KIKS & KIOL Radio News 4/02/2019

USD 257 voters will head to the polls today  for a special school bond election.  At stake is whether Iola will build a new elementary school for $25.5 million.   There are also two other options:  to build a new science and technology building at the high school campus for $7 million and to replace heating, ventilation and cooling systems at Iola Middle School for $2.8 million.  Those two options will only occur if the elementary school passes.  Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today at the Bass North Community Building at 505 North Buckeye and the Gas Community Center.  Ballots submitted by mail must be postmarked by today and received at the clerk’s office by Friday. We’ll have results both tonight and tomorrow morning on our Facebook and Twitter pages, also on iolaradio dot com and on the air.

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The Kansas Senate voted Monday to confirm David Toland for state commerce secretary by a 23-14 vote.  He survived an effort by several groups to derail his confirmation.

KIKS & KIOL Radio News 4/01/2019

A Humboldt business is asking a judge to reverse Allen County’s decision that blocked a request to start up a rock quarry. According to The Register, D&D Propane, Inc.,  owned by David Gant of Humboldt, and his business partners at Mid-State Materials, LLC, filed a petition this week in Allen County District Court. In it, the businesses claimed Allen County commissioners Jerry Daniels, Bill King and Bruce Symes acted “unreasonably and arbitrarily” when they voted to deny a conditional use permit to quarry rock from land Gant owns between Iola and Humboldt.  The matter was previously heard by the Allen County Planning Commission which voted, 6-1, to recommend the county deny the permit.  Allen County District Judge Daniel Creitz set a scheduling and conference hearing to discuss the petition at 9:30 a.m. June 4.

KIKS & KIOL Radio News 3/28/2019

The City of Iola got some good news this week.   Iola received more than $147,000 in sales tax revenues in January.  That’s a 22 percent increase over the same period a year earlier.  City Clerk Roxanne Hutton just received the first sales tax of the year this week because the reports come in about two months after a month ends.  She told The Register that Iola’s sales tax proceeds had been stable over the first three months for the past five years.  Much of the higher revenues can be attributed to the wind farm construction in northern Allen County.   That resulted in higher receipts coming in from restaurants and grocery stores.

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Allen County Commissioners have voted to approve a $9,000 budger increase for the Allen County Fair Association.  Despite that, the fair hasn’t found anyone that wants to help them fix their hog barn.  They initiated contractor bids for the repair, but as of early this week no one had applied.  Members of the fair association have vowed to reach out personally to contractors in the area.

KIKS & KIOL Radio News 3/27/2019

Allen County Regional Hospital will pursue a possible lease with Saint Luke’s Health System.  According to The Register, this week the board of trustees signed a letter of intent to allow Saint Luke’s to review its facilities and operations, and to make an offer for a lease.   No deal has been made yet.  It is an indication that trustees want to make a management change.  The contract with Hospital Corporation of America remains in place until June 2020.

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A traffic advisory from the Kansas Department of Transportation.  U.S. 59 will be closed north of Moran from Rhode Island Road to South Dakota Road.  That will be next Monday, April 1st from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.  During the closure a wind tower crane will be moved across the highway.

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The Boil Water Advisory has been Rescinded for Allen Co. RWD 10.  KDHE says the risk of contamination are deemed to now be resolved.

KIKS & KIOL Radio News 3/26/2019

Area students at the Regional Rural Tech Center in LaHarpe can start learning wind energy technology next fall.  The Register reports that is because of an offer by Cloud County Community College to loan the necessary equipment to teach two classes.  There was also sizeable donations from other parties.   The local program was short about $245,000 to pay for the equipment, which the college uses every other semester.   The USD 257 Board of Education agreed this week to offer the wind energy technology program starting in the fall of 2019.

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The students of Allen, Fort Scott, and Neosho County community colleges will perform a combined concert, “Music from the Movies!”  It’ll be at 7 p.m. April 10 at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center.  Admission to the 10 concert is free of charge.  The three schools have been meeting together on a monthly basis to explore collaborating since November 2017.

