The Reno County Planning Commission agreed Tuesday to set a Nov. 18 public hearing on proposed changes to both the county’s Comprehensive Plan and its zoning regulations to prohibit commercial wind development in the zoned portions of the county. Also to be taken up at that meeting will be a proposal to create an overlay district for the remaining non-zoned portions of the county that would enable the county to regulate wind in those un-zoned areas in the future. The specific regulations that would apply in those areas remain pending before the Reno County Commission. Source: Hutch News

The seven-day clock to request a jury trial in municipal court appeals begins when a judge is appointed to preside over the case at trial. If an offense carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail or less, it is presumed that the defendant has no constitutional right to a jury trial. Source: KS Court of Appeals.

The same energy firm proposing to build a 3,000-acre solar farm in southeast Douglas County also is exploring the feasibility of building a large wind turbine farm in southwest Douglas County, I’ve confirmed. Florida-based NextEra Energy has begun reaching out to large landowners in southwest Douglas County and northwest Franklin County about a project dubbed the Larksong Wind Energy Center. Source: LJWorld.com.

The City of Lawrence is seeking feedback from residents on two options for a long-awaited redesign of the city’s bus routes, both of which include Uber-like “microtransit” options, though with different ideas for how that service would function. Both scenarios call for a traditional network of bus routes that is complemented by microtransit service, according to information in a city survey about the routes. The survey says microtransit is an app-based service that operates like Uber and Lyft but utilizes transit-specific vehicles and offers affordable and predictable fares. To be most productive, microtransit trips must be kept relatively short, and the [...]

In the face of lower vaccination rates among Lawrence police officers when compared to other local first responders, the city’s police union says it respects officers’ right not to get vaccinated. As the Journal-World recently reported, though the City of Lawrence has seen a significant increase in the vaccination rates among employees since announcing a new testing and leave policy a month ago, numbers show there are notable differences among the vaccination rates of the community’s first responders. Source: LJWorld.com.

Standing high about the skyline of downtown, “Mural at the Mill,” the latest piece in the Salina Kanvas Project is now complete. The mural, which was placed on the 100-foot tall H.D. Lee Flour Mill on North Santa Fe Avenue, was completed by Guido Van Helten of Australia, who has done similar, large-scale projects around the world. The Kanvas Project was the vision of Travis Young, CEO of Vortex Global. He said the hope is that the work done will be something to bring more murals and street art to the downtown area and to Salina as a whole. “We want [...]

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS "investment grade" yields. Every issuer's credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.