There’s nothing like a flasher in the middle of the street to get your attention. More and more motorists in the Kansas City area are encountering them, but they’re not the indecent kind. These are flashing yellow arrows on traffic lights that are supposed to make left turns safer than the familiar “yield on green” …
State corrections officials says most inmates serving time in county jails for sex crimes or murder have been moved back to state prisons. The move comes after four inmates, including one convicted of two murders, escaped from the Ottawa County jail earlier this month. The prisoners were all caught within three days. But the escape …
The Kansas Underground Salt Museum opened its doors — actually its elevator shaft — five years ago on May 1, and donors, board members, staff, volunteers and contributors through the years are being invited back for a “birthday party” on Monday. “It’s a chance to say thank you to those who were never properly thanked,” …
Barber Elementary School, Trails West Junior High and Lawrence North High School. None of these is in Lawrence, but they very well could have been if conversations in the community had swayed a little differently. While it is hard to imagine our schools named anything other than what they are now, back before the first …
Shawnee County has 48 properties appraised at more than $10 million. Thirty-two of them don’t pay property taxes. In fact, 1,743 properties in Shawnee County are exempt from property tax — either by state statutes, like government offices, churches and hospitals, or by the local government to encourage economic development. If all those properties were …
When Travis Cunningham received a speeding ticket in Wichita, he decided to fight it and, along the way, stumbled onto a curious fact: While the posted speed on that section of Kellogg is 45 mph, the legal speed limit — the one that counts in court — is 55. Wichita Municipal Court records show that …
An exhibit on work in America in the early 1900s opens next week in a small eastern Kansas town, beginning a yearlong celebration that will culminate with a national exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution. Franklin will open the Miners Hall Museum on Tuesday in a former coal mining camp’s former union hall. Starting May 1, …
A STAR bond district at K-96 and Greenwich will return before the Wichita City Council on Tuesday because of a defect in the district ordinance omitting the project’s centerpiece development. Council members will consider setting a June 5 public hearing on the district ordinance, which the city’s bond counsel wants amended to include the STAR …
Greensburg is commemorating the 5 year anniversary of the tornado striking the community – and the recovery since then. A number of events are scheduled, and the city has posted two related videos to its website – one is a commercial and the other is a message from the Mayor Bob Dixson. Learn more at …
We mentioned a couple weeks ago how Elk County students got to see local government in action. Last night, college students in KCK had the same opportunity. According to the Wyandotte Daily News, a State and Local Government class at Donnelly College (in KCK) taught by former Mayor Carol Marinovich visited the Unified Government Commission …
A House-Senate conference committee could breathe new life into a Wichita-inspired proposal to help voters understand ballot measures they vote on. Members of the House Elections Committee asked their Senate counterparts to consider adding language to a bill to allow officials to provide an explanation when it’s not clear to voters what a particular ballot …
Kansas would cut its sales, business and individual income taxes — eventually by at least $500 million a year — under a new plan designed to stimulate the state’s economy, but critics worry it would create budget problems. Negotiators for the Kansas House and Senate agreed on the plan Thursday. The compromise legislation reconciles numerous …
It’s just as he found it, Pete Clark said. The Wellsville property owner’s historic building at 418 Main St., was reported “unsafe” Wednesday evening at a Wellsville City Council meeting. Clark, who’s owned the building since 1993, said the city became interested in the building’s structural integrity after a another historic Franklin County building recently …
The city of Bonner Springs will celebrate National Drinking Water Week, May 6-12, by reminding area residents how fortunate they are to have safe, clean and affordable water. The Utilities Department will offer an Open House from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, May 11, at the Public Works Joint Operation Facility, 12401 Kaw …
Preparing the site for a building pad for the new Allen County Hospital is progressing smoothly, said Sheldon Streeter, a project developer with Murray Company out of Overland Park. “We’re continuing to dance backward so it doesn’t rain,” he said of the good weather they’ve had for the earthwork. Streeter and David Wright, architect with …