Topeka city manager Brent Trout said he will leave Topeka feeling like he belonged to the community. "I went to many, many events within this community and made very good friends here," Trout said. Trout said Thursday he will resign at the end of 2021 from the position he has held since Oct. 30, 2017. Trout spoke at a rapidly called news conference that followed a news release about Trout's departure.... Trout, who turned 55 in May, said he opted to resign after a recent vacation to Virginia and North Carolina, during which he and his wife, Kelly, realized their desire [...]

The FOMC voted not to raise interest rates from their anchor near zero, a move also expected by the market. The tie between interest rates and tapering is a vital one, and the statement stressed that investors should not view the reduction in purchases as a signal that rate hikes are imminent. “We don’t think it’s time yet to raise interest rates,” Powell said. “There is still ground to cover” before the Fed reaches its economic goals. He added he wants to see the labor market “heal further, and we have very good reasons to think that will happen as the [...]

The citizens of Salina have made their voices heard and voted yes to enact a new ordinance in the city. The ordinance, which will limit the Salina City Commission’s power to impose restrictions on businesses and citizens during a declared state of emergency, was passed by a 5,005 to 3,809 vote Tuesday night. Though a majority of voters chose yes, the ordinance still has the possibility of not being enacted. In addition to placing it on the ballot following a petition, the city commission also sent the ordinance to the Saline County District Court for summary judgement. Source: Salina Journal

It appears the Reno County Commission will expand to five members after nearly 54% of Reno County voters casting ballots approved the change on Tuesday. But, while the election outcome was clear, when and how the change occurs may be a subject of future debate. Under a plan adopted by the current county commission which put the issue on the ballot, the expansion won't physically occur until 2023, when the two new seats are filled. That’s because the commissioners wanted to fill them with candidates running for election, rather than the governor appointing them, as is the standard practice. Source: Hutch [...]

Garden Rapids at The Big Pool is now an award winning pool. Jennifer Cunningham, Garden City assistant city manager, said the pool was awarded the World Waterpark Association's Leading Edge award at the Garden City Commission meeting Monday. Cunningham said she didn't realize how big of a deal the award was until she and Aaron Stewart, Garden City Parks and Recreation director, got to the WWA's annual Symposium & Trade Show, which ran from Oct. 19-22 in San Antonio, Texas. All of the other projects on the slate cost between $30 million and $50 million, one of them was in Dubai, [...]