Kansas Municipal News
Salina voters to decide pit bull ban’s future with election by mail
The city commission decided to have the vote in a special election on Feb. 24, 2026. This comes after a petition ordinance was certified to repeal the current ban, which is often referred to as BSL, or breed specific legislation, on pit bull-type dogs.
Read more: Salina Journal
Municipal Bond Trends for November 25, 2025
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.
Municipal Bond Trends for November 24, 2025
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.
Helium for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons comes from tiny Kansas town of Otis
The mayor, Jenny Landers, worked at the helium plant for five years. More than 30 balloons will take flight Thursday morning filled with helium from Kansas. The Otis plant has supplied the helium for more than 30 years, plant officials say.
Read more at: Wichita Eagle
Council to vote on Wichita’s next city manager
In addition to its previously scheduled workshop on Tuesday, the council will hold a public hearing and a vote on the city manager.
Read more: KSN-TV
Over 80 volunteers install 1,000 smoke alarms in Dodge City
Working in teams, volunteers went door to door to offer residents of prefabricated homes smoke alarm testing, replacement and installation — free of charge.
Read more: KSN-TV
JoCo has long struggled with what to do about public transit. New plan lays out ’25-year roadmap.’
Some of the plan’s key recommendations include increasing the frequency of bus service along key routes, including Metcalf Avenue, as well as scaling back the geographic area covered by the ride-hailing microtransit service, which has seen a decline in users. Other notable changes include an eventual reinstatement of fares for fixed bus routes — part of a broader return to fares in public transit across the Kansas City region — and a rebranding of Johnson County public transit to “Ride JoCo.”
Read more: Johnson County Post
Municipal Bond Trends for November 21, 2025
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.
AI assist: Wichita police utilizing technology that can translate more than 50 languages
The technology works by identifying the spoken language and providing immediate translation. In a demonstration, the AI translated one person’s Spanish message to English for the officer. The officer’s response was then translated back to Spanish.
Read more: KWCH
CHIP program off and running
After a little under a year since its launch, the first 10 City Housing Incentive Program (CHIP) homes are being built. Introduced by Kim Froman, director of Housing and Community Development, the program encourages developers to build specifically for middle- and low-income residents by offsetting construction costs. “The lack of affordable housing in Pittsburg is restricting growth and the ability to support workforce demands,” Froman told the city commission last December, saying that high material costs, delivery delays, market forces and a shortage of skilled labor are diverting resources away from rural areas. Under the program, a contractor can apply for a building permit and license to build a single-family home and submit the building plans. The contractor then applies for the CHIP, which is reviewed and approved by the city. During construction, the contractor tracks all building expenses until the home is completed and the home receives a certificate of occupancy from the city.
Read more: – Morning Sun
Wyandotte County leaders vote to rename baseball field after fallen deputy
Wyandotte County leaders voted Thursday to rename an area baseball field after fallen Sheriff’s Deputy Elijah Ming. The board of commissioners voted 6-0 to rename Heathwood Park Baseball Field, at North 10th Street and Parallel Parkway, to “Elijah Ming Memorial Field. Ming, who was killed in the line of duty on July 26, grew up playing baseball on that field. His family and friends often spoke about his love of baseball.
Read more: FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV
Overland Park HOAs oppose Royals stadium at 119th and Nall
HOA is coming out against the idea of a Kansas City Royals stadium going in at the northwest corner of 119th and Nall. In May, the Royals announced an affiliate of theirs bought the mortgage on the old Sprint campus, now known as Aspiria. Hawthorne View’s just about a mile southeast of 119th and Nall and less than a 20-minute walk from the intersection. HOA President Jeff Hurt told FOX4 he hopes city council members pay attention to how the homeowners in his area feel about this issue.
