Municipal News & Jobs

The City of Kingman, in partnership with MakeMyMove.com and through a state grant program announced in October, is now offering financial incentives to bring in new residents, remote workers and skilled professionals.
Read more: KSN-TV

Staff recommended data center and crypto currency mining facilities be allowed in industrial-zoned areas and battery storage in districts where other utility-scale uses are allowed, if they also receive a conditional use permit from the County Commission. However, commissioners raised concerns about the demands on local infrastructure and whether it was enough to even sustain a data center or crypto mine.
Read more: LJWorld

Craig Owens has spent his whole career looking for challenges – from blue-collar factory communities to suburbs to a densely packed city in Missouri with nearly 50 high-rises.
Read more: LJWorld

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.

With a mill levy of 121.799, Hays has a significantly lower property tax compared to four peer communities (Dodge City, Garden City, Emporia and Pittsburg.) That’s no coincidence says Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams because the City’s “pull factor” is consistently one of the best in the state. “More people spending money within the city limits from outside of Hays benefits everyone because of the City of Hays use of sales tax funding for operations and their general fund.
Read more: Hays Daily News

Arkansas City Senior Genevieve Herrera is receiving first-hand experience on how the court system works. For the past six months, she has served as an intern with District Judge Christopher Smith at the court facilities in Arkansas City and Winfield. The ACHS intern program allows students to work with local employers to experience careers that match their studies or interests. Students have the opportunity to explore a wide range of career paths.
Read more: www.ctnewsonline.com

A raucous crowd of around 150 people gathered Wednesday to get answers from officials looking to build a data center in Pottawatomie County. Ryan Sanders and Charles Kontz, principals of Beltline Energy, spoke at a meeting at Iron Clad in Wamego. Beltline is based in Atlanta. The meeting originally had been set as a private event in Manhattan, but the invitation was widely shared on social media, so it became a public event and moved to Wamego.
Read more: News Radio KMAN

After enacting a six-month moratorium on data center projects last month, the Riley County Commission on Monday began considering the next steps of the conversation. Planning director Amanda Webb spoke to commissioners about possibilities of the information they could seek during the moratorium period. The temporary restriction also includes battery energy storage system projects, but data centers were the focus of Monday’s conversation.
Read more: News Radio KMAN

As economic uncertainty continues to ripple through manufacturing communities across the country, Emporia leaders say they remain focused on attracting new opportunities, even as the Flint Hills Economic Alliance remains in a developmental phase and Michelin announces the layoff of approximately 100 workers. The Flint Hills Economic Alliance, or FHEA, was first unveiled in late February as a proposed restructuring of local economic development efforts. The concept aimed to combine several community organizations under one umbrella in an effort to streamline recruitment, tourism and business development efforts.
Read more: www.emporiagazette.com

Standing room only during a city council meeting in Gardner Monday night. In nearly two hours of public comment, dozens of people stood up to object to a proposed hyperscale data center. The 3.1 billon dollar project would include up to 16 data halls across multiple buildings on the 300-acre site. Beale claims it will be one of Johnson County’s largest tax revenue generators, and employ hundreds of contractors, trade positions and 50 full time on-site positions.
Read more: FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV

Great Bend could consider a permanent 0.75-cent sales tax, potentially raising the total local tax rate to 9.45% if voters approve it in November. The discussion surfaced at a City Council work session after the Monday meeting, though no formal action was taken.
Read more: Great Bend Tribune

Residents of Sylvan Grove and surrounding communities are invited to take part in a once-in-a-generation celebration as the town marks its 150th anniversary on Saturday, May 23. Centered around the theme “Rooted in Our History … Reaching to Our Future,” the event promises a full day of activities honoring the town’s rich past while celebrating the spirit of its future.
Read more: Great Bend Tribune

Isaac Shue’s favorite parts of the mural he’s creating at Mostaza are the bubbles. They’re small, round dots in various colors, and flowers decorate the mural, which they started on Sunday, May 3. The reason they picked flowers for the mural is that mostaza is a plant, and plants start with seeds, Shue said. The bubbles in the mural represent seeds, which can be seen in the store’s logo, he said. Shue and his wife, Karina, are Mostaza co-owners. Mostaza is at 615 N. Main in downtown Newton, and the gallery had a blank wall out back, so Shue wanted to color it up with the mural.
Read more: Harvey County Now

Johnson County’s Stormwater Management Program has launched its new Green infrastructure Grant Program, covering the cost of green infrastructure projects across the county. “Green infrastructure” refers to natural systems like streams, prairies, forests and wetlands. The program seeks to fund projects that advance watershed health, reduce flooding and erosion risks, and improve stormwater quality in alignment with the program’s watershed master plans.
Read more: Johnson County Kansas

After pushback from the public, the Olathe City Council on Tuesday delayed a vote on an ordinance restricting drone takeoffs and landings to give the topic more scrutiny and discussion. The ordinance would place new limits on where drones can take off and land in the city, including up to a mile from large events and within 1,000 feet of certain public facilities. Opponents of the bill said ordinances like this only harm responsible drone operators.
Read more: Johnson County Post

April showers bring May flowers — or, in this case, a 15-foot sunflower sculpture outside De Soto City Hall. City officials, the De Soto Arts Council and USD 232 students and staff celebrated the installation of the kinetic sculpture, titled “Blooming De Soto, Rising Tomorrows,” on Thursday. The piece, which has two layers that rotate with the wind, was made entirely by USD 232 Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) students at the Cedar Trails Exploration Center (CTEC).
Read more: Johnson County Post

A proposed 300-acre data center in Gardner has nearby residents in an uproar. California-based Beale Infrastructure, which also leads the De Soto data center project, recently proposed another data center in eastern Gardner, near the northeast corner of 191st Street and South Clare Road. Many Gardner and nearby residents, including Kyle Eisenbarger, believe that data centers have no place in the community. Eisenbarger lives just across the street from the proposed site, in unincorporated Johnson County. He can see the 300 acres from his driveway. Eisenbarger launched a website condemning the proposal, and the community has followed suit with both a Facebook group and a petition, which had more than 1,000 signatures as of Monday morning.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Charred fence posts, oxidized barbed wire and blackened trees lined the Arkansas River in west-central Kansas in the wake of a 1,500 acre fire that scorched the dry riverbed and surrounding property. Below average rainfall in the region and a bone-dry riverbed filled with dead brush fueled the fire. The Kansas State Fire Marshal’s Office deemed the cause “undetermined,” even though the fire sparked one day after a controlled burn was performed on an adjacent ranch owned by the city of Hays. The fire marshal’s office did not draw a connection between the two fires. But others didn’t find it difficult to see a link.
Read more: Kansas Reflector

The Mission Gateway site at the intersection of Shawnee Mission Parkway and Johnson Drive has sat largely vacant for two decades. While it’s unclear how long it might take for the private property get redeveloped, Mission Mayor Sollie Flora says the city’s government is making “making it a focus.”
Read more: KCUR

It’s getting more difficult to find an attorney in rural Kansas as people retire, so the state is offering incentives to attract a new generation of lawyers. Still, filling the civic leadership roles left by veteran lawyers will not be easy. The shortage of attorneys in many rural areas has left people without the legal help they need. But a new Kansas law will give incentives to lawyers who practice or plan to practice in rural areas of the state. As Kansas News Service reporter Zach Boblitt explains, they have big shoes to fill.
Read more: KCUR News