Municipal News & Jobs

A Shawnee County judge on Tuesday upheld an attorney general’s opinion saying that Johnson County exceeded its authority to ask voters to renew a public safety sales tax to fund mental health and emergency medical services.
Read more: Sunflower State Journal

Boeing completed its acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems, marking a significant return to Wichita. Local leaders share their reactions to the deal. Business and government leaders across Kansas are explaining why they believe Boeing’s decision to bring Spirit AeroSystems back under its wing positions Wichita for decades of continued aerospace innovation and growth.
Read more: Wichita Business Journal

Residents in Leawood held a community forum in opposition to the Royals’ potential move. Many feel a stadium going up nearby would completely disrupt the way of life in so many ways: heavy traffic, safety, economic losses for businesses, and hurting access to hospitals nearby.
Read more: KMBC

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.

Street congestion is not something that is discussed much in Crawford County, but the issue was a topic of conversation at Monday’s Arma City Council meeting. At that meeting, councilmembers shared their concerns about parking on a particular block in the city that is causing potential issues.
Read more: -Morning Sun

The Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office is investigating vandalism to a water tower near Olsburg. Deputies were called out Wednesday morning to the area of Swede Road and Shannon Creek Road where it was discovered a tower serving Rural Water District No. 2 had sustained numerous bullet impacts. Sheriff Doug Adams says it does not appear the damage was recent, but also appears to be intentional. He estimated the damage likely occurred sometime between mid-August and late November.
Read more: News Radio KMAN

The Barton County Commission came short of approving an outright ban on commercial wind turbines in Barton County, but resolutions approved Tuesday make them virtually impossible. Meanwhile, large and small non-commercial wind projects will still be allowed.
Read more: Great Bend Tribune

The Harvey County Emergency Management (EM) department celebrated its 30th anniversary last Wednesday with a small gathering at the courthouse. In attendance were Carol Buller, widow of the first EM director, Lon Buller, former director Gary Denny, and current director Mike Anderson.
Read more: Harvey County Now

The same day that the Prairie Village City Council moved forward with financing for its $30 million municipal complex project, a city resident appealed a federal court’s Nov. 3 decision to dismiss his lawsuit trying to stop the project. On Monday, the city council voted 11-0 to approve three items that pushed the public financing for its $30 million municipal complex project forward, including issuing bonds. That same day, Fritz Edmunds, the attorney representing Prairie Village resident Marc Vianello, filed a notice of appeal in federal court regarding that court’s decision last month to dismiss the lawsuit for lack of standing. Edmunds did not respond to the Post’s request for comment for this story. Vianello filed the federal lawsuit in mid-July, seeking to block the city from taking out debt for the project without first bringing it to a public vote.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Large trucks are now prohibited from driving in an unincorporated neighborhood just outside Spring Hill in southern Johnson County. The Board of County Commissioners deemed the roads in the Spring Hill Station subdivision, just east of Kansas Highway 7 along 199th Street, too narrow and unsafe for large trucks, including semi-trucks. Commissioners approved the measure 6-0 on Nov. 6. Commissioner Shirley Allenbrand was absent.
Read more: Johnson County Post

The city of Prairie Village is considering banning all monkey species — with one potential exception. After two discussions in the last month about an outright monkey ban, the Prairie Village City Council on Dec. 1 signaled interest in making an exception for one spider monkey, Oakley, who currently lives in the city with her owner, Toni Skelton. Skelton told the Shawnee Mission East Harbinger earlier this year that she first obtained Oakley in September 2024. City staff confirmed to the Post that Skelton got Oakley licensed through the city in April 2025. The proposed monkey ban is coming back before the city council for a third discussion at a future meeting. This time, the ban will appear with an option for a conditional license that would allow Oakley to legally remain in Prairie Village, even with a monkey ban in place. Currently, Prairie Village’s animal code allows monkey species whose adult weight is 20 pounds or less. (Oakley weighs 2 pounds, according to the Harbinger report.) The proposed updated language bans all monkey species, no matter the adult weight. This language mirrors animal codes in a majority of neighboring cities, with exceptions like the city of Shawnee that allow small monkeys with a special use permit for pet shops.
Read more: Johnson County Post

