Municipal News & Jobs

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

The Garden City Commission packet is getting a monthly financial report once again. Jared Kuhlmann, Garden City Finance Director, presented and explained the new, monthly Financial Report that they will provide to the Commission’s meeting packets at its regular meeting on March 17. Kuhlmann said a few years ago a Financial Report was included in every other meeting’s packet, but they went away from that when they got Tyler Software, which they use for tracking finances. But they felt it was prudent, after looking at the performance metrics, to bring it back.
Read more: Garden City Telegram

Manhattan city commissioners on Tuesday weighed their options on addressing street conditions and related funding decisions. Pavement Condition Index values provide a rating of pavement conditions and integrity through a 0-100 range. Manhattan city roadways were generally found to be in fair condition, averaging a 60 rating. City engineer and public works director Brian Johnson said the city’s current “backlog” of road maintenance has reached 18%, meaning those roads require full or partial reconstruction.
Read more: News Radio KMAN

Child Care Aware of Kansas has recognized the Ellis County Child Care Task Force as a Child Care Community Champion. This award honors the Task Force’s “outstanding dedication and commitment to strengthening local child care systems.” This recognition is a part of the Child Care Friendly Communities initiative, a statewide program that uplifts community-led efforts to make child care accessible, sustainable, and supportive for Kansas families and providers.
Read more: Hays Daily News

Governor Laura Kelly signed House Bill (HB) 2433 into law on Friday March 20, 2026. Following passage by both the Kansas House and Senate, HB2433 (sponsored by Kansas Representative Barbara Wasinger), the bill was presented to the Governor on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. State control of the water appropriation/transfer process is now spelled out in detail, placing authority over water transfers and appropriations with the State’s Chief Engineer and the Water Transfer Hearing Panel, except for domestic use. This means counties may not impose their own restrictions, fees or license/permitting/zoning requirements for water transfers. The newly enacted law applies both retroactively and prospectively, which means that any existing county resolutions which conflict with State authority (such as those enacted by Edwards County) are nullified.
Read more: Hays Daily News

As Johnson County residents face higher property taxes, a Shawnee man has created a website to help them appeal their property’s valuation. Even as most local governments have kept a flat mill levy for this year, many homeowners still face an increase in their property tax bills, reflective of the ever-rising home values across nearly all of Johnson County. That’s why Shawnee resident Ben Jacobi wanted to figure out a way to provide residents of Johnson and Wyandotte counties some relief. “I see the conversations dominating these neighborhood groups that I’m in on Facebook. People are very emotional, they’re very upset. So you combine that with the fact that a lot of people just don’t like navigating (the) government… I figured there’s got to be a way to make it easier,” he said. In his free time during the past two months, Jacobi used his 25 years of software development experience and love of crunching numbers to create TaxEquity. With assistance from real estate agent Doug Pearce, the site helps property owners gauge if their property value may be calculated too high and, if so, helps them appeal it.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Designs revealed for a new bike-centric park in Shawnee show a new area aimed at attracting cyclists of all ages. At the Shawnee Council Committee meeting on Monday, the design firm Vireo presented its master plan for the 170-acre Rail Creek Park, a proposed park in the city. Plans for the park include bike pump tracks, a bike playground, a kids playground, restroom building and shade structure. It would also give the Donderdag! Youth Cyclocross program a new place to ride with more space.
Read more: Johnson County Post

A new Kansas law banning cell phones and other electronic devices in schools is expected to cost local districts significant money and staff time because of a requirement that the devices be securely stored in a place inaccessible to students, say officials at some Johnson County school districts. Most local schools’ policies currently in effect allow students to keep devices in backpacks or lockers, as long as they don’t use them during class time. That makes the costs and management of the new storage requirement the biggest question mark about the new law, district officials said.
Read more: Johnson County Post

U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and Michael Bennet have introduced the bipartisan Rural Hospital Revitalization Act to strengthen rural hospitals across the country. The legislation would provide zero-interest loans through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Community Facilities Direct Loan Program, supporting new construction and renovations of existing hospital facilities to improve access to essential health care services. To qualify, hospitals must be in counties with fewer than 20,000 residents, located at least 35 miles from the nearest hospital (or 15 miles in mountainous or limited-access areas), or be designated as a Critical Access Hospital or Rural Emergency Hospital. Applicants must also demonstrate financial stability and need.
Read more: KCLY Radio

It’s hard for Cara Cain to decide what she will miss most. She’s the manager at Grand Avenue Market, a local nonprofit grocery store opened in 2021 that is set to close this month. Maybe it will be the customers and interacting with locals as they stop by. Or maybe her coworkers she has grown close to. Later, she mentions the special produce she has ordered for customers, like cactus, and thinks she will miss having access to the grocery store herself. “Unfortunately, there was just no other options right now. we’re really hoping a miracle happens because it’s been really helpful to the community as a whole,” Cain said. Prices are up for rural grocers, margins are thin, staff are hard to find and transportation costs are higher for small-town stores. Communities across Kansas have been attempting new ways to fill in the grocery gaps. But some of those solutions are coming up short. More than 30 percent of Kansas counties are struggling to keep their grocery stores open and stocked, creating so-called “food deserts.”
Read more: KLC Journal

