Renters Together MHK is pushing for a “rent holiday” as Manhattan and Kansas battle the coronavirus pandemic. “This is going to be a disaster if we don’t figure this out,” said Brandon Irwin, Renters Together MHK organizer. Renters Together MHK, which is a local housing advocacy group, is urging congressional leaders, including Sen. Pat Roberts, Sen. Jerry Moran and Rep. Roger Marshall, to put forth a rent and mortgage freeze for both renters and landlords to assist people who are struggling to pay rent during this time. (Read more: DerbyInformer.com - news,news/)

Everything got different last week under the Dome. After legislators spent weeks reading and listening to news about the coronavirus, or COVID-19 as it’s called by heath experts, they quietly and with whispers learned that a member of the Legislature who had been sneezing was tested for the sometimes-fatal disease. The lawmaker tested negative over the weekend–doesn’t have it. The news doesn’t get much better than that in the culture that lives under the Dome and chats elbow-to-elbow at the third-floor Rail, and crowds into elevators and, well, generally lives in a building only slightly less crowded than a prison yard. [...]

Over the years I have seen a number of new facilities, businesses and public meeting places that from my view have been significant to the enhancement of Derby. The opening of Rock Regional Hospital in Derby a little less than a year ago was definitely one of those significant enhancements to Derby. It’s not just from the mere fact of what having a hospital in your community does for improving health care, but as much from the facility itself, and what is inside of it. I remember when I walked through the doors for the first time. All I could feel [...]

Effective March 17, the Kansas Cosmosphere will be shutting down as a precaution in response to concerns over the coronavirus. Staff positions related to visitors and programming duties will be asked to stay home. (Read more: DerbyInformer.com - news,news/)

Ranchers in Oregon, Washington and Kansas have been battling the federal government over property rights and conservation efforts for decades. The states argue that in most cases, land owners know best how to manage their own land, not bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. In Kansas and Washington, ranchers filed a motion to intervene over recent changes to endangered species' policies proposed by the U.S. Department of the Interior. (Read more: DerbyInformer.com - news,news/)

Riley County lost out on $661,000 in tax revenue in 2019 mortgage registration fees after the Kansas legislature voted in 2014 to begin a five-year phase out of fees, said Debbie Regester, the county’s register of deeds. “I guess I’m the only register of deeds in the state of Kansas that still continues to gripe about this or bring it to the board,” Regester said. “In counties that are much larger than ours, I can’t even imagine how much revenue they’ve lost.” In 2018, the last year of the tax’s phaseout, the county collected $200,792 in mortgage registration tax fees. No [...]

Ashlynn Godown’s career pursuits have officially come full circle. Having graduated from Derby High School in May 2015, Godown and the Derby Recreation Commission recently reached an agreement for her to take over as program coordinator. Having served as an intern in the department since the spring, Godown had firsthand perspective of what the position needed. When Katie Dawes resigned in September, she felt it would be a good fit for her first full-time job. (Read more: DerbyInformer.com - news,news/)

Another look at the situation of regulating the placement of written materials on the property of Derby homeowners resulted in the City Council following a recommended action of having the staff report back in six months. The council examined the situation at its Nov. 12 meeting and was undertaking a second reading of the ordinance at the Nov. 26 meeting. However, in between that period, there was a meeting with city officials and representatives from the Wichita Eagle and ANS Newspapers. ANS is the entity that places the printed materials in Derby under contract with the Eagle. (Read more: DerbyInformer.com - [...]

The national debt has surpassed $23 trillion for the second time, adding $4.1 billion in one week. It broke the $23 trillion mark on Nov. 1 for the time in history, barely nine months after the debt broke records surpassing $22 trillion on Feb. 11. The debt has grown some 16 percent since President Donald Trump's inauguration, when it stood at $19.9 trillion. Of the $23 trillion, $16.98 trillion is debt held by the public and $6 trillion to intergovernmental holdings. Despite record highs in the stock market, a booming economy, record jobs and employment reports, and the longest economic expansion [...]

A libertarian public interest law firm is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to end what it says is an abusive eminent domain practice in Colorado. The Arlington, Virg.-based Institute for Justice filed a petition with the court Thursday asking it to review a Colorado Supreme Court ruling and decide if private companies can use eminent domain for their own benefit. The case involves developer Woodcrest Homes, which in 2006 purchased a plot of land to develop near Parker, Colo. The company’s development plans stalled, however, due to the 2008 housing market crisis. (Read more: DerbyInformer.com - news,news/)