An Overland Park animal control officer sprung into action Wednesday after a caller reported an unusual situation in their backyard. When officers arrived, they found a red-tailed hawk with unknown injuries. According to a police spokesman, Officer Jillian Sundberg was able to safely contain the hawk and transport it to Operation Wildlife for further care. Operation Wildlife, located in Linwood, Kansas, provides rehabilitation and veterinary services to injured and orphaned wild animals in the Kansas City metro and surrounding area. Overland Park police was notified Thursday that, after receiving some treatment, the hawk died from complications of avian influenza.
Read more: Kansas City Star

A year after residents filed a petition to halt construction of the Hope Ridge Wind Farm, a Fifth District judge has upheld the Dickinson County Commission’s 2–1 decision allowing the project to move forward. Ten plaintiffs sued the County Commission in December, claiming the Conditional Use Permit approved for the wind farm was “unreasonable and unlawful.” Their suit alleged the application did not meet zoning requirements, lacked agreements from all affected landowners, and that the County mishandled an Oct. 31 protest petition by miscalculating the percentage of property needed to validate it. In his ruling, Judge Lee Fowler found no errors that warranted reversing or remanding the decision. He wrote that the process was transparent, opponents had the opportunity to speak, and the Commission’s decision was reasonable and supported by the record.
Read more: KCLY Radio

The musicians scattered around the former elementary school gymnasium didn’t look like an ordinary orchestra, nor did they sound like one. A woman in plaid and high-top Converse sneakers played her banjo with a brush while the warm sounds of cellos and violins intermingled with the sharper tones of an accordion and melodica to create a polyphonic drone. Joining forces, a small chorus sang a traditional folk tune, the words changed to reference Kansas and the tallgrass prairie. The performance, which took place on a recent Saturday in the small town of Matfield Green, was led by Clay Gonzalez, a young, Michigan-based composer who creates what he calls “radically inclusive, site-specific immersions” – orchestral soundscapes in which all the musicians are everyday people. “The whole crux of it is that we invite community members to directly participate in these events. Anyone can join,” Gonzalez says. Gonzalez had composed the music for the performance that day while a resident of the Tallgrass Artist Residency, which for the past 10 years has brought painters, poets, photographers, filmmakers, writers and others to this remote pocket of the Flint Hills. Each summer, the program hosts eight to 10 artists, and then puts on what it calls the Fall Gathering, a daylong event where that year’s artists are invited to give talks or present their work. (Such was the occasion for Gonzalez’s performance.)
Read more: KLC Journal

Two Kansas cities were recognized by True West magazine as 2026 Top 10 True Western Towns, with one receiving the honor for the second year in a row. Because of its rich heritage, Abilene returned to True West Magazine’s Top 10 True Western Towns list, claiming second place after finishing in seventh last year. Dodge City came in at No. 6.
Read more: KSN-TV

City leaders made adjustments to a controversial utility bill Tuesday night. At the city council meeting on the night of Dec. 2, city leaders agreed to change the name of what you’re paying for retail water services and sanitary sewer services. Currently people in Topeka pay a “readiness to serve” charge. Now, after a vote from the governing body, people will be paying a “base charge.” The readiness to serve charge is a monthly fee for people on all water meters whether it’s used or not. While causing confusion from people in the community, and some even saying it’s not fair, officials have previously said it’s not as much about usage but rather access, and being able to fund the city’s infrastructure in a fair manner. The new base charge will be applicable only to active accounts.
Read more: KSNT 27 News

World Cup in the Flint Hills? Well, not for games — but Wabaunsee County is developing a marketing campaign to attract spectators with the help of the Kansas Department of Commerce. The state is disbursing over $177,000 in tourism marketing grants to 20 entities. On the list is Wabaunsee County Economic Development, which is set to begin a targeted campaign aimed at FIFA World Cup travelers to inform them about the Flint Hills, both in general terms and when it comes to specific attractions. Wabaunsee County is using a better-than-$7,400 grant for this purpose with the World Cup coming to Kansas City in June and July.
Read more: KVOE

Deep Fission says it plans to install a nuclear reactor underground at an industrial park in southeast Kansas. Parsons, Kansas, will be the site of a California startup’s first ever 1-mile-deep nuclear reactor — with support from county commissioners, both Republican Kansas U.S. senators and Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration. Deep Fission will hold a ceremonial groundbreaking on Tuesday at Great Plains Industrial Park. Company leaders hope to receive U.S. Department of Energy authorization and get its nuclear reactor up and running by next Fourth of July.
Read more: The Lawrence Times