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INTRUST Bank gifts $150,000 to Newton Public Library

info2022-01-31T23:12:48-06:00January 31st, 2022|

INTRUST Bank has gifted the Newton Public Library $150,000 as part of the Where Community Connects Campaign. "Libraries are a signature community asset, benefiting everyone in a community," Newton INTRUST Bank President Kimberly Richtig said. "INTRUST Bank is part of the Newton community, and we are proud to be part of the campaign to help build a 21st Century Library for this growing community." In 2018, the City of Newton, the Newton Public Library, and the Library Foundation formed a partnership to help fund and construct a new public library. After receiving this donation, the campaign has crossed the $1.6 million [...]

Should the next city manager come from Topeka? Efforts made to ensure Topekans have fair shot at job

info2022-01-31T07:46:18-06:00January 31st, 2022|

Topeka's last two permanent city managers, Brent Trout and Jim Colson, both left because there was someplace else they'd rather be. As Topeka elected officials recently laid the foundation for choosing a new city manager, they consequently left the door open for potentially finding a replacement who is from Topeka and wants to stay here. "I think there's people here who are homegrown who may have more of an investment in this position," said Councilwoman Sylvia Ortiz. Councilman Mike Lesser said he wanted to ensure qualified people who live here have a fair shot at the job. He suggested the mayor [...]

Ark City seeks ideas

info2022-01-31T07:40:50-06:00January 31st, 2022|

Arkansas City officials, hoping to bring new life to the downtown area, will ask local citizens for their ideas during a special public forum next week. The city, along with the Arkansas City Area Chamber of Commerce and Cowley First, the county’s economic development department, will host a public “visioning session” from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 5, at the Burford Theatre. City Planner Josh White said that a group of students from Kansas State University plan to tour the downtown area Friday, visit several of the buildings and talk to business owners. “Just to see what is in [...]

Fed could hike at every meeting this year, BofA says

info2022-01-31T07:40:19-06:00January 31st, 2022|

The two biggest U.S. banks raised their forecasts of how quickly the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year, with Bank of America Corp. predicting a move at every meeting to tackle the highest inflation in four decades. “We now look for seven 25 basis point hikes this year and a peak funds rate of 2.75%-3.00%,” economists led by Ethan Harris wrote in a note Friday to clients. “This should affect the economy with a lag, weighing on 2023 growth.” JPMorgan Chase & Co. separately lifted its call to five hikes in 2022 from four previously. Chief U.S. Economist Michael [...]

Muni yields hit levels not seen since early April 2020

info2022-01-31T07:39:47-06:00January 31st, 2022|

Municipal yields rose double digits Friday bringing levels to highs not seen since early April 2020. The short end of triple-A scales have risen more than 30 basis points over the past five sessions on elevated selling pressure and overall market volatility. Triple-A yields rose by six to 10 basis points and ratios increased again as U.S. Treasuries saw small gains. Source: The Bond Buyer

Overland Park ‘sober living’ house can move forward, despite some opposition in Shannon Valley subdivision

info2022-01-31T07:32:29-06:00January 31st, 2022|

A planned “sober living” house in Overland Park’s Shannon Valley Estates subdivision falls under federal Fair Housing Act protections and can be operated without additional use permits or hearings, city officials say. The decision has left neighbors no clear path to continue their opposition, which included a fundraising page for possible attorney fees, a website and, briefly, a petition against the plan. One of those neighbors, Rosalind Price, said concerns about safety and property values remain. The next steps are unclear but the group will hold at least one more meeting, she said. One possibility is to ask the city to [...]

New mural goes up in downtown Pittsburg

info2022-01-31T07:29:21-06:00January 31st, 2022|

Art students at Pittsburg State University have completed a 12-by-29-foot tiger mural on the south exterior wall of Main Street Axe Company, 216 S. Broadway. The mural was conceptualized, designed and painted by students in Jamie Oliver’s mural painting class. Past classes have contributed to “Southeast Kansas Love Story” at 310 N. Broadway and colorful crosswalks at Lakeside, George Nettels, Westside and Meadowlark elementary schools. ... The tiger mural was funded by a grant from the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas. It was designed by Hannah Kinsey, from Grove, Oklahoma. Students then spent several months turning Kinsey's design into several panels [...]

Hope springs from Kansas governor’s proposal to restore water funding

info2022-01-31T01:23:16-06:00January 31st, 2022|

Connie Owen, director of Kansas Water Office, says the governor’s recommendation to restore funding for water projects has given her organization momentum as it considers a wide range of needs. Legislators since 2008 have not allocated the full $8 million that is supposed to go toward a State Water Plan established in 1989. During the past 14 years, Owen said, the state has shorted the plan by $80 million, jeopardizing efforts to address concerns with reservoirs, groundwater and water quality across the state. This year, Gov. Laura Kelly has proposed fully funding the water plan. If lawmakers agree, that would mean [...]

Garden City appoints three to key administrative positions

info2022-01-31T01:21:25-06:00January 31st, 2022|

The City of Garden City has appointed Jared Kuhlmann as Finance Director, Emily Burns as Assistant Finance Director, and Ellie Voepel as Human Resources Director. City Manager Matt Allen said the City advertised in 2021 for key leadership vacancies within its administrative ranks and did not feel certain about making an appointment to those positions from those candidate pools. Three existing employees (Kuhlmann, Burns and Voepel) stepped into interim roles in the Human Resources Department and Service & Finance Department while the City evaluated its situation, considered some reorganization options and made it through some important end of year responsibilities, Allen [...]

End of an era: RCPD Director Dennis Butler calls it a career

info2022-01-31T01:15:26-06:00January 31st, 2022|

After 42 years of service to the public, Riley County Police Department Director Dennis Butler is officially retiring. Monday will be his last day on duty. Butler began his policing career in 1979 when he was hired as a cadet. After about a year, he went to the academy and was hired as a police officer in 1980. Through his many years of service, Butler says he has made many memories and has seen a change in policing. Reflecting on his 25 years of service in Alexandria, Virginia before coming to Kansas, where he was Chief of Police in Ottawa before [...]

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