HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The economic impact that the CHS refinery turnaround had on the area showed with this month’s sales tax report.

The shutdown and maintenance project in McPherson was a shot in the arm for the Hutchinson economy as workers stayed in the city and purchased clothing and other items.

May sales tax revenue totaled $387,558 — a jump of more than $27,000 from May of last year. It’s also more than $48,000 higher than last month. City Manager John Deardoff says the numbers continue to look good for the year. “I think that we’ve had four out of the five months we’ve seen a positive increase over the same time period last year,” Deardoff said. “Probably a pretty good indication of some of the construction that is going on in the area.”

Deardoff says the CHS turnaround has been good for the area and expects more. “ I think the trend is there and hopefully the next few months will continue to show that,” Deardoff said.

The turnaround at CHS happens every four years. Many hotels and stores around Hutchinson reported very high sales traffic during that time. The state fair campgrounds were nearly full. The sales tax reports are expected to reflect that for another two months.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Kansas State Fair announced it filled the last spot in the grandstand concert lineup.

Hanson, the trio of brothers whose ’90s hit “MMMBop” vaulted them to teenaged stardom, is coming to the Kansas State Fair. The Tulsa, Oklahoma-based pop rock band will close out the Nex-Tech Wireless Grandstand Concert Series on Sept. 14. Tickets go on sale at 8 a.m. this Friday.

The catchy 1997 hit “MMMBop” made Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson a household name. They were imprinted on hearts, minds — and yes, bedroom walls — across the globe. Their album, “Middle of Nowhere,” sold 10 million copies worldwide. “We are very excited to bring the Hanson brothers to the Nex-Tech Wireless Grandstand,” fair General Manager Robin Jennison said. “This is another great show for our concert series, and it will be a fun way to close out our nighttime events at the 2019 Kansas State Fair.” The fair is selling premium tickets for $55 in the Bud Light Party Pit – a standing-room-only area right in front of the grandstand stage. The grandstand’s center section is $30. All other tickets are $20.

Marketing Director Amy Bickel said the goal is to create a festive atmosphere that is affordable for all fairgoers. “We want this to be a concert where fans can come with family or have a reunion with friends,” Bickel said. “Many of the tickets are only $20, which includes the $7 gate admission through Aug. 11. It is an inexpensive way to see a great concert and spend a day at the Kansas State Fair.”

The group has had hits in recent years, too. “Anthem,” released in 2013, charted No. 22 on the Billboard 200, making it their eighth album to chart on the Top 40. A single from that album, “Get the Girl Back,” reached No. 39 on the Adult Pop Songs chart.

Isaac, Taylor and Zac will be 38, 36 and 33, respectively when they perform on the grandstand stage in September. Besides their beloved ’90s hits, the trio will perform other favorites from the 10 studio albums they have released in the past 25 years.

 

Here is the full Nex-Tech Wireless Grandstand lineup:

• Bobby Bones and the Raging Idiots with Nicolle Galyon. Friday, Sept. 6: Tickets from $20-$65. This comedy act is comprised of Bones, who hosts the nationally syndicated “The Bobby Bones Show,” along with Producer Eddie and a group of random friends. Galyon, a native of Sterling, Kansas, is a successful Nashville songwriter with several hit country songs.

• Billy Currington, Saturday, Sept. 7: Tickets from $25-$65. Grammy-Award nominee Currington has 20 Top 40 hits, including No. 1 songs “Must Be Doin’ Somethin’ Right,” “Pretty Good at Drinkin’ Beer,” “Do I Make You Wanna” and “People are Crazy.”

• Skillet, Sunday, Sept. 8: Tickets from $20-$55. This quartet has cemented its place as one of the 21st century’s most successful rock bands. Their single “Monster” is the eighth most-streamed rock song of 2015 with more than 57 million plays on Spotify. “Monster” also earned the distinction of becoming the best-selling digital single in the history of Christian music.

• Demolition Derby, Monday, Sept. 9: An affordable family affair – this night of destruction occurs on Dillons Dollar Day. Gate admission is just $1 or free with a Dillons Plus Card. Demolition Derby tickets are $10 for adults 13 and over. Children 12 and under are free.

