Author: Jared Hitchens

Session Has Reached The Halfway Point Lawmakers are now on a five-day break having spent last week working through numerous bills and trying to beat the Turnaround deadline; Thursday was the last day for the House and Senate to pass their own bills and send them over to the other side of the Statehouse. They will be back in business this Wednesday.   K-12 Cost Study Last Friday, lawmakers received an early sense of what to expect from the K-12 school finance study being conducted by Professor Lori Taylor of Texas A&M University. Taylor and her team have been commissioned by the state to review previous school finance studies, which… Read More

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From cutlery, to counter and catering equipment, and everything in between, Muckenthaler Inc. guarantees to meet your kitchen equipment needs. Serving the food service industry since 1970, this family owned business strives to meet the needs of its various clients, including schools, hospitals, restaurants and bars. Muckenthaler’s services include equipment delivery, installment and set up. Also, its knowledgeable staff is always eager to lend you valuable advice and provide you with equipment at a fair price.  With a head office in Emporia and an additional branch in Topeka, Muckenthaler is one of the leading commercial kitchen equipment and restaurant supplier in Northeast Kansas. Visit Muckenthaler’s website here for more information. 

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Pinnacle Staffing Group is a full-service staffing, recruiting and payroll firm with an emphasis on delivering outstanding customer service. This locally owned business is committed to providing the resources you need to help grow and sustain your business potential. With over 50 years of combined experience in the staffing, recruiting and payroll fields, Pinnacle Staffing’s goal is to customize a comprehensive solution that best benefits your organization. If you need a solution for payroll, HR, or Benefits Administration; want additional employees for a few hours or a few days, Pinnacle Staffing Group is ready to assist. For more information on Pinnacle Staffing Group, visit its website here. 

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Young Living Essential Oils is a renowned global essential oil supplier as well as the only supplier that is FDA approved. While the company is known for its quality oils, its overall mission is to provide methods to live a cleaner life. For Topeka Young Living representative Aimee Kosmala there is no doubt that what we put in and around our bodies affects our well-being. “For me,” says Aimee, “health is a lifestyle.” “I turned to Young Living after having suffered from chronic migraines. And after slowly substituting many of my household products for more Young Living’s more natural alternatives, I can honestly say I haven’t had a migraine since.”… Read More

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Small Business at the Statehouse On Tuesday, the Topeka Chamber, the Wichita Independent Business Association and the National Federation of Independent Business co-hosted a small business day at the Statehouse. Small business owners from across the state, including several members of the Chamber’s Small Business Council, gathered to hear from Senate President Susan Wagle, House Speaker Ron Ryckman, Senator Taxation Chair and 2nd District Congressional Candidate Caryn Tyson and Governor Jeff Colyer. Attendees learned about the school finance litigation and the legislature’s possible response to it. They also heard the new governor’s perspective on what it will take to grow Kansas’ economy in the future. Key on his mind, as on every business owners’: developing a… Read More

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State of the State 2.0 Last Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Jeff Colyer addressed a joint session of the legislature. His policies seem generally aligned with those of the Brownback administration. He announced nothing which would require amending the former governor’s proposed budget, which Colyer presumably helped draft. He pledged to work with lawmakers to keep schools open without raising taxes and to improve health care for Kansans. Colyer described his program entitled “My (Re)Employment Plan” designed to help fired or laid-off Kansans assess and improve their job skills and find a new job quickly. He repeated his commitment to upgrade transparency in government and followed-up later in the week with several… Read More

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From the local chocolatiers at Hazel Hill Chocolate Traditions comes a new line of chocolate that emphasizes the flavors of the product’s single origin. The aptly named Single Origin Chocolate is made from raw cacao sourced from separate regions from around the world. The individual bars are named from their place of origin, which include Sur Del Lago from Venezuela, Sambirano from Madagascar and Lam Dong from Vietnam. “This is something that not many in my field are doing,” that being “taking heirloom cacao with regional flavor and using them for food,” says owner Nick Xidis. Utilizing its own separate kitchen, located in the lower level of the shop, Hazel… Read More

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Governor Coyler Sworn-in Jeff Coyler was sworn in as the Governor of Kansas last Wednesday afternoon on the first floor of the Statehouse. The new Governor has alluded to setting a new tone in the Governor’s office, though the particulars of what that will mean remain obscure. He did quickly make some staff changes appointing, for example, Johnson County representative Larry Campbell as his new budget director and dubbing previous budget director, Shawn Sullivan, as his new Chief Operating Officer. He has also indicated a desire to repair relations between the governor’s office and the legislature.  Governor Coyler will be offering new rules this week addressing sexual harassment in state… Read More

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