The Lyon County Commission declared a state of local emergency due to COVID-19 Friday morning. According to County Clerk Tammy Vopat, Newman Regional Health contacted Lyon County Emergency Management and requested the use of two ventilators to be ordered from the State EOC. All local ventilators were currently in use. Emergency Management was unable to request the resource from the State EOC, because a state of local emergency was not already in place. Source: Emporia Gazette

If you’re thinking about pulling a “Crank Yanker” trick on Lyon County 911 operators, think again. The Lyon County Emergency Communications Center announced a new tool Sunday to track incoming calls. A Facebook statement said it can “possibly see your 911 call before it even rings into our center.“ The tool is from RapidSOS, a company based in New York. The LCECC says its mapping portal allows dispatchers to have “street view access to a majority of the Lyon County area.” The new tool also can tap into vehicles with Sirius XM technology, allowing operators to obtain data on crashes. Source: [...]

Looking for an event to attend for Valentines Day that also supports your local community? Well, you’re in luck. Emporia Main Street will be hosting their annual Public Improvement Auction on Feb. 11, which will include catering from Bobby D’s, three auctions, and a Dueling Pianos performance by Hi Fi Productions. They have been hosting the Public Improvement Auction for 16 or 17 years. The event is scheduled for 6 - 9 p.m. The three auctions include the silent, live and dessert auctions. The silent auction will be posted on the Emporia Main Street’s web site and Facebook page around a [...]

“Axe the tax” may be a hot phrase in Topeka. But that may not be the view of the Emporia City Commission. With the new state legislative session one week away, commissioners will vote at their Wednesday meeting on a list of goals for 2022. It takes issue with proposals to end the state sales tax on groceries, which is favored by both Gov. Laura Kelly and likely election challenger Derek Schmidt. One of the 13 points will “generally oppose any further exemption to the base of state and local sales taxes, including sales of food.” Instead, the commission would recommend [...]

One thing is certain. Mark McAnarney will never break his arm because he was patting himself on the back. Instead he gives praise to the people around him who had the city’s best interests at heart. McAnarney retired this month as Emporia city manager, after almost nine years on the job. He and his wife, Amy, had moved in July 1989 from Great Bend to Emporia, where they planted their family’s roots. Son Matt, was born in November, about four months after the couple arrived here, and a second son, Josh, was born about eight years later. “It was important to [...]

Trey Cocking, Emporia’s new city manager, has officially taken over his new role. Hired in October to replace outgoing city manager Mark McAnarney, Cocking’s first day was Tuesday and on Wednesday he sat in his first Emporia City Commission meeting as city manager. “It’s kind of been a whirlwind,” Cocking said Wednesday. “I sat at my desk for the first time this morning.” He said that he’s been in a lot of meetings so far, getting to know various city staff. He has spent the past three months watching city commission meetings remotely and said that it was nice to be [...]

The number of people in the Emporia area who receive emergency federal housing assistance is slowly increasing. The latest data from the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation shows as of Monday, November 22, 94 households in Lyon County were approved for rental aid. The number was 76 in late October. The total amount provided in Lyon County is $281,378.98. That computes to almost $3,000 per family. ... Congress approved the aid earlier this year as part of the COVID-19 response act, to protect families from eviction. Landlords and tenants must apply for the aid together. Source: Emporia Gazette

The Lyon County Commission agreed to opt into the state’s opioid-related class-action lawsuit Thursday morning. Assistant county attorney Mike Halleran explained that the commission had the option to sign a memorandum of understanding to join the Kansas Fights Addiction Act, which would allow Lyon County to potentially receive any funds won through the state’s litigation process. “(The Kansas Fights Addiction Act) is an act passed by the legislature to basically construct a framework for opioids damages settlements,” he said. Halleran said that state Attorney General Derek Schmidt wanted to have all 105 Kansas counties in agreement with the lawsuit, even though [...]

Outgoing city manager Mark McAnarney sat in on his last meeting with the Emporia City Commission Wednesday. At least in an official capacity. McAnarney announced his retirement in June and the city commission hired Trey Cocking as his replacement on Oct. 20. Cocking will officially take over the role Dec. 7. "This is going to be Mark McAnarney's last formal meeting with the city commission before we transition to our new hire next week, so on behalf of myself and commissioners you've worked with over 30 years, 31 years, 32 years — you've provided so much to the city of Emporia," [...]

The novel coronavirus may have slowed your life in some ways but it may have increased your speed of internet service. An October report by the WhistleOut website showed internet download speeds in Kansas have accelerated 60.3% this year. In Cottonwood Falls, it was planned that way. “Because we were recipients of CARES broadband infrastructure grants, we were able to pass about 13,000 premises during the last quarter of 2020,” said Jade Piros de Carvalho, IdeaTek Director of Industry and Community Relations. IdeaTek’s lines cover a large area of central and southwest Kansas. But she noted Chase County was one of [...]