Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the labor market’s surprising strength underscores why bringing inflation down will take longer and require higher interest rates than many investors have been anticipating. A government report Friday that showed hiring accelerated in January was “certainly strong—stronger than anyone I know expected,” Mr. Powell said Tuesday during a moderated discussion before the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. “It kind of shows you why we think this will be a process that takes a significant period of time.” Mr. Powell didn’t say whether advance knowledge about Friday’s report would have changed the outcome of officials’ decision [...]

Unofficial results are in for a vote in Kechi on a proposed 1% sales tax to fund a special arts and business district. With 156 people voting “yes,” and 121 voting “no,” the question appears to have passed. Results become official once they’re canvassed by the Sedgwick County Commission. Assuming results stand in favor of the sales tax moving forward, the additional funding source will pay for improvements to sidewalks, parking, lighting and landscaping in the planned district near 61st Street North and Oliver. Source: KWCH

More than two-years after voters approved a sales tax to help pay for it, the new Valley Center Aquatics and Fitness Center came into clearer focus last week as architects released updated drawings of what the facility would look like and what it may contain. Also becoming clearer is where it will be located. "We want to keep this train moving forward on the track," City Administrator Brent Clark said during a pool and recreation center steering committee meeting Jan. 25 at City Hall. Source: Ark Valley News

When Ron Marsh accepted the position of Abilene’s city manager, he brought stability to a revolving door. Soon after starting he learned he was the fourth of fifth city manager in about seven years, he said. “Which is crazy,” he said. “If you don’t have consistency or if you don’t have stability in this position, it’s hard to get anything done because you’re constantly changing direction on where you’re going.” Beyond stability, everything else accomplished in the 20 months that he’s been at the helm, has been a team effort. Source: Abilene Reflector Chronicle

The prospect of additional passenger flights in and out of Salina Regional Airport is greater than ever after the city and county commissions approved funding to support a maintenance base at the facility this week. SkyWest Airlines, which currently operates flights in Salina to and from Denver and Chicago, is looking at the airport as a site that would perform overnight maintenance and safety checks. “(This kind of base) is a tool to use to improve air service and one that is very unique to communities,” said Tim Rogers, the executive director of the Salina Airport Authority. He said having a [...]

The process is to last from February through September of this year, the document said. It added, "At the conclusion of the work scope, the city of Topeka will have identified a portfolio of solutions for addressing the challenge of homelessness in the Topeka community; prototyped and tested two of those solutions with members of their community; and developed an impact measurement and next step implementation plan for two solutions of the team's portfolio of ideas." Source: CJonline

Lifelong Topekan Randi Stahl has been hired as chief information officer to oversee the information technology department for Topeka's city government., the city announced Tuesday. Stahl has served in various leadership roles in the community, including technology-based experience, risk management and project management, the city said in a news release. Source: CJonline

The city of Lawrence is looking to hire more people to work at a city-operated campsite for the homeless so that the North Lawrence camp can have 24-hour per day, seven-day per week staffing. City Manager Craig Owens told commissioners at their Tuesday evening meeting that finding staffing has been a challenge, but the city was bettering its salary offers to try to attract individuals with specific qualifications in the field of serving the homeless. “We have tried to hire employees who are trained in that and who have knowledge in this space that we just frankly don’t have,” Owens said. [...]

Lawrence has an official goal to be the “most business-friendly community in the region,” but a new survey found that less than half of the city’s business community currently finds the city friendly. City commissioners at their meeting Tuesday evening received the results of the community’s first business satisfaction survey, which included responses from 308 business representatives in the community. A headline finding of the survey was that 51% of all respondents did not find the City of Lawrence to be business friendly. “Lawrence has developed a bad reputation,” one of several hundred anonymous comments left as part of the scientific [...]