On November 4th this year, the new playground in City Park will officially open. It has slides both tall and shorter in size, climb up ramps, monkey bars, rotating hanging bars, a padded ground and has some shade from the nearby trees. Source: The Ottawa Herald

The town of Richmond is not catching on fire, but you’ll certainly see red when you notice the new fire station which is East of Highway 59 Service Station. The 80ft. X 76ft. steel-sided building was designed by Ken Coleman and built by Quality Structures in what seemed like a short amount of time. “Quality Structures is proud to help serve the city of Richmond and local communities,” said Rick Gudenkauf, General Manager. This is only one of numerous projects QSI has helped with or been almost totally responsible for as in the case of the Show Barn for the Richmond [...]

When Melody and Dusty Gentry opened Not Lost Brewing in downtown Ottawa a few years ago, they wanted to share their passion for brewing specially crafted beers one glass at a time. The idea for the hometown brew pub was to introduce locals to different varieties of beer beyond the common commercial domestic types with brews such as Blackberry Milkshake India Pale Ale or Blueberry Wheat. While they also wanted to feature a few menu options like hummus, charcuterie plates and sandwiches and chips that would pair well and complement the craft brews on tap, the focus was always on showcasing [...]

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Kansas Attorney General’s Office, the Kansas Highway Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations announced a new collaborative initiative to combat fentanyl in Kansas called the Joint Fentanyl Impact Team. The objective of JFIT is to identify and disrupt fentanyl trafficking and distribution networks, and remove this deadly drug from Kansas streets. The team is comprised of KBI special agents, KHP troopers and HSI agents experienced in complex narcotics investigations. Team members are embedded alongside federal, state and local law enforcement officers operating all across Kansas. This task force will allow for increased coordination of intelligence, personnel, and [...]

Ottawa residents will get a chance to meet the individuals vying to be the next city manager during a meet-and-greet event next week. The reception is scheduled from 5:30 – 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28, at the Bottle House, 204 S. Walnut. Commissioners will spend two days, Feb. 28 and March 1, to determine who will be one step closer to filling the vacancy. Ottawa City Manager Richard Nienstedt announced his intent to retire in mid-October after 15 years spent managing the city’s day-to-day operations. His last day will be March 31. Source: The Ottawa Herald

After 15 years serving the City of Ottawa, City Manager Richard Nienstedt will retire March 31. Nienstedt made the announcement during a special Ottawa City Commission meeting Wednesday morning. Fifteen years ago, the city commission then honored me and humbled me by asking me (wife) Rita and I to be a part of this community, he said. And this is a great community. It has had the best leadership on the elected level and on the appointed level that I ever had in my almost 43 years of doing this. The next five months, Nienstedt told commissioners, will be a busy [...]

Williamsburg held its annual Mardi Gras Parade over the weekend as an early celebration of the holiday, which falls on Tuesday, March 1 this year. Mardi Gras, French for Fat Tuesday, originated as a way for Christians to have one last day of feasting before Lent begins the next day. The city of New Orleans holds a world-famous Mardi Gras celebration each year, but for those who couldn’t make it to the Big Easy, Williamsburg held its very own mini-parade, complete with a Cajun feast. All proceeds from the dinner went to the Wellsville Community Building. The event was sponsored by [...]

The Franklin County Public Works Department announced Friday that it has received $1.8 million in reimbursement funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to pay for the repair work conducted over a two-year period after severe flooding damaged roadways, bridges and ditches around the county in 2019. In 2019, four separate weather events brought over 5 inches of water within a 12-hour period, causing massive flooding throughout Franklin County. According to the Public Works Department, over 300 road sites needed repair following the floods. During a normal year, the Public Works Department receives about 900 work orders; in 2019 they [...]

Plans are underway to connect a Civil War-era commercial port on the Missouri river and a Kansas City, Kansas, park where Lewis and Clark once camped. KCUR-FM reports that the Northeast Kansas City, Kansas, Heritage Trail came to life when the Groundwork Northeast Revitalization Group partnered with the Unified Government to apply for a grant from the Mid-America Regional Council. They were awarded $108,000, supplemented by a $30,000 match from the UG. The south end of the trail will be Kaw Point Park, part of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers. [...]