• Francesca Battistelli and Zach Williams, Wednesday, Sept. 11: Tickets from $20-$50. Battistelli, a contemporary singer/songwriter, has seven No. 1 singles. Her hits include “Holy Spirit,” “Free to Be Me” and “Beautiful, Beautiful.” Williams made music history when he achieved two consecutive No. 1 radio hits for a total of 35 weeks with “Chain Breaker” and “Old Church Choir.”

• Lauren Alaina with Mitchell Tenpenny, Friday, Sept. 13: Tickets from $20-$55. Alaina, a runner-up on Season 10 of American Idol, includes her first No. 1 hit, the title track “Road Less Traveled.” Breakout artist Tenpenny’s single, “Drunk Me,” recently hit No. 1 on the country chart. His latest single is “Alcohol You Later.”

• Hanson, Saturday, Sept. 14: Tickets from $20-$55. Hanson hit it big in 1997 with “MMMBop.” Their “Middle of Nowhere” album garnished them multiple Grammy nominations and five consecutive Top 40 singles besides “MMMBop,” including “Where’s the Love,” “I Will Come to You” and “Weird.”

• All Star Monster Truck Tour, Sunday, Sept. 15: Tickets from $5 to $35. Rev up your engines, the All Star Monster Truck Tour, featuring BIGFOOT, the king of monster trucks, will invade the Nex-Tech Wireless Grandstand. The VIP Monster Experience is $35, which includes gate admission, admission to the show, reserved seating, meet and greet with drivers and a ride in a monster truck.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson Police Department held a swearing-in ceremony for its second K-9 unit.

Officer Cory Schmidt and Nika were joined by members from Cause for Paws and other special guests. Hutchinson Police Chief Jeff Hooper says the addition of a K-9 unit has been successful. “Within the first month or so they’ve made over 20 arrests already . . . that we would have never been able to make,” Hooper said. “Cause for Paws stepped up and saw the good work we were doing in the community . . . and really wanted a second team.” Like her predecessor, Tank, Nika is trained in narcotics detection and tracking.

While the first K-9 unit has a protective vest for Tank, Nika is still without one. Hooper says they are working to acquire a vest with the help of a young Pennsylvania resident. “Her name is Peyton and she dedicates helping law enforcement agencies raise money to buy vests for K-9 officers. And so we . . . are helping her raise money for Nika’s vest,” Hooper said.

The police department is selling T-shirts to help raise funds. For more information, you can contact the Hutchinson Police Department.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — It has been protecting Hutchinson from flooding for almost 65 years.

The Arkansas River and Cow Creek floodways and levee systems have kept the downtown area and other parts of Hutchinson from being inundated by the two waterways since they were christened in 1955.

Brian Clennan with Hutchinson Public Works says the levee system is doing its job. “The levee system is holding up well,” Clennan said. “We are seeing quite a bit of seepage on the dry side of the levee with the high groundwater table and ground saturation, but nothing we’re concerned with.”

Clennan says the levee has shown no signs of any damage but they will have to wait until the water fully recedes before they can do a complete inspection. “We’re not seeing any damage to the levee system right now. As the flood waters recede then we may (see) some,” Clennan added.

Clennan says the levee is monitored 24-7 and will continue to be watched until the flooding is over.

Construction of the levee began in 1952 and the city took ownership of the system in 1955 from the Army Corps of Engineers. In 1953, it was estimated the value of the property protected by the levee system was $134 million.

HUTCHINSON — Some roads around the county are opening again as floodwaters recede. The area was spared heavy rain Thursday night — but more is in the forecast through Tuesday with chances for severe weather.

The Kansas Department of Transportation opened US 50 from Hutchinson to Newton just before 10 a.m. Friday and all roads in and out of Buhler are open again.

All three waterways the northern parts of Reno County are forecast to fall throughout the next few days. Heavy rain could change that and river levels could start to rise again.

At Cheney Reservoir, the lake level hit more than 1,430 feet Thursday and is currently at 1,429.9 and falling slowly. The flood gates are open and, for the first time in several days, more water is going out of the lake than coming in.

An updated list of road closings can be found on hutchpost.com.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The City of Hutchinson has several storm sewer outfalls that are completely submerged because of flooding to the Arkansas River.

