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.

The city of Lenexa will finally join other major governing bodies in Johnson County in livestreaming its city council meetings. At its meeting on Oct. 6, the Lenexa City Council voted 7-0 to approve amendments to the Governing Body Rules of Procedure and allow for city council meetings to be livestreamed on the city’s website. Councilmember Bill Nicks was absent. While Lenexa City Council meetings have been available for replay on the city’s website since January 2023, the city has never livestreamed them. The council meetings have been recorded and typically posted online the next day.
Read more: Johnson County Post

In four days, gates will open at Eureka Downs for the first time in more than a decade — and when racing returns, wagering does too. It won’t be just win, place, or show at the races this Saturday at Eureka Downs. Bettors will have other opportunities to cash in on their wagers. Mike Weiss, the track manager at Eureka Downs, says there is also a chance for those who may not be high-rollers to win big. Along with traditional win, place, and show bets, fans can place exactas — predicting first and second place — and trifectas, predicting the top three finishers. Self‑serve kiosks will be available for confident bettors, while tellers will assist those unfamiliar with horse‑race wagering.
Read more: KSN-TV

Valley Center voters will consider a 1% sales tax this November to support the city’s public safety services, including the fire department. This comes several months after Sedgwick County moved to terminate mutual aid agreements with multiple cities, including Valley Center. Mayor Jet Truman said the city is moving from a 12-hour to 24-hour fire department, and that will require major upgrades to the staff and facilities.
Read more: KSN-TV

Urban and rural acute-care hospitals are closing at the same rate despite widespread belief that rural providers face more financial pressure than urban ones. That’s according to recent findings from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health published as a research letter in healthcare journal JAMA. Nationally, more acute-care hospitals across the U.S. closed than opened between 2010 to 2025, the study found. “Many policymakers have been treating hospital closures as a rural problem, but our data show it’s a national problem,” Thomas Tsai, associate professor of health policy and management and one of the study’s authors, said in a statement. “We must shift away from only asking ourselves how we can save rural hospitals, and start asking: How do we protect access to hospital care for vulnerable communities, wherever they are?”
Read more: The Bond Buyer

Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland today published the boundaries for the Kansas City Chiefs STAR Bonds District, as authorized by K.S.A. 12-17, 160 et. al. The STAR Bond district will collect new sales tax revenues to finance the construction of the $3 billion state-of-the-art domed stadium in Wyandotte County, the Chiefs headquarters and training facility in Olathe and portions of the surrounding mixed-used development.
Read more: Press Releases Archives – Kansas Department of Commerce

The Rose Hill City Council adopted a new resolution at its latest meeting on Oct. 5, determining that the proposed ordinance concerning high impact data centers and battery energy storage systems (BESS) was principally administrative, and therefore excluded under Kansas statute 12-3013. Rose Hill’s city clerk received a citizen petition in September, proposing said ordinance to fully prohibit the installation of high impact data centers. Citing the zoning regulations already in place that restrict such development, along with several other factors, the council passed the resolution – which did not approve the proposed ordinance or call an election on it.
Read more: www.derbyinformer.com

Home prices in Lyon County have remained relatively stable as low housing inventory continues to shape the local real estate market, leaving buyers balancing affordability concerns with limited options. According to Jamie Sauder, broker and co-owner of Coldwell Banker Emporia Real Estate, there are currently about 60 to 65 homes on the market in Lyon County. With the area averaging about 30 to 35 home sales per month, the current inventory represents roughly two months of available housing. A balanced housing market typically has three to six months of inventory, meaning Lyon County has fewer homes available than what is generally considered a balanced market.
Read more: www.emporiagazette.com/a>

Voters living within Emporia city limits will decide two citizen-initiated ballot questions Nov. 3 proposing restrictions on high-impact data centers and certain battery energy storage systems.
Read more: www.emporiagazette.com

City Manager Daniela Rivas and Chief of Police Craig Dunlavy gave a presentation on Flock camera usage in Newton, along with a representative from Flock, on Tuesday evening. Rivas said Flock cameras had received increased scrutiny in recent months, with many people having concerns about privacy and security. “This is in hopes to reduce or alleviate any of your concerns,” Rivas said.
Read more: Harvey County Now

As the ceremonial hose coupled together, it was a representation a decades-old dream and the future joining as one.The post Sedgwick hooks together past and future to open Station 31 appeared first on Harvey County Now. With a band of dignitaries and representatives, along with current and past members of Sedgwick’s fire department, Station 31 officially opened to the public on Saturday, Oct. 10. “What a fabulous, wonderful morning it is to be here in Sedgwick,” City Administrator Kyle Nordick said. “This is a truly amazing special morning as we get to open up Station 31.”
Read more: Harvey County Now

