Kansas Municipal News
US 30-year Treasury yield falls to new historic low
The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond dropped to a record low in the morning of Asian trading hours on Thursday, breaching the 2% level for its first time, according to Reuters.
That came just a day after the 30-year Treasury bond touched record lows on Wednesday, amid market fears after the closely watched yields on the 10-year Treasury note and the 2-year inverted.
After dipping to levels below 2%, the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was last at 1.987%. Still, that was higher than the yields on 30-year bonds elsewhere globally. The yield on the 30-year Japanese government bond was at 0.155%, while the rate of the 30-year German bund was at -0.201%.
Read more: CNBC.
Community, elected officials rally around Tyson
Nearly 50 people filled the second floor meeting room at Garden City’s Administrative Center on Tuesday morning to express gratitude to first responders for their outstanding efforts during the weekend fire at the Tyson Fresh Meats plant in Holcomb.
The event also showed the community’s and Tyson’s resolve to repair the plant and move forward.
Dr. Bill Clifford, Finney County Commission chairman, appreciated Tuesday’s turnout by federal, state and local elected officials and said the weekend fire could have been much worse and could have had lasting consequences for the community.
(Read more: Greater Garden City » Feed)
Govs. Kelly, Parson pledge to transform KC-area economic incentive gravy train
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly denounced Tuesday job growth results of $330 million in economic incentives handed out in the past decade to lure jobs back and forth across the state border cutting through metropolitan Kansas City.
Kelly referred to the border war as a “fiscally irresponsible” contest for bragging rights for which the winner earned the opportunity to portray the illusion of success, while Parson said it didn’t take a rocket scientist to confirm the two-state competition that moved jobs around the chess board was “a bad deal for both states.”
They joined forces at the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce summit at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan., to celebrate taking a new bi-state approach linking state-level business incentives to net job expansion.
(Read more: News – Butler County Times Gazette)
How will self-driving cars affect Kansas? AAA and WSU to host transportation seminars
Wichita State University and AAA Kansas will host an educational seminar series addressing the future of autonomous vehicles in the state.
“The technology to provide fully self-driving vehicles is under development and testing and is advancing toward future reality on our roadways,” said AAA Kansas spokesman Shawn Steward in a news release. “As the nation’s foremost advocate for motorists, travelers and traffic safety, AAA is pleased to partner with Wichita State to provide this informative forum to educate and engage with transportation and government officials, community business leaders and the public on the future of our transportation system, so we are prepared when autonomous vehicles become reality in Kansas.”
The first Technology Takes the Wheel seminar is 9-11:30 a.m. Aug. 30 at WSU Tech’s National Center for Aviation Training, 4004 N. Webb. It is free and open to the public. Attendees can register online at www.wichita.edu/autonomousvehicles.
(Read more: Local News |)
As Leawood Prohibits Discrimination Against LGBTQ People, Shawnee Takes Up The Debate
After several hours of public testimony and discussion lasting well past midnight on Tuesday, a Shawnee City Council committee voted to move ahead with an ordinance protecting residents from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. City staff will now draft an ordinance to send to the full council for consideration. Shawnee’s move came a day after the Leawood City Council unanimously passed an ordinance protecting LGBTQ from discrimination. With the Leawood ordinance’s passage, about 13% of Johnson County residents are covered by nondiscrimination ordinances. The passage of such an ordinance in Shawnee would bring that to more than 23%.
Lenexa mayor directs city staff to draft non-discrimination ordinance for council discussion this fall
Following an executive session with the city’s attorney regarding analysis of potential legal issues related to the kinds of non-discrimination ordinances adopted by nearby Johnson County cities, Lenexa Mayor Mike Boehm on Tuesday directed city staff to prepare a draft NDO for consideration by the governing body in the coming months.
In May, the city passed a non-binding resolution affirming its opposition to discrimination of any kind. At the time, the governing body indicated that it planned to wait to see whether cases pending before the U.S. Supreme Court provided any clarity about federal protections from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. During a council meeting this spring, Boehm said he believed a statewide law would provide more consistency and ensure there were no enforcement challenges at the city level.
