Municipal News & Jobs

Funding for a community-built America 250 Patriot’s Flag mural mosaic was approved Monday night by Marysville City Council. April Spicer, who spoke on behalf of OneMarysville, said the goal is to unveil the mural on the Fourth of July. In the written request, OneMarysville executive director Wayne Kruse wrote, “This project is designed to strengthen the visitor experience. It creates a new, Marysville-specific attraction that can be promoted year round. It adds a strong visual element for downtown and event photography and it gives us a tangible America250 feature that can be highlighted in tourism marketing and during major community weekends like the Fourth of July.”
Read more: www.marysvilleonline.net

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.

More than $4.1 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding has been awarded for 12 projects across Kansas. The investments will strengthen infrastructure, housing and economic opportunities in rural and low- to moderate-income communities. The 12 awardees will receive a total of $4,125,316 in federal funds, which was matched by $9,158,623 in local investments. The result was a combined total of $12,283,939 to be used for public improvements in communities across the state.
Read more: Kansas Department of Commerce

The Downtown Revive & Thrive: Rehabilitation for Innovation and Incubator Spaces program has a total of $500,000 available in funding for Kansas communities with populations of 5,000 or less for projects that result in functional business incubator spaces or facilities designed for temporary retail or restaurant operations. The program is designed to support projects that repurpose existing infrastructure to create spaces and provide equipment for pop-up retail and restaurants that drive economic growth and contribute vibrancy to communities.
Read more: Kansas Department of Commerce

Meeting market expectations, the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee voted to keep its key interest rate in a range between 3.5%-3.75%. The decision put a halt to three consecutive quarter percentage point reductions, billed as maintenance moves to guard against potential downturns in the labor market.
Read more: CNBC

Borrowing in the municipal bond market surpassed $500 billion last year, breaking the $498 billion record set in 2024. The “muni market” is now worth well over $4 trillion, roughly equivalent to the market capitalization of Nvidia, the chip maker that has soared on the artificial intelligence boom, driving stocks to record highs.
Read more: NYT Business

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.

The town of Green received its name in 1868 when Governor Nehemiah Green offered to buy a bell for the first Methodist Church to be established in a town named Green. The people of the area placed the name on their area, and the Governor made good on his promise.
Read more: KCLY Radio

Clay Barker, general counsel for the Secretary of State’s office, said during a hearing that combining elections would “exponentially increase” the number of ballot versions printed, to account for the boundary lines of small offices, such as school board seats and drainage districts. He also said the ballots would be much longer, costing more to print and leading to longer lines at the polls as voters take more time to fill them out.
Read more: The Iola Register

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.

It took her longer than she planned, but Jamie Wiseman is realizing her dream come true as Bentley’s newest police officer. Growing up, Wiseman watched her mom (postmaster) and dad (mechanic) don a uniform every morning and work hard for their family, so she thought that’s what she would do. She picked a police officer. In 2021, she attended the Citizens Police Academy in Wichita and began volunteering for events throughout the year. In 2023, she attended the Wichita Police Academy, where she qualified on handguns and shotguns, the tools on her duty belt, and completed the case law, among other items. She considered working in her hometown of Spearville but didn’t want to drive four hours for each shift, so she began emailing local small-town departments. Bentley Police Chief James “Tim” Bryan was the only one who had a position open and was interested in hiring part-time. He said the agency has had female officers in the past. “I felt that the addition of another woman would be a value-add for our small department,” Bryan said. “Her upbringing in a town of comparable size, her living in proximity to Bentley, being a mother, and her passion to serve were all considerations.”
Read more: Harvey County Now

Now that the news of the Kansas City Chiefs’ move from Arrowhead Stadium to a new facility in Kansas has begun to sink in, many Kansans are reflecting on the tax incentive package used to get them here, say some state lawmakers. As the Kansas Legislature geared up for the session opening this week, members of the state Legislative Budget Committee said they have been flooded with constituent questions about the particulars of the Sales Tax and Revenue (STAR) Bonds that will make up a significant portion of the funding. Legislators passed those questions on to a representative of the state Department of Commerce last week. Not all of the questions could be immediately answered, because final elements of the stadium location and property ownership are yet to be worked out.
Read more: Johnson County Post

On a lot of minds lately is the large jump in property taxes for 2026. County resident Roger Lomshek has been making the rounds among the county commission, USD 250 Board of Education, and the Pittsburg City Commission trying to convince them to reopen their 2026 budgets and possibly offer a rebate to taxpayers. USD 250 flatly refused. Crawford County and Pittsburg have been discussing the issue. At Tuesday night’s city commission meeting, Pittsburg commissioners agreed to investigate whether it is legal to reopen and redo the budget and explore possible options.
Read more: -Morning Sun

A year of hard work has paid off. Captain Steven Dryzmalla of the Hesston Police Department completed a year-long Law Enforcement Leadership Academy through the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center and the University of Kansas. To complete the course, Dryzmalla had to complete a capstone project, and he did exactly that. Dryzmalla has been working for HPD since 2011. The course was for command staff and above, usually lieutenant and above. Dryzmalla said the class covered topics from leadership to budgeting, to even working on recruitment or retention and a succession plan. The course even covered how to present projects to governing bodies.
Read more: Harvey County Now

Although Lenexa officials last year approved an over 66% increase in the number of places available at Project 1020, the county’s only cold-weather homeless shelter, the facility at the Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church has been full to overflowing every day this season since it opened Dec. 1, say organizers. On Thursday, advocates for people without housing asked for and got help from county commissioners in the form of funding of up to $25,000 for vouchers for hotel or motel stays — at negotiated rates — to help those residents who get to the shelter after it fills up. The funding is intended to last through March 31, after which the shelter closes for the season.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Hillsboro is fielding increasing complaints about feral and stray cats damaging property and straining relations between neighbors. But city administrator Matt Stiles told city council members Tuesday that the city has limited capacity to respond. Police mainly deal with stray dogs. Stray cats and other small animals are handled with live traps lent to residents and a local resident who helps on a case-by-case basis, he said.
Read more: Marion County RECORD

County commissioners Tuesday delayed a decision on imposing a moratorium on commercial battery energy storage systems to add language proposed by Commissioner Clarke Dirks offering reasons for the moratorium. County counsel Brad Jantz, who was not at the meeting, drafted the same resolution for Harvey County but did not include rationale mentioned by Dirks. Dirks said data centers and battery storage used tremendous amounts of energy.
Read more: Marion County RECORD