What began as a stagecoach station in the mid-1800s became a booming mining town, then gradually faded into a quiet community. Now, Mulberry is charting a new course while residents reflect on the legacy that built this Crawford County town.
Read more: www.koamnewsnow.com

The ballot language lists multiple projects that the funds would support, including public safety vehicles, upgrades to the public golf course and parks, and more.
Read more: KSN-TV

A new data center has been proposed at the old Forbes Field in Topeka. The Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority (MTAA) held data center presentation at the Oct. 13 Topeka city council meeting. This comes after both Shawnee County and the city of Topeka passed moratoriums on data center development within county and city limits. Curtis Sneden, president of the MTAA, spoke about the plan for a potential data center. The developer currently has no client to occupy the site once built.
Read more: KSNT 27 News

The city’s current 1% sales tax, which collects money for the general fund, will expire in 2027. This renewal would redirect the funds to address the pressing need for street repairs.
Read more: KSN-TV

The Overland Park Police Department announced an update Wednesday to the departments policy on using automated license plate readers. OPPD said automated license plate readers (ALPRs) are tools that help officers find stolen vehicles, spot vehicles used in serious crimes, etc. The department announced Wednesday it met with a host of community groups and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to alter some use guidelines.
Read more: KSHB News

The company behind one of the hyperscale data center proposal projects in De Soto, Kansas, announced it is preparing to provide direct credits of up to $1,000 for every household in the city.
Digital Realty is preparing its 300-acre site for a data center at Astra Enterprise Park near the Panasonic Plant. Construction is expected to start in 2027. Beale Infrastructure has started construction on its data center campus down the road from Panasonic and Digital Realty’s site. But even with the promise of Digital Realty’s money, neighbors are still skeptical of what the project could mean for their everyday life.
Read more: KSHB News

Kansas Main Street State Director Drew Simpson told a packed Quarterly Downtown Meet & Greet on Tuesday that enforcing building codes on vacant downtown properties and retaining a well-paid Main Street director are essential to the city’s downtown revitalization efforts. Simpson, who spent 10 years with the Georgia Main Street program before taking the Kansas post, said he had never seen so many people at a community meeting. Lindsay Madison, president and CEO of the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, gave Simpson a tour of downtown before he spoke.
Simpson said Kansas Main Street will make a baseline visit next year, distribute community questionnaires the following year and return for progress and alignment visits to assess whether the local strategy is working.
Read more: The Bourbon County Monitor

The city’s planning commission on Tuesday hashed out initial regulatory framework for local data centers in Hutchinson, focusing on eight topics that are now guiding efforts to create permanent zoning rules for the hotly debated developments.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

Nine new black squirrel statues will be unveiled during Black Squirrel Fall Fest Oct. 24 in downtown Marysville. The unveiling begins at 3 p.m., kicking off an afternoon and evening of activities for all ages.
Read more: www.marysvilleonline.net

Downtown Marysville has officially earned a place on the National Register of Historic Places, recognizing the district’s architectural heritage while opening up new opportunities for investment in its historic buildings.
Read more: www.marysvilleonline.net

Violators of Prairie Village’s e-bike and e-scooter ordinance are now more likely to get a citation instead of just a warning. After more than a year of educating the community about new restrictions on e-bikes and e-scooters, the Prairie Village Police Department now plans to move “to a more aggressive enforcement, including citations,” according to an Oct. 1 city email. Kids riding e-bikes and e-scooters — and even faster-moving e-motorcycles that require a driver’s license — have become an increasingly prominent trend across Johnson County. And safety concerns have grown alongside that, especially as parents of kids struck by cars have spoken up, urging for more safety.
Read more: Johnson County Post

The potential for a “drastically different” downtown Merriam may come with the cost of a new municipal sales tax. On Monday, City Administrator Chris Engel outlined an early proposal to the Merriam City Council for a potential sales tax ballot initiative to put before voters, aimed at helping pay for a not-yet-finalized downtown makeover.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Federal Reserve officials expect they will raise interest rates again before the end of the year to head off inflation that has run above target for more than five years, according to meeting minutes released Wednesday. But the meeting summary provided no indication of when specifically that policymakers expected to raise benchmark rates – only that persistently higher prices and a stable labor market likely would lead to a second hike this year.
Read more: CNBC Bonds

The Overland Park Police Department has tightened guidelines around the use of the city’s 37 stationary automated license plate readers and 110 vehicle mounted cameras. “While automated license plate reader technology has been a part of Overland Park’s public safety efforts since 2011, evolving technological capabilities require our policy to evolve alongside them,” police spokesperson Officer John Lacy said in a statement to KCUR. The new regulations ban the use of automated license plate reader data to gather information on free speech or religious activity. Cameras are prohibited within “100 feet of any place of worship, polling place, or medical facility.”
Read more: Johnson County Post