(Read more: Prairie Village Post)
Power out across large parts of Ellis Co., I-70 closed as storm blows through Tuesday
As a large storm blew through Hays Tuesday evening storm damage was being reported across town with power lines down, debris littered across roads, flooding and about 6,200 without power around 9 p.m.
“As you can imagine we have a fair amount of damage across the county,” said Mike Morley, director of communications, Midwest Energy.
“There is also a fair amount of debris in the street,” he said.
“We have crews out right now doing damage assessments, trying to find where those wires are down, so we ask people to call in their outages to our 800 number.”
(Read more: Hutch Post)
USD 309 receives grant for STEM programs
The Nickerson USD 309 School District has received a $25,000 grant from The America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education to help fund STEM education in the district.
The grant which is sponsored by the Bayer Fund, partnered with local farmers to nominate rural schools and awarded more than $2.3 million in grants to enhance their science, technology, engineering, and math.
USD 309 is one of the many schools across the country that has benefited from the Grow Rural Education program. For each grant-winning school, teachers, students, and oftentimes, community members, develop plans to create more engaging and innovative STEM programs.
(Read more: Hutch Post)
Merriam council accepts study on Irene B. French center, directs staff to look into feasibility to save 1911 portion of building
The Merriam city council has directed city staff to look into the feasibility and costs of saving the 1911 portion of the Irene B. French Community Center.
Over the past several months, Merriam city leaders, residents and business owners have been considering options for the century-old historic building at 5701 Merriam Drive.
In its final report to the Merriam city council on Monday, the 5701 Merriam Drive Steering Committee recommended saving as much of the 1911 portion of the Irene B. French Community Center as possible. That option would involve tearing down the rest of the center, creating open space and re-using the 1911 portion of the building in some way, at a cost estimate of $3,050,000 to $4,250,000.
(Read more: Shawnee Mission Post – Community news and events for northeast Johnson County)
Amendment to Wichita’s leash law opens new opportunities for local business
Chris Stoneberger and his dog Quinn are ready to get their business going. Goose Troopers is it’s name, and their mission is to clear geese from public places using trained dogs like his.
They are next to ponds around the city, in residential neighborhoods and along the sidewalks next to the Arkansas River. Wherever they go they aren’t unnoticed by most citizens, especially the feces they leave behind.
“I occasionally have to dodge it,” said Alex Beck, a jogger on the sidewalks next to the Arkansas River. “I just kind of work around it, I’m used to it by now.”
(Read more: KAKE – News)
Stocks Slide After Recession Warnings
Stocks sank Wednesday after the bond market threw up one of its last remaining warning flags on the economy.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury briefly dropped below the two-year Treasury’s yield Wednesday morning. It’s rare for short-term yields to rise above longer-term ones, and when it happens, market watchers call it “an inverted yield curve” and brace for the possibility of a recession hitting in a year or two.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped as much as 475 points in the first few minutes of trading before recouping some of its losses.
(Read more: Kingman County News)
SEK Recycling Center looks to match grant for new styrofoam processor
Keeping Southeast Kansas green isn’t an easy job, but it’s a meaningful one for a recycling company.
The Southeast Kansas Recycling Center recently was awarded a grant for a new styrofoam processor. But the issue is, they need to provide a $5,000 match for the grant, and that’s money they don’t have.
As commodity pricing continues to plummet, the longevity of the recycling center is unknown. And, being one of the only non-profit recycling centers in the Midwest, some are hoping they stick around for a while.
(Read more: KSNF/KODE – FourStatesHomepage.com)
Part of Halstead closing next week for railroad crossing repairs
The Saline County Road and Bridge Department has announced that part of Halstead Road will be closed next week.
According to a news release, Halstead Road from Stimmel Road south to Armstrong Road will be closed Monday through August 25, 2019, to permit Ameritrack Railroad to repair the railroad crossing. The length of the closure will be dependent on the weather.
A signed detour will be installed by the railroad company. Access to the Ell-Saline Elementary School will be maintained throughout construction.
