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House panel signs off on amended property tax bill

info2025-01-29T09:34:42-06:00January 29th, 2025|

A top legislative priority for House Republicans got out of a committee Tuesday with the panel approving a bill that would cut the state property tax levy for schools by 1.5-mills. The House tax committee amended the bill to ensure that the revenue loss from cutting the 20-mill tax levy would be backfilled with revenue from the state general fund. The proposal is estimated to cost about $823 million over five years. Source: Sunflower State Journal

Secretary of state backs bill validating voided school board bond election

info2025-01-29T09:32:48-06:00January 29th, 2025|

The secretary of state on Tuesday got behind a bill that would allow a small western Kansas school district to secure funds from a bond election that was invalidated by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach. Clay Barker, deputy secretary of state and general counsel for the agency, testified before the Senate local government committee on a bill that would validate a bond election held by Greeley County Public Schools last May. Source: Sunflower State Journal

House will not take up amendment to limit property valuation increases, Hawkins says

info2025-01-29T09:26:35-06:00January 29th, 2025|

Despite more than 60% of Kansans supporting constitutional limits on property tax valuations, Kansas Speaker of the House Dan Hawkins says the Kansas House of Representatives will not take up the amendment recently passed by the Senate tax committee. According to State Affairs, Hawkins said late last week that even if the full Kansas Senate passes Concurrent Resolution 1603, it will not get a vote in the House. Source: The Sentinel

New Pott Co. commissioner is confident in new, expanded board

info2025-01-29T09:25:13-06:00January 29th, 2025|

Pottawatomie County Commission Chair Terry Force tried Monday to alleviate any concerns or anxiety about the new board. After thanking every one for attending, he said, “This is a learning time for us all. It’s an anxious time for some group leaders and employees (wondering what) four brand new commissioners are going to do to us. Rest assured. This group here has a diverse background. A lot to offer. “Collectively this will be an extremely good and effective board,” he continued “I don’t know of anyone with an agenda. We just want Pottawatomie County to be the best place to live [...]

Leawood pet owners with only 2 fur babies no longer have to license them

info2025-01-27T13:57:18-06:00January 27th, 2025|

...councilmembers weighed the costs of administering the annual license tags and the burden to residents and decided that the revenue from the tags and late fees fell short of supporting the cost of running the program. Source: Johnson County Post

Topeka officials want Manhattan, Lawrence to join its metro area

info2025-01-27T13:56:28-06:00January 27th, 2025|

Topeka officials on Friday pitched an idea to Manhattan area leaders: Why not join forces make one big metropolitan area?... The benefit is showing a higher population to be able to compete for businesses and economic development projects or programs that might have a higher population cutoff than any of those cities has on its own. Source: themercury.com

Kansas tuberculosis outbreak is now America’s largest in recorded history

info2025-01-27T13:54:16-06:00January 27th, 2025|

As of Jan. 17, public health officials reported that they had documented 66 active cases and 79 latent infections in the Kansas City, Kansas, metro area since 2024. Most of the cases have been in Wyandotte County, with a handful in Johnson County. Source: CJonline

Treasury yields drop as investors look for safety after AI sell-off in stocks

info2025-01-27T09:42:57-06:00January 27th, 2025|

U.S. Treasury yields fell on Monday as investors sought out safe-haven assets amid a massive stock market sell-off. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped seven basis points to 4.557%, while the 2-year Treasury yield was last trading at 4.225% after falling close to five basis points. One basis point equals 0.01% and yields move inversely to prices. Stocks tumbled on Monday, with the Nasdaq Composite being hit hard by a large decline in the technology sector. Last week, Chinese AI startup DeepSeek released an open source AI model that reportedly outperformed OpenAI’s in several tests. The company said it launched the large-language [...]

Johnson County park district will end bike rental program

info2025-01-27T09:41:23-06:00January 27th, 2025|

The “cruiser” style bicycles that were for rent at three Johnson County parks will be going away this year, as the park district board mulls how to replace a service that consistently lost money. The governing board voted to cancel the contract with BikeWalkKC for the program that allowed visitors to rent bikes by the minute at Shawnee Mission, Heritage and Meadowbrook parks. Park staff will bring back options for other bike services — which could include mountain bikes — at the board’s March meeting. Rental revenues have not covered the operating costs of the program for every quarter since the [...]

Panasonic is hiring for new De Soto plant, hopes to be ready for production this spring

info2025-01-27T09:40:12-06:00January 27th, 2025|

A little over two years ago, local, state and federal officials gathered in a dirt lot on a windy day to celebrate construction beginning on Panasonic’s new electric vehicle battery facility in western Johnson County. Officials gathered again earlier this month to celebrate the plant — only this time inside the 4.7 million-square-foot facility. But there’s still a ways to go before the facility is fully operational. As of this month, Panasonic is just slightly behind its previously stated hiring goals, and it’s still unclear if it will meet its anticipated timeline for opening. Source: KC Star Local News

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