KIKS & KIOL Radio News 3/25/2019

If you don’t think you’ll have a chance to vote  April the 2nd on the school bond issue for Iola USD 257, there are a couple of different options available for you.  Allen  County  Clerk  Sherrie  Riebel  said  she  will  keep  her  office  open  until  8  p.m.  Thursday  to  give  voters  who  wish  to  vote  in  advance  the  extra  opportunity to do so.  Advance    voting    already    can   be   done   at   the   courthouse   during   regular   business hours, up until noon on April 1.  Voters  also  can  request  a  ballot be mailed to them, but those  requests  must  be  recieved in the clerk’s office by today.  Mail-in   ballots   must   be   postmarked  by  April  2,  and  back in Riebel’s office by April 5, in order to be counted.

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NuWa to close. NuWa Industries CEO Mike Mitchell notified employees Monday the company plans to downsize and vacate its main building in the Safari Industrial Park, which has been leased to another manufacturer starting June 1. At its peak, NuWa manufactured fifth-wheel RVs with more than 100 employees in Chanute.

KIKS & KIOL Radio News 3/22/2019

The Board of Directors of Thrive Allen County has announced their new President and CEO. Lisse Regehr becomes the second President and CEO of Thrive Allen County, taking the reins from David Toland who led Thrive for 11 years. Toland resigned in January to become the Kansas Secretary of Commerce.  Regehr, whose family is originally from Allen County, was brought onboard the Thrive team as lead Navigator.  She helped build the program into a regional force that reduced the uninsured rate in Allen County from 21% in 2013 to 9% in 2018.  That’s the second biggest drop in the state of Kansas.  The Board of Directors of Thrive Allen County performed a national search for the President and CEO position and received interest from more than 25 candidates.

KIKS & KIOL Radio News 3/21/2019

The Allen County Fair Association is asking county commissioners to increase their funding by $9,000.  The Register reports that the county currently provides the fair association $11,000 per year. If the commission bumps that figure up to $20,000, improvements could be made.  Things such as new picnic tables, a better food court, new parking, signage, and a cornhole tournament.  Meanwhile, the group will continue to trim its budget and seek out new sponsorships.
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The County Health Rankings were released this week and Allen County has improved 46 spots.  Thrive Allen County points out in a Facebook post that the county is now ranked number 38 out of 105 counties in Kansas.  That’s an improvement from number 84 last year.  The group credits the improvement to creating a culture of health, including bringing down the uninsured rate, building trails, and creating better food access.

KIKS & KIOL Radio News 3/20/2019

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has expanded the previously issued boil water advisory for a portion of Allen County Rural Water District 10 to include the entire system.  This advisory took effect on March 19 and will remain in effect until the conditions that placed the system at risk of bacterial contamination are resolved.  We have a map of Allen County Rural Water District 10 on both our Twitter and Facebook pages.
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Fire officials say no one was injured in an early morning fire in Chetopa.  According to KOAM-TV, the ire started in a two-story downtown building around 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday.  The Chetopa Fire Chief, Chief of Police and Mayor had a discussion and deemed the building unsafe following today’s fire. They had the building demolished.  The cause of the fire is undetermined, but burning candles are suspected.

KIKS & KIOL Radio News 3/19/2019

One person was killed and another seriously injured in a two vehicle crash 5 miles west of Fredonia on US400 at about 4:30 Monday afternoon.  According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, 79 year old Jackie Dean Millikan died after being taken to Fredonia Regional Hospital.  74 year old Marilyn K. Millikan was also taken to Fredonia Regional Hospital with Suspected Serious Injuries.  Authorities say that their vehicle was struck by a semi as it slowed to turn on to K39.  The semi was unable to slow down in time to avoid the collision.  Both vehicles came to rest in the south ditch.  The driver of the semi from Pennsylvania was uninjured.