(Read more: The Salina Post)
What the 2- vs 10-year Treasury yield curve inversion means
The yield on two-year U.S. Treasury notes was higher than the yield on the 10-year for a while Wednesday, marking the first time since June 2007 this curve has inverted. Many market participants see this as a sign of a coming recession in the next year or two. Other parts of the curve — the 3-month to 10-year and the 2- to 5-year — inverted earlier this year and remain inverted.
“The significant decline in rates has led to meaningful inversion in key parts of the interest rate curve — historically these types of inversions have signaled that economic weakness and a recession is forthcoming over the next 18 months,” according to Brian Rehling, co-head of global fixed income strategy for Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “From a bond market perspective, risks in the market are to the downside.”
(Read more: Bond Buyer: Feed)
On the Clock….. Construction firm faces deadline for 10th and Grant project
To use a sports analogy, Morgan Brothers Construction is down two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter with no timeouts and they don’t even have the ball. Morgan Brothers is the construction firm that is doing the construction work at 10th and Grant Streets in Great Bend.
The project to widen the intersection started in March with an 85-day construction contract which would have had the work done by the end of July. But after one delay due to springtime rains, construction was delayed again recently after the company told the city that materials for the project had been back ordered. Now Morgan Brothers has less than 20-days to complete the project before they begin getting fined for liquidated damages.
(Read more: Great Bend Post)
Main yield curve nearly inverts as 10-year yield tops 2-year rate by just 2 basis points
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note threatened to break below that of the 2-year U.S. note on Tuesday as investors rushed toward safe haven assets amid global growth concerns.
The traditionally watched 2-year and 10-year Treasury curve is just 2 basis points away from inversion, a phenomenon heralded by many as a recession indicator. Investors are now demanding higher interest rates on short-term debt than they are longer term debt, a phenomena known as an “inverted yield curve.”
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.685%, just above that on the 2-year security at 1.665% and bringing the spread between the two yields to just 2 basis points. It narrowed to a fraction of 1 basis point earlier in the session. A basis point is one hundredth of one percent.
(Read more: CNBC)
Hays, Hoxie mental health services awarded federal grants
Mental health service providers in Hays and Hoxie are among the 17 agencies in Kansas receiving a total of $2.8 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to improve mental health services and combat the opioid epidemic.
The announcement was made last week during National Health Center Week, an annual celebration to raise awareness about the mission and accomplishments of American health centers over the past five decades.
As part of this celebration, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the agency is awarding $400 million dollars to improve mental health services and combat the opioid epidemic. Within this award $200 million will go to community health centers (CHC) which are vital to the health of rural communities. These investments will enable CHCs to expand access to integrated substance use disorder and mental health services.
(Read more: Hays Post)
Derby Public Schools sets maximum price for bond projects
Derby Public Schools has set a guaranteed maximum price of $12,359,595 for a new 42,000-square-foot administrative center and improvements at Tanglewood Elementary School.
School board members approved the amount at their Aug. 5 meeting.
The guaranteed maximum price is the most McCownGordon Construction, the company overseeing all of the district’s bond projects, can bill the district without a change order.
(Read more: Derby News | derbyinformer.com)
RCPD pledges to improve officer mental health response training
The Riley County Police Department has signed onto an initiative aiming to improve their response to calls related to mental health crises.
The One Mind Campaign is a creation of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. It’s an effort to promote coordination and cooperation between police agencies and local mental health organizations.
RCPD Director Dennis Butler says in a release that they are committed to providing the best possible response to citizens in crisis.
(Read more: 1350 KMAN)
Stakeholders can discuss future transportation priorities at Local Consult meetings
A series of Local Consult meetings hosted by the Kansas Department of Transportation will give citizens a chance to discuss regional transportation priorities and participate in scenario planning for the future.“These meetings are an important opportunity for stakeholders to help set the vision for transportation in Kansas,” said Secretary of Transportation Julie Lorenz. “This is a transformational time in transportation, and we need you to help chart our success into the future.”At the meetings, stakeholders will review facts and trends and explore alternative future possibilities through scenario planning. Stakeholders will also have the opportunity to present information about transportation projects not discussed during last fall’s Joint Legislative Transportation Vision Task Force meetings.
(Read more: Kansas Transportation)