Municipal News & Jobs

The Olathe Police Department has launched a new program that deploys drones as first responders. “Drones as First Responders” (DFR) is an initiative designed to strengthen community safety through innovative technology, the police department shared. “By providing real-time intelligence and video to officers, DFR will improve operational efficiency and support both citizen and officer safety,” the department said in a news release. DFR drones will be deployed in specific situations to give responding officers a live view of the scene. They may also be used in hazardous environments, where sending people in immediately could increase risk.
Read more: FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV

Five parks in Garden City have a new installation – playground communication boards which allow children to communicate their needs, ideas, and feelings by pointing to or selecting symbols. Ticia Herd, Garden City Parks and Recreation Director, said the boards were installed between two and three weeks ago, around the middle to end of February at Bob Halloran Park, Deane Wiley Park, Finnup Scout Park, A. Harold Long Park and Finnup Park. Dixie Teeter, a Speech Language Pathologist with the Kansas State Department and member of the group Southwest Kansas Konnect, Include, Support Summit (SWK-KISS), said idea for the communication boards came from SWK-KISS co-founders Caitlin Sotelo, a Special Education teacher, and Jana Brown, a School Social Worker.
Read more: Garden City Telegram

Along with bond construction at the schools, Halstead residents will also be dealing with sidewalk and road construction for the next couple of months. Last week, Halstead city officials met with Lochner, an infrastructure services provider, to discuss pre-construction issues related to the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) improvements project. Construction is set to begin this week, according to Halstead City Manager Ethan Reimer.
Read more: Harvey County Now

To address anticipated growth in the southwestern portion of the county associated with the redevelopment of the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant into the Astra Enterprise Park, the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners adopted updates to the Comprehensive Arterial Road Network Plan (CARNP) on Thursday. The plan outlines recommendations for future transportation needs and access management on arterial roads in the southern and western portion of the county. The plan does not make final determinations on any road improvements but identifies policies to manage access and plan for adequate traffic capacity on arterial roads.
Read more: Johnson County Kansas

If you’ve been watching the Prairie Village market closely, you’ve probably noticed something that is a bit harder to quantify at first glance. The move-up market, particularly between $600,000 and $1,000,000, feels tight. Not new, not surprising, but more noticeable right now. The data supports that feeling. Over the past four to five years, the median closed price in Prairie Village has climbed from roughly $400,000 in 2022 to about $519,000 today. That is steady, healthy growth. At the same time, the median price of active listings has moved much more aggressively, now sitting well above $900,000 and even reaching $1.25 million in March. That spread between where homes are selling and where many homes are listed highlights a real pressure point in the market.
Read more: Johnson County Post

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 a Merriam Drive connected corridor plan with neighboring cities, that examine the possibilities for the downtown area. Shockey plans to build off those past efforts, according to city documents. Still, some downtown business owners remain concerned about the city’s plans along Merriam Drive, particularly with any flood mitigation steps that could result in razing buildings and displacing businesses. The ongoing purchase of downtown properties and plans to remake Merriam Drive itself have also drawn criticism from business owners in the area.
Read more: Johnson County Post

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 59-63. The resolution, which would have been on the August ballot for voters to decide, limits the assessed valuation of residential, commercial, and agricultural  property from jumping more than 9% in any one year. 
Read more: Kansas Reflector

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 release. “By combining media expertise with social analysis, our students have captured the resilience of the Garden City community while highlighting the critical need for expanded food access.”
Read more: KCLY Radio

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 Missouri. Zach Boblitt reports for the Kansas News Service from Lawrence.
Read more: KCUR News

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 are state-mandated, “essential to core government functions,” or arose due to a legal settlement. Others, such as the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board or Sustainability Integration Board, arose due to public interest or upon the city’s receipt of a federal grant. These are not necessarily “operationally necessary” according to the Wichita Board and Commissions Review Draft Report and subject to evaluation.  
Read more: KLC Journal

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 for candidates for township offices.
Read more: KLC Journal

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 sacrificing response times.
Read more: KSN-TV

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 facility.
Read more: KSN-TV

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 the departures of Groen and Stahl.
Read more: KSNT 27 News

A series of grants is helping Lincolnville Fire Department upgrade equipment, improve firefighter safety, and strengthen emergency response across Marion County. In the past year, Lincolnville secured five grants totaling $39,093, fire chief Lester Kaiser said. The money came from a Kansas Forest Service Volunteer Fire Assistance Grant, Atmos Energy, South Bow Energy, Tri County Telephone, and MFA Oil.
Read more: Marion County RECORD

Those who are going to Colwich for the first time in a while will now be greeted by a limestone monument to the town. On March 19, the City of Colwich unveiled its new sign east of Memorial Park. According to the City of Colwich, this is an idea that’s been four years in the making, with the biggest push coming over the last three years.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

Douglas County-area law enforcement and first responders have joined a Blue Envelope program to help them better serve people who may respond to emergencies differently from the way officers are expecting. “Not everyone responds the same in dealing with emergent and often stressful circumstances,” according to a Wednesday news from the Lawrence Police Department. “A variety of medical and mental health conditions can also cause people to act in ways that concern first responders and increase tension.” Blue envelopes hold important documentation such as a driver’s license, proof of insurance and registration in one place, but they also explain medical conditions for the community member and the officer. “The envelope gives officers notice that the person might need a little more time, might avoid eye contact, act in ways that appear strange, or could be overwhelmed by lights and noise,” according to the release. Bailey Salsbury, a school resource officer with LPD, learned about the program and worked to coordinate the effort, according to the release. LPD, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical, and the KU, Baldwin City and Eudora police departments are all participating.
Read more: The Lawrence Times

A bill on the brink of becoming law in Kansas would incentivize local cooperation with federal immigration authorities and make it a crime to come within 25 feet of a first responder — including an ICE agent — after being ordered to back up. The bill that lawmakers sent to Gov. Laura Kelly’s desk last week would remove the requirement that sheriff’s offices obtain county commission approval before entering into agreements with ICE. That provision was bundled with another piece of legislation that First Amendment advocates warn would give law enforcement officers broad, subjective power to arrest people whom they deem to be distracting them from carrying out their duties. ICE agents themselves would not be allowed to arrest people simply for approaching them under the proposed statute. Only state and local law enforcement officers could enforce the buffer zone. But the legislation is careful to identify federal officers of any agency as first responders — a definition that would be a first in Kansas law.
Read more: Wichita Eagle

A little more than a year after a $450 million bond issue narrowly failed at the polls, Wichita Public Schools said Tuesday that administrators were informally recommending the school board schedule a November bond vote. The district announced a series of community feedback sessions to better assess what parents and residents want to see improved in Wichita schools. The push to revive a bond issue – which the board will consider at its June meeting – comes as officials say a long list of facility needs continues to create problems for the district. Ahead of the 2025 vote, the district cited $1.2 billion in deferred maintenance, and earlier this month the Chester Lewis Academic Learning Center was shuttered before its planned closing date because of structural damage.
Read more: Wichita Eagle