Daniel Friesen doesn’t want geography to be the determining factor of whether Kansas communities have access to high-quality broadband service. He started a company in Buhler dedicated to providing fiber-to-the-home internet and was prepared to leap when the COVID-19 pandemic exposed service gaps in education, commerce, health care and at home in Kansas. That’s when the federal government began pouring CARES Act relief money into states, and Kansas officials earmarked $50 million of that largess for broadband expansion.
Source: Wichita Eagle

Finding an equitable solution to what becomes of Quivira National Wildlife Refuge and its impact on the central Kansas water table is once again on the table. This week, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Audubon of Kansas to honor the senior water rights of the 22,000-acre refuge.
Source: Dodge Globe

The municipal bond market’s current dynamics — scarce supply, low rates, tight spreads and a stable credit landscape — means issuers are enjoying one of the strongest markets in modern history. … The level of demand is likely to remain as a wave of muni bonds are set to come due in the next five years, Fabian said. Roughly 22% of all outstanding tax-exempt debt will mature or be called by the end of 2024, he said. That’s roughly $800 billion of “reinvestment pressure.”
Source: Bond Buyer

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.