Municipal News & Jobs

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.

Business leaders and community members got a glimpse inside the Girard Power Plant, Friday, at a chamber coffee hosted by the Girard Area Chamber of Commerce. Known as one of the one of the few cities west of the Mississippi River to generate its own electricity, the city’s venture into municipal electricity began in 1904. The original building was erected in March of 1887 by the Sperry Electric, Motor, and Car Brake Company. In 1904, the Girard City Council purchased a small steam-driven electric light plant from Captain J.A. Marshall for $3,500 (roughly $99,000 today). Over the years, the facility has seen numerous upgrades and improvements to meet the electric demand of the city. Today, the facility produces 10 megawatts of power for a population of nearly 2,500.
Read more: Morning Sun

Families searching for child care in Lyon County may be finding a slightly more stable landscape than in recent years, but local providers are still facing major challenges — especially when it comes to staffing. Jamie Roberts, a child care licensing specialist covering Lyon County and seven surrounding counties, said the local child care system appears to be in a better place than it was in the years immediately following the COVID-19 pandemic. “For 2023 into 2024, we were seeing a lot of vacancies,” Roberts said. “We had a good handful that closed because they didn’t have kids. They couldn’t make a living.” Now, she said, most providers in the area seem to be full again or at least as full as they would like to be. Part of that shift has come as families and providers moved further past the disruptions of the pandemic, but Roberts said the opening of Little Lyons has also helped add needed capacity in Emporia.
Read more: www.emporiagazette.com

The Wyandotte County Board of Commissioners voted Thursday night to lift the residency requirement for employees within the Unified Government. The board voted 5-5 with Mayor Christal Watson voting yes to break the tie. According to the motion, the residency requirement would be lifted except as it applies to executive level positions and above, which is range 19 and above on the non-union pay scale. It also includes public safety being fire and police from the chief and deputies. The county’s previous policy required UG employees to live in Wyandotte County or move there within 12 months of being hired.
Read more: FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV

The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada has given an Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting to Johnson County for its Popular Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year that ended Dec. 31, 2024. The Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting is a prestigious national award recognizing conformance with the highest standards for preparation of state and local government popular reports. In order to receive an Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting, a government unit must publish a Popular Annual Financial Report, whose contents conform to program standards of creativity, presentation, understandability and reader appeal.
Read more: Johnson County Kansas

Christal Watson, the mayor and CEO of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, joined Up To Date to discuss the Chiefs moving to her county, concerns from her constituents about property taxes and much more. The Kansas sports authority that will own and control the new Chiefs stadium in western Wyandotte County, plus the team’s practice facility in Olathe, could soon count the mayors of those two governments as voting board members. The Kansas House recently passed an amendment to the sports authority include the two local leaders in its decision making process. Watson told KCUR’s Up To Date on Friday that she was disappointed to not be included as a voting member of the board in the initial bill, but she trusted that would get fixed.
Read more: KCUR Up To Date

Authorities in northwest Kansas urged people to be ready to escape what could have been a “devastating” wildfire Friday, but disaster was averted. About 3 p.m., Trego County Emergency Management said on social media that a wildfire north of WaKeeney was spreading toward the town. The agency asked people who live on the north side of WaKeeney to turn on their sprinklers and get their garden hoses ready. They were also told to prepare for possible evacuations. The Trego County Sheriff’s Office said those in the path of the fire should gather their essentials — like clothing, medications and important documents — and make a plan for where to go.
Read more: KSN-TV

A western Kansas town is on the brink of losing its only grocery store. The owner of Ellis Hometown Foods told KSN that he is planning to close the store by the end of April, unless he finds a buyer. Jeff Geschwentner said he is getting ready to retire, but so far, no one has stepped forward to keep the store running. Geschwentner will keep stocking perishables, meat, dairy, fresh produce and frozen items until the first part of April. Other items will not be restocked. The store will close once everything is sold.
Read more: KSN-TV

A Route 66 mom-and-pop shop celebrates more than a century of service to its community. “Their sandwiches,” said 8-year-old Haylan McCorkle. Nelson’s Old Riverton Store returnees tell us it’s those sandwiches and other key elements that’s helped shape its history, including history made on Route 66. “The drinks, sandwiches and the snacks,” said 7-year-old Rayner McCorkle. The store first opened its doors March 20, 1925, a year before Route 66 was created. Since then, it’s served countless people—including regular Micah McCorkle.
Read more: KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com

