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Hillsboro unveils architectural plan for Community Plaza project

2021-04-28T07:04:56-05:00April 27th, 2021|

The City of Hillsboro has unveiled the final site development plan for the Community Plaza project. Phase one of the project is anticipated to begin this year. The site, which covers half a city block, will be installed in two parts and feature a variety of amenities for residents, from a stage to a splash pad to food truck parking. City Administrator Matt Stiles said the ambitious project has been years in the making. Three houses were removed from the site several years ago, and today, it sits as a construction zone for the fiber optic cable project. “I think it’s [...]

Want better internet in rural Kansas? Time to apply for a federal grant

2021-04-28T07:05:37-05:00April 27th, 2021|

Kansas towns, businesses, charities and others can now apply for a federal grant to improve broadband service in rural areas. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is offering $42.4 million in grants through the Distance Learning and Telehealth (DLT) program. It is taking applications through June 4. The goal is to help rural communities connect with each other and the rest of the world in ways they may not be able to with minimal broadband service. Grants are available to rural areas with a population of 20,000 or less. Those who can apply include most entities that provide education or health [...]

Wichita city officials drop ‘friends’ from ethics proposal, back away from fines

2021-04-28T07:05:51-05:00April 27th, 2021|

After drafting a new ethics code for more than a year, the Wichita City Council on Tuesday moved to weaken the wording of the existing policy, scrubbing all mention of the word “friends.” The existing ethics code, which has been in place for 63 years, prohibits City Council members from making decisions involving friends, business associates, customers, clients and competitors. But the council is left to police itself and has not enforced the policy, saying friends was not well defined. The proposed policy would strengthen other parts of the ethics code. It would limit gifts to $150 a year, create an [...]

Derby’s Rock River Rapids to open at 60 percent capacity

2021-04-28T07:03:13-05:00April 27th, 2021|

The Derby Recreation Commission shared details from its plan to reopen Rock River Rapids at the April 20 DRC board of directors meeting. The DRC plans to allow a capacity of 1,500 people, which is 60% of its normal peak occupancy of 2,500 people. Tickets will be sold on location only this year, and the DRC is taking a number of precautions to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Concessions will also make a return. Source: Derby Informer | News

2020 Census: Kansas population grows at slowest rate since Great Depression; state keeps 4 U.S. House seats

2021-04-27T07:29:01-05:00April 27th, 2021|

Kansas will get to keep all of its current seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, federal Census data confirmed on Monday, but the state still had its worst population showing since the Great Depression. The data showed Kansas’ population grew at one of the slowest rates in the state’s history. Over the last decade Kansas added only 84,762 people. Its 2020 population stood at 2,937,880 people. The numbers were the first the Census Bureau has released from the 2020 Census, and they are some of the most important because the figures are used to determine how the 435 seats in [...]

Municipal Bond Trends for April 26, 2021

2021-04-27T07:23:14-05:00April 27th, 2021|

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.

Wichita seeks to change freeway design and protect abandoned rail bridge for bikeway

2021-04-27T07:20:19-05:00April 27th, 2021|

The city of Wichita plans to work with state and federal officials to redesign part of the planned interchange at the Kellogg and I-235 freeways to preserve a bridge that the city wants to use for a bike and pedestrian path linking downtown Wichita to Garden Plain. The city is hoping to save an abandoned railroad bridge across the Big Ditch south of Kellogg and east of Hoover, now the eastern end point of the Prairie Sunset Trail, said Gary Janzen, city engineer. But the bridge, at the perfect spot to extend the bike trail, also happens to be at the [...]

100% green energy and 6 other changes Sedgwick County Zoo has for its 50th birthday

2021-04-27T07:19:28-05:00April 27th, 2021|

The Sedgwick County Zoo will ring in its 50th birthday on May 27 with an unveiling of its new entry building and zoo store, both of which will run on 100% renewable energy. The zoo also plans to announce six additional environmental initiatives to reduce the zoo’s carbon footprint. “I think the role of the modern zoo and aquarium is more important today than it’s ever been,” said Dr. Jeff Ettling, the zoo’s executive director. “We all need to take action now because we’re seeing the dramatic impact that climate change is having here at home. We really need to walk [...]

The Fed will stay put in 2021 despite growing concerns about overheating economy, CNBC survey says

2021-04-27T07:18:37-05:00April 27th, 2021|

The Federal Reserve will remain on hold for the rest of this year despite an increasing belief on Wall Street that policymakers should throttle back the stimulus they’re providing to the U.S. economy, according to the latest CNBC Fed Survey. Respondents to the survey forecast the Fed won’t reduce its $120 billion of asset purchases until January, three months later than predicted in CNBC’s March survey. And the first rate hike won’t come until December 2022, survey respondents said. Source: CNBC.

Johnson County woman sues city over COVID mask requirement. Judge rules against her

2021-04-27T07:17:15-05:00April 27th, 2021|

A Johnson County judge sided with the city of Shawnee on Monday after a resident sued when she was denied entry into a city meeting without wearing a mask. It’s among the latest in a string of challenges to mask mandates under Kansas Senate Bill 40, which opened up a new system for fighting city, county and school district COVID-19 restrictions. In Johnson County alone, several residents have challenged mask mandates in three school districts — Blue Valley, Olathe and De Soto — and all were upheld. Source: KC Star.

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