On a day when lawmakers made headlines across the state for considering a slate of bills to roll back Kansas voting laws and transgender rights, a pair of bills designed to attack the state’s looming water crisis didn’t make a drop in the bucket. Indeed, while members of both parties became mired in contentious debate, the water bills became a rare respite of bipartisan acclaim — one Rep. Doug Blex, R-Independence, believed came not a moment too soon. “We’ll have a tendency to kick this can down the road,” Blex, a biologist for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, said on the House floor. “And it has been kicked for too long. We need to do it.”
Source: CJonline

Local Topeka officials are one step closer to changing a Kansas law to make it easier for event organizers to allow public alcohol consumption downtown and in NOTO. “Allowing visitors to get a drink from one of the seven establishments to enjoy while taking in all that NOTO has to offer would add to vibrancy of the district,” said Thomas Underwood, executive director of the NOTO Arts and Entertainment District. In 2017, the Legislature authorized cities or counties to create special districts called common consumption areas where patrons can purchase, consume and carry alcohol off of a licensed property, such as a bar or restaurant. Patrons can then legally walk within the area while sipping a beer or other drink.
Source: CJonline

The Reno County Commission approved that the Reno County Department of Health applies for a $1 million grant for an Opioid Stimulant and Substance Use site-based program. The Department of Justice awards this three-year grant to help alleviate drug use issues in rural communities. If funded, the Reno County Health Department will support the work of an Overdose Fatality Review Board and the establishment of Medication Assisted Treatment in the Reno County Jail. These actions will support prevention efforts, individuals needing recovery support, and keeping individuals out of jail and out of the court system.
Source: Hutch News

Shawnee County officials have the technology during tornado warnings to sound sirens only in the storm’s path. But they recently decided, at least for now, to first sound them countywide to get people’s attention. “We anticipate doing this for the next few years,” said Dusty Nichols, director of Shawnee County Emergency Management. “It is kind of a culture shift, and we need to educate and err on the side of safety.” Nichols’ department over the past couple years has been capable, whenever a tornado warning is put out, of drawing a polygon on a computer screen map to arrange for sirens to sound only in the warned area. Nichols told The Capital-Journal last May that his department planned during tornado warnings to only sound outdoor warning sirens in the “polygon lane” for which the warning had been issued. But Nichols said this past week that, for now, the county during times of tornado warnings will initially sound all 67 sirens it operates countywide. Each siren, once activated, remains on for three minutes. “That way, if people are not paying attention — if they’re in bed, or whatever — then hopefully that will wake them up and get their attention,” he said.
Source: CJonline

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is expected to echo fellow central bankers in suggesting interest rates will go higher than policymakers anticipated just weeks ago if economic data continue to come in hot. Powell heads to Capitol Hill this week as Fed officials eye raising rates several more times to quell stubborn inflation — a message that’s making Democratic lawmakers uneasy. Some policymakers are suggesting they may have to do more to tame prices following a series of strong reports on jobs, prices and consumption, which have spurred traders to bet the Fed will hike beyond the 5.1% level officials estimated in December.
Source: Bloomberg

The Salina Area Chamber of Commerce announced that the Saline County economy grew by 12.4% from 2020 to 2021, hitting a record high of more than $3 billion total. Local Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Saline County grew by $341 million last year, surpassing the highest growth of recent record in 2017, when the GDP increased by 7.3%. Renee Duxler, interim CEO and President of the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce, said the growth is a huge win for overall economic health in Saline County. “It truly speaks to the public and private partnerships and investments that Salina and Saline County have made over the last few years, and the dedication of community and business leaders working toward a shared vision for progress,” Duxler said.
Source: Salina Journal