Country 101.3 KFDI

Wichita City Council members have approved funding for repairs of a 42-inch water main that ruptured last month, forcing the city to go into a boil water advisory for several days. The main ruptured on October 7th at a location just east of I-135, near 18th Street North.   Crews were able to make repairs and the City Council approved funding from a Water and Sewer Department replacement program to cover the costs.   The construction cost estimate at this time is $250,000. City engineer Gary Janzen said the main is out of service until an analysis can be completed.   He said an [...]

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has announced plans to end funding of COVID-19 testing as of November 30th.   That has Sedgwick County officials concerned about continued testing in the community. County manager Tom Stolz explained the situation to county commissioners at a staff meeting Tuesday.  He said the state has provided funding to cover the cost of testing through a lab site at Wichita State University.   When that funding ends, the lab will have to bill government, businesses and schools for the testing cost, and he said that will create a financial hardship. Commissioner David Dennis said WSU officials [...]

U.S. Senator Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall announced a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration for Wichita State University and the Wichita Entrepreneurship Coalition. The grant will support the resources needed to recruit, support, and enable regional entrepreneurs, and improve the coalition’s access to technology and startup resources. Source: Country 101.3 KFDI

The Kansas Department of Emergency Management is sending firefighters and equipment from five fire departments, including Wichita, to provide support in areas of Louisiana affected by Hurricane Ida. Seven Wichita firefighters have been sent to Louisiana, along with two engines and a Strike Team leader.  The two Wichita engines will meet up with four engines from Johnson County, and they will operate together as an engine company strike team.   They will provide emergency response services to communities in Louisiana.   The Wichita firefighters are expected to be in Louisiana about two weeks. In all, there will be 23 fire department personnel with [...]

A new state audit found that few projects financed with STAR bonds are meeting requirements for bringing visitors and money into Kansas. The audit from the Legislature’s auditing arm was released Monday. Auditors found that only three of the 16 attractions they reviewed met tourism goals by bringing in a significant percentage of visitors from other states. STAR bonds allow municipalities to issue bonds to finance major developments, which are paid through sales tax revenue generated by the project. Among the projects not meeting the benchmarks is the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, including the soccer stadium, strip mall, water [...]

Governor Laura Kelly issued a State of Disaster Emergency for a wildfire in Clark County. The Kansas Forest Service has been at the scene of the fire, and an agricultural pilot is helping with fire suppression over rough terrain. “Wildland fires can cause widespread destruction and present a very real threat to life and property,” Gov. Kelly said. “They destroy crops and grazing land, and may threaten homes and lives. This declaration will allow the state to use whatever resources we have available to mitigate the risks and respond to fires in support of local emergency responders.” “Our wildland fire staff [...]

The Wichita school board has unanimously approved an indoor mask requirement for students. During their meeting Monday night, the board approved the requirement for all students ages 3 and older, starting August 30th. The decision is based on recent recommendations from local health officials and from the Centers for Disease Control. Sedgwick County’s Local Health Officer, Dr. Garold Minns, called for a mask requirement last week, but county commissioners voted to receive and file the recommendation rather than put it into effect. Wichita Superintendent Alicia Thompson told board members that 194 students and 51 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19.  [...]

Wichita City Council members and Sedgwick County Commissioners have been involved in discussions over the past decade on returning passenger rail service to south central Kansas, but they have now declared formal support for an expansion of Amtrak service. Sedgwick County Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution of support Wednesday for the extension of Amtrak services. The Wichita City Council approved a similar resolution last week. The city has not had direct access to passenger service since 1979. In recent years, Wichita residents have had to travel to Newton or Hutchinson to access Amtrak services. Amtrak has been studying an expansion of [...]

Sedgwick County hospitals now report they are in a “critical” status with new cases of COVID-19.   According to data from the county’s COVID-19 web page, there are 147 people hospitalized with the virus, and 56 of them are in the intensive care unit. Sedgwick County reported 142 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, with two new deaths.   The county has had a total of 53,212 cases for the pandemic, with 669 deaths.  The state of Kansas reported 3,006 new cases on Wednesday, compared to Monday’s numbers.  There are 62 new deaths, to bring the state’s total to 5,456.   The state also [...]

The city of Wichita will receive a $4 million federal grant that will be used to improve health literacy and expand education and outreach services to help racial and ethnic minority communities and vulnerable populations in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. The grant is from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through its Office of Minority Health.   The OMH has awarded $250 million in grants to 73 local governments across the country as part of a new two-year initiative.   The goal is to improve COVID-19 vaccination and other mitigation practices among underserved populations. The city will be working with [...]