Newton

Country star Martina McBride came to Newton Kansas Tuesday evening to showcase her 11th album called “ELEVEN. She is traveling across the country by train, sponsored by Amtrak, and stopping in cities from Los Angeles, CA; Kansas City, MO; Newton, KS to New York City, NY. The stop was also part of Pink Together, General Mills' national breast cancer awareness campaign. Pink Together will donate $1000 to every local Susan G. Komen chapter at each of the 11 stops on McBride's tour.

After hours of public comment, the Newton City Commission voted to raise property taxes by just under two mills Tuesday night. The commission had originally proposed a three mill increase. A mill equals $1 for every $1,000 your house is appraised at. A three mill increase would mean about $30 extra for someone with a a $100,000 house. Two weeks ago, it was standing room only at city hall when people first started to speak out over the proposal. Tuesday night's meeting was moved to the high school auditorium, and the seats were still almost full.

The air conditioning is running and the dollars signs are racking up. "No one likes to see their bills go up each month it hurts everyone's wallets when that happens. " Newton resident Jill Achilles is just one of many who saw their electric bill shoot up over the past month. "It doubled from 75 to 165 this month...we have been here three years and that is the biggest bill we have had. " Triple digit days across the state are a big reason why that's happening. Achilles was able to make a payment...but there are others who simply cannot afford the bill.

Tuesday's Newton City Commission meeting drew a crowd big enough to test the fire code, and the limits of commission members. "We are here tonight to say we are not in favor of raising taxes. " Rod Nicholson kicked off a public forum where residents voiced their distaste for a proposed three mill increase, raising property taxes. A mill is equal to one dollar for every thousand dollars your home is appraised at. Mayor Ken Hall tells Eyewitness News, "In the past we've been able to pull money from reserves, but we're getting to a point where we can't do that anymore.

New Millennium Wind Energy announced Friday it's bringing its first manufacturing plant to Newton. Governor Sam Brownback and other officials were there for the announcement. The company hopes to employ 70 people in the first year and eventually bring than number to more than 350 jobs in three to four years. The plant is expected to be operational by mid-2012. New Millenium plans to commit $20 - 30 million in resources. Read the press release from Gov. Brownback below: Governor Announces New Manufacturer will bring 350 Jobs to Kansas by Governor Sam Brownback on Friday, July 15, 2011 at 1:54pm Newton - Kansas Governor Sam Brownback announced that Colorado-based New Millennium Wind Energy has chosen the Kansas Logistics Park in Newton as the site of its first manufacturing facility.

Triple digit heat did not keep the crowds from the 48 th annual “Fly-In” held at the Newton airport. Planes of all shapes and sizes were not only on display on the ground but also in the sky. “Young Eagles” was one of the most popular programs Saturday afternoon; the program gives kids a chance to learn everything they can about air travel. On the ground, kids are shown how the plane works and what makes it fly. Then once up in the air each kid gets a hands-on course on actually how to fly a plane.

The 48th Air Capital EAA Chapter 88 Fly-In will be in Newton, Kansas on Saturday, July 2, 2011. Gates will be open between 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is $5.00 per person, 17 & under will be admitted for free. Events of the day will include static airplane displays, a pancake breakfast, young eagle rides, and youth building activities. The show will conclude with a flight performance which will start at 2:15 p.m. An awards banquet will be held in the evening at the Best Western 1301 E. 1st Street, Newton.

Living in Newton may have just gotten a little safer and more efficient. city leaders today dedicated the new fire/ems station in south Newton. It's been in the works for years. The new station was built as "green" as possible, with highly efficient appliances and mechanical systems. But, most importantly, the new facility will address lengthy response times newton has been battling for years. Fire/EMS Chief Gary Denny says, "Newton's had tremendous growth on the south side, so our response times did lengthen with that growth.

Hundreds of millions of your tax dollars will soon pay for road projects in Kansas. Tuesday Governor Sam Brownback unveiled the next ten year transportation plan for South Central Kansas.  36 miles of road in Wichita, Newton, Kingman and Hutchison will see $529 million in improvements. Some of those improvements include the interchanges at Kellogg and I-235 in Wichita and a one mile expansion of Highway 50 in Newton.  "This is a huge significant day for the region," said Newton City Manager Randy Riggs.  He and others attending the announcement feel that way because ten projects received funding for the next transportation plan.

Sunset Elementary School in Newton was put under lockdown for a short time this morning after shots were fired at a home near the school. Harvery County authorities tell us the 'shots fired' call came out at a home near the school.  The school district tells us the students are okay and the lockdown was just a precaution.