Read more: FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV
Treasury yields slide after Williams suggests Fed could cut again in December
Treasury yields were lower on Friday as investors look for clues on the shape of the U.S. economy and the direction of monetary policy. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury fell more than 4 basis points to trade at 4.056%. Yields across the maturity curve ticked lower, with the 2-year Treasury yield also shedding more than 4 basis points to 3.516% and the longer-term 30-year Treasury’s yield being down more than 3 basis points at 4.698%. Global markets are digesting Thursday’s delayed non-farm payrolls report, which showed the economy added more jobs than expected in September, but the unemployment rate also rose to 4.4% — its highest level since Oct. 2021.
Read more: Bonds
Election results cast new doubts over future of indoor aquatics facility
The future of an indoor aquatic center in Manhattan appears more uncertain in the wake of the Nov. 4 election. At the Nov. 10 Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting, board member Joe Knopp said the results signaled strong concerns from voters about future spending. “I think that those are lessons we ought to be paying attention to and including them as we make future strategy decisions,” he said.
Read more: News Radio KMAN
Hutchinson preps for new vet housing project
A pair of Hutchinson nonprofits are pushing forward a veterans housing project to provide transitional housing and services for veterans in need.
Read more: www.derbyinformer.com
Mulvane establishes city policy on AI use
With artificial intelligence (AI) technologies becoming more integrated in public sector operations, Mulvane staff took time to draft a policy guiding responsible, ethical and secure use of AI tools among city employees — officially adopted by the Mulvane City Council at its Nov. 17 meeting. The policy includes clear definitions of AI tools, guidelines for acceptable uses (such as drafting materials, automating data tasks, etc.), procedures for data privacy, requirements for human review and approval of AI-generated content, etc.
Read more: www.derbyinformer.com
City commission talks limit on number of dogs
Fort Scott City Commissioners on Tuesday discussed an ordinance concerning a limit on the number of dogs per household within the city. City Manager Brad Matkin said four citizens have recently brought up the topic, and several in recent years have asked about the amount of dogs permitted for a household. Matkin said he talked with the previous animal control officer and city staff had not been able to find a limit in the current ordinance.
Read more: Fort Scott Tribune
City approves fee schedule for city services
The Garden City Commission approved a Master Fee Schedule ordinance and resolution at its regular meeting on Tuesday. Jared Kuhlmann, Garden City Finance Director, said city staff has been working on compiling a fee schedule for the better part of the past year, which incorporates all fees and rates charged for services provided by the Garden City. “Each department reviewed their fees compared to other cities, looked at other municipalities, looked at the last dates that these were, if there had been changes, and then had discussion on what the appropriate [fee] should be,” he said. It was a considerable project for staff, there was a lot of work put into it and a lot of insight from departments to compile their fees together, Kuhlmann said.
Read more: Garden City Telegram
Newton offering big pot for playing card desings
History will be in the cards for Newton next fall. With funds from a Kansas State Historical Preservation grant, the City of Newton will print a run of 2,500 playing card decks containing artwork of historic local people, places, and events. “It’s history in a different way,” said Jen Lehman, who oversees Newton’s Main Street and Convention and Visitors programs. “It makes it easily accessible to see places they don’t know about. It’s also multi-generational. The City will distribute the cards to residents at events, provide them to prospective businesses, and provide decks to the Harvey County Historical Society and Carriage Factory Warehouse for giveaway.
Read more: Harvey County Now
Hesston grocery store plan, location being revised
It’s not back to square one with Hesston’s grocery store project, but it’s definitely back to planning. Andrea Braker, who sits on the Beneficient Heartland Foundation, gave an update on the project, as well as the makeup of the board. “With the resignation of Brad Heppner from the board, we are taking the opportunity to simplify and to re-imagine anything,” she said. ” We’re looking at alternative shapes, locations, amenities, façades. Currently, we do not have a specific plan. Plans are changing so we can get a grocery store done as sustainably as possible.”
Hesston has lacked a grocery store since 2018, following the closure of Weaver’s Grocers. Since then, there’s been a community effort to bring a grocery store to the city of 3,747.
Read more: Harvey County Now


