Kylie Cameron

1 week ago | kansas.com | Kylie Cameron

Fire officials are on scene of a reported barn fire in Valley Center. The fire was reported at 3:25 p.m. Tuesday in the 1300 block of South Meridian. No injuries were reported as of around 3:45 p.m., according to a Sedgwick County Emergency Communications supervisor. The fire was originally reported as a barn fire but it is not immediately clear if that was what caught fire. There are multiple commercial buildings just north of there, including a storage facility, salon and body shop.

1 week ago | kansas.com | Kylie Cameron

The city of Wichita will seek help from a consultant to find its next city manager in a nationwide search. Longtime City Manager Robert Layton announced his retirement earlier this month, sparking conversations on whether the mayor should have a stronger role in the city’s day-to-day operations. Even so, the council is moving ahead with a search for another manager. The city council will vote on issuing a request for proposals from search consultant firms at next week’s meeting.

1 week ago | kansas.com | Kylie Cameron

A statewide report is calling for Kansas to take a public health, rather than punitive, approach to help people with substance use disorders. The report was ordered by the Kansas Fights Addiction board, which will oversee allocations of more than $340 million in opioid settlement funds over the next 18 years.

2 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Chance Swaim |Kylie Cameron

Should Wichita’s mayor have more power? Or should an unelected city manager continue to be the city’s most powerful official? As it stands, the mayor is the only official elected citywide. But she has no executive powers and can’t enact her agenda without the support of three other council members, who represent smaller districts. The city manager, who is appointed by the council, prepares the budget, chooses department heads and manages the daily operations of the city government.

3 weeks ago | kansas.com | Kylie Cameron

Longtime Wichita City Manager Robert Layton is retiring at the end of the year, according to a city news release. Layton joined the city of Wichita in 2009. He helped lead the city through a number of projects, including the new Wichita Water Treatment Plant, the new baseball stadium, the Multi-Agency Center and the new Dwight D. Eisenhower Airport.