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Freeman Health System plans to have a new hospital finished in about 24 months as officials break ground Friday morning. Hospital officials had renderings on hand as they put shovels to dirt. There will be thee phases to the project, starting with utilities and internal roads. Then crews will start construction on an ambulatory surgery center with a medical office building on the second floor. Phase three will be the hospital building itself. The Freeman hospital will be near the intersection of East 600th Avenue and North U.S. 69, north of Frontenac. Source: www.koamnewsnow.com - RSS Results in news/local-news of type [...]

The City of Topeka is reviewing how it does homeless camp abatements after a man was injured with machinery during one of the city’s cleanups. City of Topeka staff are reviewing policies and procedures following the incident. Now, the Behavioral Health Unit and the Property Maintenance Unit will mark all cleared tents with an ‘X’ to let machine operators know they have been checked. Source: KSNT 27 News

The Kansas House on Friday passed with bipartisan support a bill giving taxpayers a new weapon to fight city and county spending while offering local governments a financial incentive not to raise property taxes. The House voted 115-6 to pass a bill that would essentially recreate a fund that once was intended to help local governments hold down property taxes but empowers taxpayers to fight excessive spending. The bill now goes to the Senate. Source: Sunflower State Journal

Riley County officials unanimously approved a written testimony in support of the Home Rule Amendment to the Kansas Constitution at Thursday’s meeting. Constitutional home rule has been a legislative priority for Riley County, but it has stalled in the past because of a misunderstanding of what home rule is. County home rule is when a county can govern itself without direct oversight from the state. It means more local control over local issues. This letter addresses misconceptions about what county home rule is. Source: themercury.com - RSS Results in news of type article

Children and teenagers riding e-scooters and e-bikes in Prairie Village could soon need to start wearing helmets. During its council committee meeting last week, the Prairie Village City Council agreed to formally consider an ordinance requiring people aged 17 and younger to wear helmets while riding e-scooters. The city council amended the drafted ordinance to include e-bikes. Police Chief Eric McCullough told the city council that e-scooter safety has become top of mind, with groups of children and adolescents frequently seen riding the devices around busy areas like Corinth Square and The Shops retail complex, oftentimes while not wearing helmets. Source: [...]

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.

Inflation could prove sticky while prices might pick up again, Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler warned, signaling that the U.S. central bank should keep interest rates steady for the time. “I’m actually quite concerned about some of the persistence in inflation that we have been seeing,” she told CNBC’s Silvia Amaro during a fireside chat at the Conference on Monetary Policy Transmission and the Labor Market on Friday. She pointed to a recent acceleration of inflation expectations, which she said she watches closely for their effect on how businesses set prices and how workers negotiate wages. This in turn means they [...]

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Friday that the central bank can wait to see how President Donald Trump’s aggressive policy actions play out before it moves again on interest rates. With markets nervous over Trump’s proposals for tariffs and other issues, Powell reiterated statements he and his colleagues have made recently counseling patience on monetary policy amid the high level of uncertainty. The White House “is in the process of implementing significant policy changes in four distinct areas: trade, immigration, fiscal policy, and regulation,” he said in a speech for the U.S. Monetary Policy Forum. “It is the net effect [...]

A federal judge on Thursday ruled in favor of the Lawrence City Commission in a lawsuit that had alleged commissioners violated a frequent public commenter’s freedom of speech. Justin Spiehs, 43, formerly of Lawrence, has been a familiar sight protesting in public places and regularly speaking during local public meetings since mask mandates were put into place during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a case filed in November 2023 in federal court, Stilwell attorney Linus Baker detailed incidents of Spiehs being interrupted and asked to leave city meetings by commissioners. The complaint indicated that Spiehs believed he was being [...]

This appeal concerns three such petitions which sought voter approval by the residents of Prairie Village. The parties argue both procedural and substantive aspects of the statutes and judicial procedure in this case. Read the decision here.