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GOVERNMENT
Save the date: Big Boy, the massive steam locomotive, set to pass through Lawrence
Big Boy, the largest steam railroad locomotive ever built, will pass through Union Pacific depot in North Lawrence this fall. The 85-foot-long, 380-ton Iron Horse will take an eight-week tour across nine states, running from Sept. 8 through late October. Big Boy stopped in Lawrence twice in 2021. It will...
Kansas City, Kansas, must cut millions from its budget because of a property tax freeze
Since the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas commission decided in June to go revenue neutral — to freeze property taxes for 2025 — it has heard and discussed a lot of numbers. But there is one guiding all its decisions: $472 million. “You don’t...
Impact Day live updates: Thousands without power in Leavenworth County
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A severe thunderstorm watch is in place until 1 a.m. on Thursday for some counties in the metro area. Strong winds, heavy rain, and hail are the greatest threats from the storms, which are expected to make their way into the area on Wednesday evening.
FidPick music competition and celebration of strings to return to Lawrence
An afternoon of music, food and fun will soon take place in Lawrence with the 43rd Annual Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships, also known as FidPick. The free event, set for noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 25 at South Park, will feature live performances, a band competition and individual instrument competitions.
Lawrence City Commission general public comment for Aug. 13, 2024
The Lawrence City Commission on June 4, 2024 voted to no longer broadcast general public comment. The Lawrence Times is keeping audio and video recordings of general public comment for the record. This is the general public comment portion of the commission’s Aug. 13, 2024 meeting. Public comments may...
Leavenworth, Lansing superintendents prepare deceptive property tax presentation
Leavenworth USD 453 Superintendent Dr. Kellen Adams and Lansing USD 469 Superintendent Marty Kobza will discuss property taxes before the Leavenworth-Lansing Chamber of Commerce on September 23rd. However, the PowerPoint presentation the two leaders will use, obtained and analyzed by The Sentinel, shows many inaccuracies bordering on deception that neither will defend.
Wyandotte County braces for cuts after commissioners approve 2025 budget
WYANDOTTE COUNTY, Kan. (KCTV) - The Board of Commissioners for the Unified Government (UG) of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas passed a budget with little time to spare before Thursday evening’s deadline. The leaders agreed to a revenue neutral budget. That means that even though property values have...
Lawrence’s new interim superintendent is hopeful that ‘we’re turning the corner together’
Lawrence’s newly hired interim superintendent, Jeanice Swift, said she’s got an inkling that this year will be a new leaf for the district. “I feel like being our fifth year out of, you know, that historic time (COVID-19), this is our year,” Swift said. “We’ve reset financially, for the most part — not that we won’t have to again, we may have to again — but I think we’re turning the corner together. If communities come together, we will continue up.”
Lawrence’s annual safety fair set to return this weekend
An event this weekend will offer free bicycle helmets for kids, games, information and activities all about public safety resources in Lawrence and Douglas County. The Back to School Safety Fair is set for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17 at South Park in downtown Lawrence. Folks can...
City commissioners appoint several more people to Lawrence advisory boards, not including ex-deputy DA
Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday agreed to appointments of numerous community members to the city’s advisory boards, but not the former deputy Douglas County district attorney. Joshua Seiden, now back to private practice, had applied for one of seven seats on the Community Police Review Board. Commissioner Amber Sellers...
Unified Government commissioners approves budget with $12 million in budget cuts
WYANDOTTE COUNTY, Kan. — Commissioners are expected to approve about $12 million in cuts to the Unified Government of Wyandotte County's budget on Thursday night. The commissioners need to make these cuts to balance the budget after deciding to freeze property taxes. Most government departments are facing cuts of...
Grant to help expand conservation efforts at Mary’s Lake, Prairie Park Nature Center
Mary’s Lake, adjacent to Prairie Park Nature Center in Lawrence, will be getting a makeover aimed at advancing work to nurture the surrounding habitat. The project, set to be completed by May 2026, will include building a larger dock, adding new field observation equipment, involving Haskell Indian Nations University students in shoreline habitat restoration and more, according to a City of Lawrence news release.
Lawrence City Commission approves in-budget concept for Outdoor Aquatic Center
Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday voiced concerns about some testing that had not yet been completed for the existing Outdoor Aquatic Center but voted to move forward with a pool concept that is within the city’s budgeted amount. The city has been planning a roughly $6 million renovation of...
The UG Invites Public Input During the 2025 Budget Public Hearing
Today, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas (UG) will host a public hearing for the 2025 City and County budgets. The public hearing will occur at 6 PM in the Commission Chambers of the Municipal Building (701 N. 7th Street, KCK, KS). The purpose of this...
Headlines for Thursday, August 15, 2024
Thousands Lose Power in Kansas, Missouri as Storms Rolled Through Wednesday Night. KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KPR) — Thousands of people lost power late Wednesday night and into early Thursday morning as severe thunderstorms rolled through the area. Utility company Evergy says outages from the severe storms overnight peaked at about 37,000 customers without power throughout its service area - with Topeka, Wichita, Newton and Leavenworth heavily affected. As of 8 a.m. Thursday, Evergy had restored power for 65% of the affected customers. As of 4 p.m., about 4,500 customers were without power with about 360 outage events. A statement at the Evergy outage map website reported that the Wichita, Topeka, Newton and Leavenworth areas saw the greatest number of power outages. Evergy crews from surrounding communities have arrived to these areas to assist with power restoration. Damage reports have included broken poles, downed wires and trees in powerlines. In Topeka, where winds caused extensive damage to the power grid, restoration for some customers is expected to take until Friday evening. In the town of Sedgwick, nearly two dozen poles are being replaced, and work to restore some customers will take until Friday. Customers in other areas are expected to be restored by Thursday night. Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for northeast Kansas and western Missouri late Wednesday night and into early Thursday morning.
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