The current forecast predicts 3.5 inches of rain to fall in Hutchinson between Thursday and Saturday morning. For a small portion of the city, there is nowhere for additional rain to go.

City officials say they are installing additional pumps in high-risk areas to lessen the impact, however, this will not mitigate the flooding completely.

The city has delivered a pile of sand and a pallet of empty sandbags to Avenue C between Main and Walnut for use by Hutchinson residents.

A volunteer will be there to hand out empty sandbags. When possible, the volunteer will assist those not able to fill the sandbags themselves.

Officials advise residents to bring a shovel and help themselves to the sand.

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE INTERACTIVE FLOODPLAIN MAP

CHENEY, Kan. — The Bureau of Land Management has opened the flood gates at Cheney Reservoir as the lake rose to a near record level of 1,430 feet above sea level. With that, the gates were opened slightly around 6 a.m. Plans are to increase the outflow over the rest of the day Wednesday.

Sedgwick County says release water will flow first along the 15 miles of the North Fork of the Ninnescah River from below the dam “to the confluence with the South Fork,” according to a news release from the county. That area is quickly flooding from the release and will continue to do so.

The Army Corps of Engineers determined Tuesday afternoon that the gates would stay closed, but when the lake quickly rose above the flood pool, the Bureau of Land Management took authority over the lake and made the decision to open the gates. Officials are warning people downstream from Cheney that flooding is likely and residents in flood-prone areas should take precautions.

As of 9 a.m., the lake level was at 1,429.8 feet with a spillway release of about 1,280 cubic feet per second. The lake is still taking in about 9,000 cubic feet per second from runoff and the Ninnescah River.

 

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Work continues sifting through protest petitions that were presented to Reno County by landowners objecting to the NextEra project.

The county scheduled two meetings on Tuesday to address the protests but several legal issues surfaced and the time needed to study the legal information was too great.

County Counselor Joe O’Sullivan says the county received more than 250 petitions on the project. Out of that, about 40% have been deemed invalid due to the landowner not being eligible. Only landowners within 1000-feet of a property with a turbine are allowed to protest, according to O’Sullivan.

The petitions are being reviewed by O’Sullivan, County consultant Russ Ewy and the attorney representing Reno County Citizens for Quality of Life LLC.

O’Sullivan says the NextEra case also brings along many other scenarios. The County Attorney tells Hutchpost.com that he expects the issue to go to court regardless of how the county commission votes on the matter. “There is a lot invested in this,” O’Sullivan said. “We could see a lot of new case study that doesn’t exist.”

O’Sullivan says the legal issues could also set a precedent for future wind development in the state.

” A lot of other counties are looking at us that are in some phase of a similar project,” O’Sullivan added. He noted the legal issues could make it all the way to the supreme court depending on the outcome of this protest. If the protests are deemed valid the County Commission would have to vote 3-0 to approve NextEra’s conditional use permit for the wind farm. But as O’Sullivan said that would likely not be the final say.

The hearing for the NextEra project is tentatively set for Tuesday, June 11.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. – Colleges continue to see declining enrollment and that includes Hutchinson Community College. Dr. Carter File, President of the college says a good economy and good job numbers mean fewer people are going to college.

He says that’s not just here in Hutchinson, but is a trend that officials with the Kansas Board of Regents say they’re seeing across the state.

“College-going rates in Kansas are decreasing and they haven’t pinpointed why that is,” said File. “The students who are leaving high school and going to a community college, tech college or a university is going down. At the same time, our population is now growing and many of our models have been built on growth models. As a system, we are struggling with where do we get the enrollment?”

However, the good news are the jobs of the future. Those jobs will need to be filled with employees that have some college training and education according to File. “Something to the amount of 70% of all jobs that will be created in the Kansas economy will need some post-secondary education,” Said File. “Not necessarily a baccalaureate degree, not necessarily an associates degree. Might be a one year certificate in a trade, a one year certificate in automated engineering technology or HVAC, you know, electrical technology.” He adds that they know they need to get those students in but right now that are choosing to do something else.

Of course, if you want one of those jobs or maybe you want to change careers, you can enroll at Hutchinson Community College and even work to use some credits at the local college for use at a four-year institution.