Soon, Merriam residents and business owners will get the chance to weigh in on the city’s much-discussed plans to transform its downtown. The Merriam City Council on March 9 took a step forward in its effort to shape the future of the downtown area, unanimously approving a $292,000 contract with Overland Park-based Shockey Consulting to create a downtown master plan. Over the years, Merriam has significantly invested in reshaping its downtown through a decades-long collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to shield the area from the flooding from nearby Turkey Creek. The city has also completed studies, such as its 2040 comprehensive plan and [...]

The Senate and House narrowly passed a bill giving 10% of registered voters in a taxing area the ability to stop some property tax increases, a move one senator called “tyranny of the minority.” Both chambers debated House Bill 2745 Friday. It passed the Senate 22-18 and the House 63-59. It now advances to Gov. Laura Kelly.  Another proposal attempting to change the Kansas Constitution to limit property tax increases was shot down by the House but referred to a conference committee for more discussion. Senate Concurrent Resolution 1603, which needed support from two-thirds of both chambers, failed in the House [...]

A new documentary from Kansas State University is highlighting food insecurity in southwest Kansas. “Sharing the Harvest,” produced through the Hungry Heartland Project and Engaged Stories Lab, focuses on efforts in Garden City to improve access to food. The film features local organizations working to support families in need, including Emmaus House, La Comunidad church’s mobile food pantry, and the Kansas Food Bank. The project was led by faculty members Tom Hallaq and Valerie Padilla Carroll, with support from student interns funded by the Chapman Center for Rural Studies. “This project represents the power of interdisciplinary storytelling,” Hallaq said in the [...]

The World Cup comes to Kansas City this summer, and many fans will want to stay up late watching and partying. Kansas is close to approving longer hours for serving alcohol during the event, after Missouri passed its own law, so bars and restaurants don't lose business across the state line. Kansas law allows bars to serve alcohol from 6 a.m. until 2 a.m. daily, but that could be changing this summer. A bill approved by lawmakers and headed to the governor’s desk would extend alcohol service to 23-hours a day during the World Cup, as a way to compete with [...]

The City of Wichita operates 39 boards. There is a proposal coming from the City Manager’s office to reduce or consolidate several of them. The plan was presented on Feb. 24 during the City Council Workshop by Zamaria Ball, the city’s Management Fellow. For the last six months, Ball has been studying the boards and developed a five-part justification matrix to decide whether a board should be consolidated, remain in place, or disbanded. The criteria included inactivity, vacancy duration, scope drift, overlapping missions, and access and transparency. Some, such as the Library Board, the various District Advisory Boards, or Access Advisory Board [...]

The requisite large urn of coffee and boxes of glazed doughnuts sat on the back table as men and women, many clad in fluorescent orange and green, gathered in the Great Bend Columbus Club on a Tuesday morning in February. The occasion was Barton County’s annual township meeting, and officers from many of the county’s 24 townships were on hand. There were updates from county officials on roads, floodplains, 911 and noxious weeds, and sales pitches from vendors selling road graders and culverts. One of those reports was a broken-record ask from County Clerk Bev Schmeidler, who repeatedly makes the pleads [...]

Derby Public Library is forgiving overdue book fees — no questions asked — for one month. In April, the library is hosting Amnesty Month, allowing borrowers to return overdue books regardless of how long it’s been. Patrons must visit the library in person and speak to a staff member to have their fees waived. Previously incurred fines can also be waived. Read more: KSN-TV

Wichita and Sedgwick County leaders continued talks on shared projects at their first joint meeting of the year Tuesday. Out of the five agenda items at the meeting, a discussion on potentially combining city and county fire services garnered hefty discussion. Supporters of this consolidation say it could mean public dollars are paying for one department’s response to emergencies rather than two, without sacrificing response times. They say local governments must adjust their services to meet the region’s growing infrastructure and rising population. Sedgwick County Commissioner Ryan Baty says increased alignment between the two fire departments could help raise efficiency without [...]

Leaders with the nuclear innovation company TerraPower continue to look at potential plant sites in Kansas. TerraPower has not announced a site in Kansas yet, but company leaders were in Johnson County Tuesday night to discuss where the project stands and what it would mean for growing energy demands. “We’re not ready to announce any sites. Multiple communities in Kansas have kind of raised their hand and said they’re willing to host a Natrium power plant,” said TerraPower CEO Chris Levesque. In December, FOX4 reported that De Soto was one of the many communities across the state that expressed interest in [...]

The City of Topeka is welcoming two new faces in top leadership positions Friday. The City of Topeka announced on March 27 that Jason Tryon and Patricia Biggs will be taking up two major leadership roles within the city’s staff. Tryon will serve as the new director of Public Works, while Biggs will take up the position as chief information officer. Tryon and Biggs replace prior Chief Information Officer Randi Stahl and Public Works Director Steven Groen. The City of Topeka announced their departures from the city’s staff in November last year. Biggs and Tryon were selected as interim fill-ins following [...]