Municipal News & Jobs

Garden City has a new, advanced tornado siren. Mike Muirhead, Garden City Public Works and Utilities Director, said the city’s newest emergency siren, installed at 300 Jennie Barker Rd., is more advanced than the city’s 22 other emergency sirens. “Some of them were manufactured in the 1950s and the 1960s,” he said. Each year they try to replace one of the old sirens, and every year when they replace a siren, there’s a newer style that comes out, Muirhead said. Some of the newer styles now have voice activated sirens or warning devices with pre-recorded messages that can be broadcast, Muirhead said.
Read more: Garden City Telegram

County Attorney Heather Figger recently informed commissioners that she plans to transition the county’s case management system to Guardify, due to its artificial intelligence capabilities, which enable searching files with specific direction. Figger said the issue is the amount of digital storage the county is accumulating and the time its current system, Prosecutor by Karpel (PBK), takes to manage data. She said in June, they had around three terabytes of digital evidence, are now at five terabytes, and expect to be at seven next summer.
Read more: Harvey County Now

Earlier this year, the Holton City Commission approved an updated dog and cat ordinance that would limit Holton residents to three dogs and three cats each, outside of per­mits for additional pets that were “grandfathered in” at the time of the ordinance’s approval. Starting Thursday, Jan. 1, the city will enforce that limit on the number of pets that may be kept, according to Holton City Manager Teresa Riley.
Read more: The Holton Recorder

The city of Overland Park is lending its voice to an effort aimed at limiting homeowners associations’ power to ban residential solar panels. As part of its annual state legislative platform, the city is supporting state law changes that would remove HOAs’ ability to ban solar panels on homes within their jurisdictions. Instead, HOAs would be able to have rules governing things like their appearance, location and installation, but could not prohibit them outright.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Pioneer Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Pioneer Electric) announced its intent to acquire electrical distribution service territory owned by the City of Hugoton. Pioneer expects the transition to take effect late summer 2026. “We are humbled by the trust expressed by the city in this decision,” said Lindsay Campbell, Pioneer Electric CEO. “Our hope is that this opportunity acts as a benefit for both the community of Hugoton and Pioneer Electric. We appreciate the opportunity to grow the cooperative and, in return, serve as a community partner by providing safe, reliable, and affordable electrical service.” Pioneer Electric currently serves members in 10 counties in southwest Kansas, including portions of rural Stevens County and the town of Moscow.
Read more: Hugoton Hermes News

A Prairie Village woman is able to keep her 15-month-old spider monkey but must meet a laundry list of conditions to do so. The Prairie Village City Council in a 7-4 vote on Monday approved a conditional license that allows Toni Skelton, a longtime resident of the city, to keep her spider monkey, Oakley. Councilmembers Betsy Lawrence, Terry O’Toole, Nick Reddell and Jim Sellers cast the dissenting votes. The license comes with 12 conditions, including that the monkey is prohibited from public spaces and that Skelton must provide the city with documentation on where Oakley originates from and the monkey’s birth date. Skelton told reporters following Monday’s meeting that she doesn’t believe the city council knows what they voted on, and if so, “I think they’re in for a rude awakening because my legal team is already on it right now.”
Read more: Johnson County Post

Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday approved a change to temporarily remove the limit on how many short-term rental units — such as AirBnBs — property owners may hold.  The change, which city staff members said will help ensure there are enough accommodations for thousands of visitors anticipated to come to town for the World Cup, will go into effect May 25. Commissioners asked staff to start the process to add to city codes that the change will sunset July 26 and to increase penalties for violations. 
Read more: The Lawrence Times

Anderson County commissioners have established new regulations governing the placement of solar farms. The regulations were approved after a two-year moratorium on all industrial solar projects, the Anderson County Review reported. Under the new regulations, commercial solar projects of up to 160 acres are allowed only through a special use permit in agricultural and industrial zoning districts, the newspaper reported. Utility scale projects exceeding 160 acres are restricted to industrial zoning districts and also require a special use permit.
Read more: The Iola Register

It looks like the Royals won’t be joining the Chiefs in moving to the Kansas side of the metro, at least not with the help of special state incentives designed to entice the professional sports teams to the state. Earlier this week, Topeka-based news stations KSNT and WIBW both reported Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins affirmed that the opportunity for the Royals to use the special stadium incentive package offered in Kansas had passed. Hawkins chairs the Legislative Coordinating Council, the bipartisan group of Kansas legislative leaders from both chambers tasked with approving state stadium incentives. Though the stadium incentive law passed in 2024 is active through June 2026, the LCC voted to impose a deadline of Dec. 31, 2025, for teams to submit plans. That date passed without a formal request from the Royals, Hawkins said.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Garden City’s newest mayor is just 22 years old, and he says his appointment shows the confidence the community has in its young people. The city commission appoints one of its elected commissioners to the role each year, and this week, members selected Tom Nguyen. Despite his age, Nguyen is no stranger to local politics. He was elected to the commission in 2023 and says he is honored that Garden City residents value his ideas more than his age.
Read more: KSN-TV

Derby’s Rock Regional Hospital is permanently closed. The hospital on social media posted that there is “NO emergency care available at this location.” The post went on to add that “if you are experiencing a medical emergency, please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.” Court records show that a bankruptcy judge lifted a stay that had delayed the hospital from being evicted. According to documents, the landlord gave the hospital notice back on Nov. 5 that it would enforce the eviction no later than Dec. 10.
Read more: KSN-TV

People in Hays will need to keep an eye on their plumbing over the next month. This week, a city contractor is starting to inspect and clean sewer lines in the southern part of the city. The Water Resources Department said work will begin on the north side of the area and continue south. It should be finished within a month, depending on the weather.
Read more: KSN-TV

Galena City Council discussed proposals for dealing with the city’s growing landfill issue, including constructing a new cell with a gas burn-off system, and has adjusted its approach to focus on air monitoring and data collection.
Read more: KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com

Marion residents wanting to own pit bulls or a Rottweiler may soon be able to. Current policy states that dogs are not allowed in the city if they have 51% of one of the breeds. Such dogs running at large cannot be returned to the owner.
Read more: Marion County RECORD

The $574 million project was originally scheduled to be complete in September 2024. The Wichita Water Works plant, near the Sedgwick County Zoo, doesn’t work because of a design flaw related to the water treatment facility’s clarifiers, Gary Janzen, director of public works and utilities, told the council. Multiple contractors have been hired to identify the root cause, he said, and the city’s waiting for their findings to provide further details on the new plant.
Read more: Wichita Eagle

The city — taking its cue from state law — has a policy that allows any city employee to legally carry a concealed weapon while on duty for the city, as long as the employee follows a host of regulations. Such employees would be carrying a weapon in their individual capacity, and not as part of their city job duties.
Read more: LJWorld

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.

Zook will continue to serve in her current role as community development director while assuming these additional responsibilities. The deputy city manager position was created to strengthen organizational continuity and leadership depth.
Read more: Abilene RC

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.

Residents said they felt a sense of victory over snatching an NFL team and had concerns about game day traffic and noise.
Read more: KC Star