Greg Riat News Today

Expansion of the Pottawatomie County Commission won’t occur until 2024. County Counselor John Watt informed commissioners Monday that when voters approved expanding the county board from three to five seats this past November, the decision triggered a number of statutes, including whether expansion would occur as part of a special election or at the next [...]

Pottawatomie County Commissioners on Monday unanimously approved a conditional use permit request for a bed and breakfast to be located in the Green Valley area. The permit spells out seven conditions for the property, including having a limit of no more than eight rooms to be rented to guests, smoke detection devices to be installed [...]

Pottawatomie County commissioners this week approved a conditional use permit for a rock quarry to go in near Wheaton. The vote was 2-1 in favor of Mid-States Materials and came after months of discussion on the topic and a number of protests from residents who live near the planned quarry. It will be constructed about [...]

Pottawatomie County commissioners capped a busy day Monday with decisions on two of three conditional use permits in front of them. During their regular morning session in Westmoreland, the commission approved a pair of conditional use permits for rural properties north of Rock Creek High School wanting to host events, such as weddings and other [...]

Pottawatomie County commissioners made very little movement Monday in considering two conditional use permits for rural properties north of Rock Creek High School. After spending over an hour discussing the request by Greg Ferkol for a children’s play area and accompanying event space, commissioners voted to proceed with the play area under a rural tourism [...]

Pott County commissioners weigh in on solar regulation draft plan Pottawatomie County commissioners Greg Riat (left) and Dee McKee (right) discuss proposed zoning regulations for solar energy farms Monday in Westmoreland. (Brandon Peoples/KMAN) Uncertainty remains over how Pottawatomie County will go about finalizing its draft regulations governing solar energy farms. County Planner Stephan Metzger sought guidance from county commissioners Monday, over how to best proceed. Commissioner Pa...

Pott. County COVID-19-related hospitalization numbers About five Pottawatomie County residents were hospitalized with COVID-19 complications as of Monday’s report. However, Leslie Campbell, Pottawatomie County health director, told the Pott. County Commission on Monday that area hospitals are taking in out-of-county patients as well. The Onaga Community Healthcare System has people from Jackson, Nemaha (and) Marshall (County) all in the hospital,” Campbell said. “So there’s more people ...

Pottawatomie County swears in recently elected officials This slideshow requires JavaScript. Six recently elected Pottawatomie County officials were sworn into office during the Pottawatomie County Commission’s on Monday. Dawn Henry, Pottawatomie County clerk, was the only official sworn in who is entering their first term. She is succeeding Nancy McCarter, who spent over 20 years with the county. Among the other officials sworn in during the meeting were Pat Weixelman, county commissio...

Belvue Bridge Pottawatomie County commissioners agreed Monday to pursue a grant in conjunction with Wabaunsee County that could potentially cover the entire cost of the Belvue Bridge project. If awarded, the grant could pay for about $11 million in improvements to extend the life of the bridge by about 100 years. However, if the two counties do not get the grant, they will stick with the originally agreed upon $7.5 million project with Pottawatomie County paying for 83 percent and Wabaunsee C...