a state mental health hospital in south central Kansas. The governor met with Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple, Sedgwick County Commission Chairman David Dennis and representatives of local health and law enforcement agencies for a roundtable discussion. They talked about the need for a regional hospital and also ways to continue expanding access to needed services. The governor toured the COMCARE Crisis Center and saw the services offered by Sedgwick County, including the 988 Hotline operation. [...]

15 Monday, August 15

Pottawatomie Co. approves resolution for sales tax initiative to fund infrastructure projects

info2022-08-15T23:54:25-05:00August 15th, 2022|

Pottawatomie County residents will consider levying a quarter percent sales tax when they head to the polls this November for a host paving and improvement projects on roads and bridges. Commissioners approved a resolution Monday, two weeks before the state deadline to pose such questions on the general election ballot. Before Monday’s vote, former Public Works Administrator Peter Clark addressed the commission as a representative of the Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation’s Board of Directors. “There’s a number of areas in our county that need to be addressed for the growth that has already occurred, to keep up with that and [...]

15 Monday, August 15

Three Derby businesses approved for facade improvement funding

info2022-08-16T07:13:57-05:00August 15th, 2022|

Continuing to utilize the $150,000 budgeted for the city’s new Community Facade Improvement Program, the Community Development Advisory Board approved (5-0) grant funding requests – up to five total – for three new projects at its Aug. 10 meeting. The CFIP program was started in 2022 as a matching grant program to promote business investment on Derby’s west side through building facade repairs, removal of non-conforming signs, etc. Source: Derby Informer

15 Monday, August 15

Bomb detonated near Parsons Courthouse

info2022-08-16T07:15:11-05:00August 15th, 2022|

A 63-year old male is in custody after an investigation of a bombing that occurred early Monday morning. The man has been identified as James Dale Sutton. He is being charged with criminal use of explosives, possession of commercial explosives to commit crime arson, and intentional to non-dwelling of another without consent. This incident is still under investigation by the ATF, FBI, KBI, Parsons Police Department, and Labette County Sheriff’s Office. Source: KSNF/KODE

15 Monday, August 15

New solar station coming to Shawnee County

info2022-08-15T23:48:44-05:00August 15th, 2022|

Shawnee County is just a few months away from gaining its newest solar energy farm. Evergy and Free State Electric Cooperative have partnered up to bring another energy source to serve part of Shawnee County. Evergy said there will be thousands of panels at the plant once the project is completed. However, the plant is located right behind a neighborhood. Bow Stanley, who has lived in Silver Lake for over 20 years, is not very worried about the panels being built just two doors down from his home. He's mostly looking forward to the impact they'll have once the plant is [...]

15 Monday, August 15

Legendary Brookville Hotel reopens as Legacy Kansas in Abilene

info2022-08-15T23:47:39-05:00August 15th, 2022|

Two restaurants, one lost to fire and the other to the COVID-19 pandemic, are making a comeback together. The Brookville Hotel has officially reopened - following its purchase by Deana and Chuck Munson- under the name Legacy Kansas Munson's Prime & Brookville Hotel. The new name signals the union of two nationally-recognized restaurants which both closed recently for different reasons. The Brookville Hotel, formerly owned by Mark Martin, closed on Oct. 1, 2020, due to economic issues brought on by the pandemic while Munson's Prime Steak in Junction City burned down on Feb. 24, 2021. Source: KSNT 27 News

15 Monday, August 15

City of Topeka joins Kaw River restoration work

info2022-08-16T07:24:55-05:00August 15th, 2022|

A two-year restoration project in the Kaw River State Park is getting some help from the City of Topeka. The Topeka Riverbank Restoration Project is a two-year project encompassing 22 acres of the 76-acre Kaw River State Park. The goal of the project is to remove non-native plants and invasive species from the area. The city is joining in on the process by leading excavation work near a boat ramp located in the northeast corner of the park. This is being done to reduce erosion and sediment loss. The contractor hired by the city to conduct this part of the project [...]

15 Monday, August 15

Rossville celebrates another Tall Corn Festival

info2022-08-15T23:45:30-05:00August 15th, 2022|

Rossville is celebrating its annual Tall Corn Festival this weekend. Rossville’s Tall Corn Festival takes place annually, on the second weekend of August. The event started almost 100 years ago on a hot summer weekend, as a way for the town to kick off harvest season and because Rossville is a farming community, the festival is a way to show appreciation for their Rossville farmers. This year’s festival theme is “Blame it all on my roots” and was held at the city park and in other downtown areas. The festival began Friday afternoon with a Rossville High School band performance, a [...]

15 Monday, August 15

A directly elected mayor for Lawrence? City Commission to discuss putting question on ballots

info2022-08-15T23:42:47-05:00August 15th, 2022|

Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday will resume a discussion on the city’s form of government and whether to ask voters if they want to directly elect a mayor. The ongoing conversation is about potential changes to the city government. A task force suggested that rather than the current five city commissioners who are elected at large — meaning by voters across the whole city, rather than by districts — the city should have six commissioners who each represent a district of Lawrence. The task force also recommended that voters should directly elect a mayor to serve a four-year term. Currently, the [...]

15 Monday, August 15

City of Lawrence joins national effort to monitor COVID-19 and monkeypox in wastewater

info2022-08-15T23:41:43-05:00August 15th, 2022|

The City of Lawrence has joined a nationwide initiative to detect infectious diseases, including COVID-19 and monkeypox, in local wastewater, according to a news release Monday. The initiative is part of WastewaterSCAN, led by researchers at Stanford University and Emory University and aimed at providing local public health officials with tools to respond to crises. Previously known as the Sewer Coronavirus Alert Network (SCAN), the initiative has now advanced to detecting additional viruses along with COVID-19 and its variants, including monkeypox, influenza A, and RSV. Source: The Lawrence Times