The WSJ quarterly survey reveals that forecasters think inflation, Federal Reserve rate increases and debt will keep borrowing costs higher for longer.
Read more: WSJ.com: Markets

The city of Shawnee is looking to amend its municipal code to crack down on distracted driving caused by people watching videos on their phones. On Monday, the Shawnee Council Committee discussed amending city code to include language that explicitly addresses drivers watching videos and livestreams behind the wheel. Current city code only outlaws sending written communications, like texting and emails, while driving. The amendment would cover a broader grouping of distracted driving behaviors, including using the internet or other social media platforms like Facebook and watching videos on apps like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Lawrence City Manager Majed Al-Ghafry floated the idea of a new downtown department and said the city should remain open to exploring data centers during a chamber of commerce event this week.  Key for Al-Ghafry is balance, he said: between development and the city’s core beliefs; between expanding Lawrence and preserving agriculture; and between different types of housing. Al-Ghafry, whom the Lawrence City Commission selected as the new city manager in June, spoke to a full house at the Jayhawk Club including business owners, developers, school board members, city staff and county commissioners. Chamber President and CEO Bonnie Lowe asked him questions.
Read more: The Lawrence Times

The data center has not been fully approved. According to a press release from Digital Realty, the payment plan was created with the help of city leaders to help residents with utilities and property taxes.
Read more: KCTV5

The bill’s language, according to the lawsuit, restricts the Unified Government’s authority in a manner that runs counter to the Kansas Constitution’s right for local governments to determine local affairs “unless the Legislature acts through laws that apply uniformly to all cities.”
Read more: Hutch News

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 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 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 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.

Firefighters were notified just before 6 p.m. that Tasslehoff had been located high up in a tree in the 200 block of W. Allen Street, just south of the Spring Hill Sports Complex.
Read more: Johnson County Post

The safeguards give the Unified Government power to approve any potential boundary changes under the STAR bond and the ability to approve details of the stadiums’ funding plan that affect Wyandotte County.
Read more: KSN-TV

Members of Lawrence’s Aviation Advisory Board think that with the right planning, the regional airport could become more accessible to the public and a linchpin of the city’s economic development.
Read more: The Lawrence Times

Wichita economist Bekah Selby-Leach discusses how AI, population shifts and aerospace growth will shape the region’s 2027 economy.
Read more: Wichita Business Journal

The most-used incentive program for commercial development in the Wichita region is industrial revenue bonds, which are meant to encourage business expansion, retention and job creation. The Wichita area is one of the top regions in Kansas for approved property tax breaks through revenue bonds — a statewide program that has resulted in a significant increase in forgone tax revenue in the past decade as property valuations rise and higher-priced projects seek incentives, a state audit reported in July. Sedgwick County has foregone $209 million in property taxes through industrial revenue bonds since 2010, with the city of Wichita giving up $52 million.
Read more: Wichita Business Journal

Wichita is preparing to rethink its incentive strategies as a new city manager takes the helm and past missteps has led to frustration.
Read more: Wichita Business Journal

Wichita is reviewing its economic development incentives programs. This is an explainer of the current policies, including industrial revenue bonds and tax increment financing.
Read more: Wichita Business Journal

Treasury yields fell on Thursday, giving back some of the recent gains that propelled longer-dated rates to levels not seen in decades. The 10-year Treasury yield breached a level last seen in April 2002, before easing 5 basis points to 5.243%. The 10-year influences rates on mortgage and auto loans and credit card debt. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond also hit its highest in 24 years before dropping more than 2 basis points to 5.613%.
Read more: CNBC Bonds

As demand for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cloud computing drives rapid data center development across the country, local governments are confronting complex decisions about water and energy use, infrastructure, economic development and community impact.
Read more: National League of Cities

Cowley County commissioners — to the applause of property owners — on Tuesday approved the hiring of a law firm to represent the county in the ongoing fight over the Buffalo Flats transmission line project in south-central Kansas. The contract authorizes the county administrator and county counselor to seek legal representation from Foulston Law Office of Wichita regarding the Buffalo Flats project, at a cost not to exceed $15,000.
Read more: www.ctnewsonline.com

Sedgwick County has continued to put data center development on hold through the year, enacting an interim control period on data center applications back in January. On Sept. 2, the Sedgwick County Commission extended that control period once again, now in effect through Dec. 24. As the development of data centers has become a national talking point over the past year, the lack of regulations for such development was identified as something to address in Sedgwick County – hence the control period. While the control period is in place, county staff is working on a set of regulations to help define how such developments could be handled locally.
Read more: www.derbyinformer.com