Sedgwick County Emergency Communications announced the launch of its new fire response system on Wednesday. The Fire Dispatch Priority System tells dispatchers what questions to ask to gather critical information quickly. It also helps them provide important guidance to callers, such as how to safely exit a building. “This enhancement builds upon an already strong and effective system,” Director Elora Forshee said in a news release. “Our goal is to continue refining and strengthening service delivery while maintaining the high level of service our community and public safety partners expect.”
Read more: KSN-TV

Efforts are underway to fill more than 4,000 vacant lots in Kansas City, Kansas, with a focus on the northeast area of the city. The initiative aims to turn empty spaces into attainable homeownership opportunities while decreasing the property tax burden on residents. New homes take shape as long-awaited plan to transform 4,000 vacant KCK lots comes to fruition. Michael Sutton, the Unified Government redevelopment coordinator and co-land bank manager, said the majority of the land bank properties are in the northeast, east of Interstate 635, north of Parallel Parkway and west of the river.
Read more: KSHB News

Leavenworth County is the latest Kansas City-area community that could be seeing a data center come online. During a nearly six-hour work session at the March 18 Leavenworth County Commissioner meeting, commissioners heard from Kansas state employees and developer Cloverleaf about a proposed hyperscale data center.
While no official filings have been made with the county regarding data center development, Leavenworth County Commissioner Mike Stieben told KSHB 41 News the proposal is “well beyond its preliminary phases.” The project would be located on nearly 1,000 acres of land on Tailgate Ranch, just south of Tonganoxie.
While specific details about Project Bluestem are still unknown, hyperscale data centers use upwards of 75 megawatts of electricity a day. That’s the equivalent of powering 25,000 homes or a small city. The massive tech campuses use millions of gallons of water daily to cool the thousands of computers and hardware servers inside the buildings.
Read more: KSHB News

With the Wyandotte County property valuation appeal deadline quickly approaching on Thursday, March 26, neighbors are stepping up to help each other navigate the process. Residents are seeing a huge spike in property valuations this year. Jodi Maxey built her dream home in Edwardsville and moved in around September 2021. When she received her valuation, she saw the value of her house jump by $114,000.
We met Tuesday to talk about the valuations. Maxey, who is a mortgage underwriter, pulled her own comparable properties and said she has no idea how the county came up with her house value. Maxey said she understands the need for property taxes, but she wants the county to look at cutting its budget instead of constantly increasing the burden on homeowners.
Read more: KSHB News

The countdown to the FIFA World Cup 2026 is on, and Johnson County is preparing. Overland Park leaders met to discuss what they are doing, including what the event means for the area’s transportation. Overland Park leaders discuss city and county preparations for World CupTo meet the demand, Johnson County World Cup buses will take visitors right from the airport to the Lenexa City Center and the Overland Park Convention Center. In addition, KC2026 buses will take visitors from two spots in Overland Park to matches and FanFest. Johnson County Board Chairman Mike Kelly previously told KSHB 41 the World Cup is an opportunity for the county to step up its transportation as a whole.
Read more: KSHB News

Short-term rentals in town will have a new registration process after a City Commission vote Monday aimed at preparing the city for World Cup visitors this summer. Kansas City will host six World Cup matches and three international teams this summer. In addition, the Algerian national team will stay in Lawrence. Regional planners are anticipating 650,000 visitors to the metro area. The resolution approved by commissioners Monday created a registration system for short-term rentals, like those from Airbnb and Vrbo. Eudora doesn’t currently have any regulations on short-term rentals.
Read more: The Eudora Times

Reno County began assembling a task force on Wednesday, March 25, to look at the county’s approach to economic development, including data centers and battery energy storage facilities. During the Reno County Commission’s meeting, County Administrator Randy Partington said Commission Chairman Ron Hirst talked with him about establishing a committee following the recent approval of a job creation incentive for Superior Holding. Partington said it could make sense to involve the cities of Hutchinson and South Hutchinson, particularly as it relates to data centers and battery energy storage to establish similar expectations across the three jurisdictions for such developments.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

The Andale City Council is moving forward with plans to make the city website the official city newspaper. After briefly considering switching to a different local newspaper, the Times-Sentinel, City Attorney Andrew Marino suggested making the city website the city’s newspaper as a way to save money. This would mean the city would put legal notices up on their website instead of putting them in the paper for distribution. City Clerk Patty Hein said it would be easier for her but said there might still be some things needed to be sent out. Chad Smith said he was alright with this decision, because he doesn’t read the newspaper. “It would give us more money for police,” Smith said. He was referring to an earlier request by Police Chief Scott Harris to add an officer, which the council planned to look into more in the future. Based on estimations by Harris and City Administrator Ben Johnson, the requests would require raising the mill levy from about 44 mills to 52 mills.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune