McPherson Sentinel

Solar farms are coming to the region, thanks to agreements between power cooperatives and Today’s Power Inc. of Arkansas to create the Kansas Cooperative Sun Power Program. “Co-ops across the state have come together across the state,” said Sarah Madden, public relations director for the Butler Electric Cooperative.” ... These 12 have banded together to provide solar for our customers at a low cost for decades to come. ... This is great for our entire state.” The Kansas Cooperative Sun Power Program is a series of solar farms developed by Today’s Power Inc. to harvest renewable energy in the state for [...]

As the downtown goes, so does the city. Hays is making certain its downtown continues to thrive. Years ago, Hays was a part of the state’s Main Street program and hopes to join back up with the newly formed affiliate program the governor introduced last week. El Dorado, Garden City and Sterling are other Kansas towns that are part of the Main Street program. Like Hays, Wellington and Larned have expressed interest in becoming affiliates. By introducing more than 14 events each year, including the annual holiday Frostfest, the Downtown Hays Development Corporation, the nonprofit organization responsible for keeping downtown thriving, [...]

This year two members of the operational board are stepping down, in preparation for that, the organization hired an executive director. That kind of blew a hole in the budget. “We are showing a 49,000 loss with the hiring of the director,” said Becka Locke, who handles the accounting for the organization. She, and financial advisors, believe the center needs to come with about $42,000 in funding — and they have a plan. That plan is designed to do two things — increase funding from local governments, and to fix a issue the society sees in one of those funding streams. [...]

There was some COVID-19 news at the McPherson City Commission — the annual Mayor’s Cup basketball games will not be at the Round House this year, and the commission took action to renew a facial covering ordinance in the city. The commission took a look at recent statistical reports — including the Oct. 23 report that showed 18 new cases — all but one were symptomatic cases of the disease. Most stemmed from a known exposure to the disease. Because we have had a lot of cases lately, we are in a red the last two days(according to a report by [...]

When James Prugh bought the oldest house in Lindsborg, he had an idea — renovate the old stone house and open a guest house. “My contractor stripped everything away to its ‘bare stones,‘” Prugh said.” It was rebuilt to take full advantage of its historic features with every modern amenity seamlessly integrated into the structure. My vacation rental is called ‘Stenhuset,’ Swedish for ‘the stone house.’” There was a big challenge to overcome in the project — because of its age, the house lacked plumbing and electrical wiring. To create a vacation rental that had to change. Non-historic additions to the [...]

The question of who is the governing body of the Leavenworth County Fire District No. 1 has been answered for the moment in Lansing, at least while a lawsuit is pending in District Court. District Judge David King announced Tuesday that he was issuing an order to preserve what he called the status quo until he can have a hearing on a petition for a declaratory judgment. This order requires the governing of Fire District No. 1, which provides fire department services to the city of Lansing and Delaware and High Prairie townships, to remain under the control of its existing [...]

McPherson County announced Tuesday evening its response to reopening after Gov. Laura Kelly made counties decide on how they reopen, instead of reopening as a whole. Effective Wednesday at 12:01 a.m., McPherson County Health Officer Shalei Shea is recommending McPherson County follow the guidelines of Gov. Kelly’s Ad Astra Plan. McPherson County will remain in Phase 2, which allows gatherings of no more than 15. Individuals are encouraged to wear masks in public settings, while maintaining social distancing of six feet. (Read more: McPherson Sentinel)

Members of the McPherson High Swim Team and McPherson Water Park director Kyle Roberts proposed a plan to open the water park to the McPherson City Commission Tuesday morning. Roberts proposed an opening of the water park to occur on June 15, during Phase 3 of Gov. Laura Kelly’s Ad Astra Plan to reopen Kansas. Phase 3 of Gov. Kelly’s reopening plan is expected to start on June 8. Roberts said a poll was created on the water park’s Facebook page and has nearly 2,000 votes, with the majority voting yes to open the water park. (Read more: McPherson Sentinel)

Oil futures plunged below zero on Monday, the latest never-before-seen number to come out of the economic coma caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Stocks and Treasury yields also dropped on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 down 1.8%, but the market’s most dramatic action by far was in oil, where the cost to have a barrel of U.S. crude delivered in May plummeted to negative $37.63. It was at roughly $60 at the start of the year. Traders are still paying $20.43 for a barrel of U.S. oil to be delivered in June, which analysts consider to be closer to the [...]

Thursday Lindsborg police chief Michael Davis had a special assignment for officer Terry Reed — one that would put a smile on more than just a few faces. The police department had received a tip to follow up on. There was a 96-year-old woman in town that needed a special welfare check. “They told me that Aleda [Penn] had a birthday today, and that she was feeling lonely,” Davis said. She was feeling lonely because she’s stuck at home — like so many others — due to COVID-19 and stay at home orders at the state level. Restrictions on groups of [...]