News

The city of Riley is considering merging its fire department with Riley County Fire District No. 1 as the city struggles to recruit and retain volunteer firefighters. Discussions between the city and county began in August after council members were approached by residents citing concerns about a lack of volunteers. The Riley city council on Tuesday reached consensus to move forward on an official agreement with the county to merge operations. Riley is the only city in the county outside of Manhattan that has its own city-run fire department, which has been in place since 1922. Read more: themercury.com

The future of Marmaton Market is uncertain as mounting debt and weak sales threaten to shutter Moran’s only grocery store. At a public meeting Wednesday evening, board members and residents gathered to weigh options for keeping the store open, acknowledging its financial challenges. “Basically, we’re here to see if we can save the store, and if not, what can we do next,” said board chairman Ken McWhirter as the meeting opened. Read more: The Iola Register

LaHarpe voters will decide in November whether to approve a 1.5% sales tax for street repairs and other capital projects. City Council members approved a resolution Wednesday, putting the question on the ballot. The city’s 1% sales tax expired in April after voters rejected an extension last November that would have bumped the local rate to 1.5%. Council members noted there may have been confusion in the 2024 question, that led some voters to believe the 1.5% would have been tacked on to the 1%, and not a replacement. Read more: The Iola Register

The Girard City Council is soon expected to make a decision on which burning ordinance to move forward with. The council mulled over three ordinances during Monday’s regular meeting. City administrator Johanna O’Brien presented three ordinances. Two were very similar while the third differed. O’Brien noted that the Girard Fire Chief Jeff Turner expressed his support for the third ordinance, which included a permit for open burning. Read more: - Latest Stories

Brent Clark, City Administrator for the City of Valley Center, has announced his resignation effective October 24th, 2025. Clark has accepted a position with SEH, Inc. to serve as the Civil Client Service Manager. Clark has served as City Administrator since July 2019, leading Valley Center through a period of significant growth and progress. Source: City of Valley Center

Today, in remembrance of Charlie Kirk, Minnesota Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, and all victims and survivors of political violence, Governor Laura Kelly, in accordance with Executive Order #20-30, directed flags throughout the State of Kansas to be lowered to half-staff effective immediately Friday, September 12, 2025 until sundown on Sunday, September 14, 2025. Read more: Kansas Governor

This panel is unanimous in our opinion of potholes: they are abysmal. But, in Kansas, making a successful claim against a city for damages resulting from a driver hitting a pothole is a different subject that requires compliance with the law. When we apply two legal principles to this case—the public duty doctrine and discretionary function immunity—it means any recovery is barred by law on this claim. Source: Court of Appeals: Martin vs. City of Topeka

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer's credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

The Wichita City Council has added five municipal crimes that city prosecutors can use to ban what police call “problem people” from the Old Town Entertainment District. The city can now ban from Old Town anyone caught in public — specifically, in Old Town — urinating, defecating, being nude, having sex or engaging in other sex acts, or exposing themselves without consent. The change imposes a $500 mandatory minimum fine for any of those crimes, if committed in Old Town. In addition, anyone caught in Old Town after being banned “shall be punished” by a maximum fine of $1,000 or by [...]

The Halstead school Board approved spending about $30,000 for the installation and implementation of the school safety alert system known as Centegix. With the continued concern for incidents like school shootings, school districts are starting to look for solutions that can help keep them safer. Superintendent Ron Barry said that after the board asked him to look into an alert system for the district, he considered several options before deciding on Centegix as his recommendation. Read more: Harvey County Now