The City of Galena is asking for the public’s help finding a missing piece of equipment. Between 7:00 p.m. Wednesday and 1:00 p.m. Thursday, a Drager 8000 monitor was stolen from the area of 3rd Street and Main. The city was renting the device to keep track of local air quality.
Read more: KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com

Regional planners are expecting a boom in demands for short-term rentals when thousands of soccer fans descend on the Kansas City metro for the World Cup this summer. To prepare, city staff are looking at ways to register and ensure safety at short-term rentals in town. At a meeting Monday, city commissioners will consider a temporary resolution to create a registration system for short-term rentals, like those from Airbnb and Vrbo. Eudora doesn’t currently have any regulations on short-term rentals. The registration system would ask rental owners to fill out a form with contact and property information and submit it to the city. The registration would also include a free assessment from the Fire Department to provide safety recommendations, focused on basic safety measures like smoke alarms and fire extinguishers.  The guidelines will last from May 25 to July 31. After the World Cup, city staff will propose permanent changes to short-term rental guidelines, according to the meeting agenda. 
Read more: The Eudora Times

Potentially hundreds of Topeka city staff didn’t receive their paycheck on time. On March 20, city staff were notified of an issue with their paychecks and that they wouldn’t be paid on time.
“Due to an approval error, staff did not receive paychecks this morning, however, city staff immediately worked to remedy this situation, and staff should receive pay by 1:30 PM, today,” city communications director Daniel Garrett said in a written comment. “Depending on their banks, their accounts may not reflect the deposit until Monday. Staff was notified of this issue at 8:00 AM and updated at noon.” The city’s media team didn’t respond to questions of how many staff members were impacted. Mayor Spencer Duncan said he is in the process of finding out more about the incident. He said he was unsure of how many staff members were impacted but that he was under the impression it was many.
Read more: Topeka Capital-Journal Press Releases

“Data centers threaten public health with their excessive air, water, light and noise pollution.” “Major construction projects bring a significant increase in heavy truck traffic.” “If Kansas is in fact the rarest of jewels for these trillion-dollar tech companies, why are we the ones bending over backwards to accommodate them?” Those were a few of the comments made by more than 60 concerned speakers at a packed Sedgwick County town hall this month with mounting questions over the evolving data center industry that has made its way to Wichita. The Kansas Legislature rolled out the red carpet last year to attract large data centers — which house critical IT infrastructure for technology like streaming and smartphones — with an incentives package offering 20-year sales tax exemptions for construction, equipment, site costs, and labor services for data center projects.
Read more: Wichita Business Journal

On Saturday, March 21st, Lindsborg, Kansas will celebrate its annual tradition, Lindsborg Våffeldagen. This translates to “waffle day” in English. Various forms of waffle tasting will be available. Visitors can have their photo taken with Lindsborg Waffle People.
Read more: KCLY Radio

The Kanopolis Drive-In theater, one of the few remaining outdoor movie theaters in the state, is testing out its brand-new equipment this weekend.
Read more: KSN-TV

The National Horseshoe Pitchers Association (NHPA) will have its 2026 U.S. Nationals Horseshoe Pitching Tournament at Rice Park in Hutchinson from May 29 to 31.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

The DRAGON (Downtown Revitalization and Growth of New Business) Grant program began in 2017, and prior to Wednesday evening had awarded $283,705.88 to 24 businesses and organizations, according to City Manager Ethan Reimer.
Read more: Harvey County Now

For years, a large field at College Boulevard and Ridgeview Road in western Olathe, and much of the surrounding area, has remained largely undeveloped. In five years, however, the 165-acre site will be home to the Kansas City Chiefs’ headquarters and training facility, as part of the team’s broader move to Kansas.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Starting this fall, Kansas will join at least 20 other states that ban student cellphones in K-12 classrooms statewide. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly on Thursday signed into law a bipartisan bill that requires students to store their cellphones in a secure, inaccessible location until dismissal.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Harry Lee Jr. was sworn in as LaHarpe Wednesday, the city’s third mayor in a two-week stretch. He fills the
Read more: The Iola Register