Municipal News & Jobs

Wichita police officers now have access to the gunshot detection technology the department has been testing since February 2022. Police said that they found that 83% of gunshots in testing areas were never reported. The hope is that Flock Safety’s Raven gunshot sensors will catch those gunshots, ensuring police respond to any shots that are fired in the areas where the sensors are up.
Read more: Homepage

For years, I’d been hearing about a little Italian restaurant in a little Kansas town that might be worth checking out. Recently, a close friend who loves both restaurants and road trips was having a birthday, and I was trying to think of a fun way to celebrate with a group of 10 people. That little restaurant came to mind. It’s called Renaissance Cafe, and it’s the only restaurant in tiny Assaria, population 425, which sits roughly midway between McPherson and Salina. In fact, says chef and general manager Adrienne Lynn, it’s the only restaurant in about a 20 mile radius.
Read more: Homepage

U.S. Treasury yields tumbled Friday after investors considered a far weaker-than-expected July nonfarm payroll report and weighed the effect of President Donald Trump’s raft of new tariffs on economic growth. The 2-year yield note yield plunged more than 24 basis points to 3.702% as traders reassessed the likelihood for a Federal Reserve interest rate reduction at the central bank’s next meeting in September. The 10-year Treasury note yield fell 14 basis points to 4.222% while the 30-year bond yield pulled back 7.6 basis points to 4.809%.
Read more: Bonds

With a snip of scissors, a vibrant splash of color was officially unveiled to help enliven the popular pocket park. Recent Sedgwick High School graduate Austin Thieme spent over 200 hours painting his “Postcard from Home,” mural which was displayed on Aug. 1. Thieme’s studio name, BThieme Studios has given the University of Arkansas bound student a chance to leave a lasting mark and legacy. The mural was painted in regular outdoor, latex paint with his goal to diversify in all mediums.
Read more: Harvey County Now

Two Federal Reserve officials who voted this week against holding a key interest rate in place explained their decisions Friday, both indicating that the central bank is making a mistake by waiting to ease policy amid rising threats to the labor market. Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman both said they wanted a quarter percentage point reduction, as they see tariffs having only a temporary impact on inflation. They said staying on hold, as the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee has done since December, poses risks to the economy.
Read more: Finance

Wyandotte County is expected to serve as a base camp for one of 48 nations participating in World Cup 2026 at Compass Minerals and also welcome teams who hold practices at Children’s Mercy Park before heading to Arrowhead Stadium for six matches in June and July next year. Thursday night, the Mayor’s Wyandotte County World Cup Readiness Task Force convened to brief Unified Government commissioners on progress so far in getting ready for the event and other ways it can welcome fans to the community and engage residents.
Read more: FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports

A proposal to extend Johnson County’s public safety sales tax is headed for the voters four months later than originally planned, so the county can prepare for legal opposition likely to come from Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach. County commissioners voted Thursday to withdraw the item from this November’s general election ballot and instead schedule it for a special mail-in election on March 3, 2026. The change will come with about a $950,000 price tag for the election expenses, but commissioners said the delay will give them time to ask a judge whether county commissioners can ask for the election under home rule or whether doing so would exceed their authority, as Kobach has said.
Read more: Johnson County Post

The city of Prairie Village could soon become the next Johnson County city to deploy drones as front-line emergency responders. Last week, the Prairie Village City Council discussed entering a contract with Houston-based Paladin Drones during a committee of the whole meeting for its own “Drone as First Responder” program. This is the same program that the city of Lenexa has been using since March and expanded in June, also under contract with Paladin. Lenexa Police now have a total of seven drones docked on various city properties that can be operated remotely, lifting off and flying to the scene of a 911 call within minutes.
Read more: Johnson County Post

The Abilene Kansas History GeoTour, launched by Visit Abilene Kansas at the end of March, is quickly becoming one of the most talked-about geocaching destinations in the Midwest. In just three months, nearly 300 geocachers from 24 states have completed the GeoTour, which leads visitors on a GPS-guided treasure hunt through Abilene’s most iconic historical sites and attractions.
Read more: KCLY Radio

Based on where you’re standing, Wichita’s first 24/7, year-round homeless shelter, now located in a sprawling red-brick, former school building, can look very different. From the chair of an organizer, the emerging one-stop shop, known as Second Light, is the next chapter in the story of Wichita’s efforts to address homelessness. Almost everybody agrees it can be a lifesaver, a haven not just from the cold of the winter but also from late spring thunderstorms and oppressive summer heat. The people who sleep there would like more of the services they’ve been assured would be offered and better conditions inside the shelter. Their perspectives vary; they are disabled, able-bodied, white, Black, young and senior citizens. 
Read more: KLC Journal

Kechi Police, with assistance from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, have conducted a raid of a warehouse of a local business selling CBD products. Kechi Police say on Tuesday, they received a tip about the “illicit sale and distribution of illegal substances” in their community. The department says a three-day investigation began involving assistance from Bentley Police, the KBI, and the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office. A search warrant was executed on Thursday at a small warehouse located in the 1300 block of East Kechi Road, belonging to CBD Plus USA, which Kechi Police says also serves as the company’s corporate warehouse.
Read more: KSN-TV

A coordinated community effort in Grinnell is helping people recover from the tornado that hit back in May. A mission group from Dighton, along with other Kansas churches, spent a week rebuilding a family’s home. KSN News talked to the pastor who was compelled to do it.
Read more: KSN-TV

A local rural school district is struggling to find bus drivers before the new year, a problem that means longer wait times for kids and more work for faculty. Officials say there are many different problems causing the shortage. Issues like mandatory training for commercial driver’s licenses, scheduling, and pay are just a few reasons these roles are hard to fill, leaving faculty from Northeast USD 246 no choice but to step up to the plate, and leaves schoolchildren with a longer wait.
Read more: KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com

While Marion County and its cities are still pondering their 2026 budgets, Council Grove’s already is proposed and is being reviewed by the public online. It’s posted prominently on the city’s website, not just as a bunch of numbers but with easy-to-understand narratives about individual projects, initiatives, and changes and the rationale for them.
Read more: Marion County RECORD

The Kansas Forest Service has confirmed the presence of the emerald ash borer in Bourbon County on privately owned land north of Barnesville, the third confirmed sighting found in Kansas this year. KFS, working with K-State Research and Extension, captured and confirmed one dead adult insect and several live larvae specimens on July 28. KFS officials first noted signs and symptoms of the pest and a follow-up site visit resulted in the official detection of verifiable physical specimens.
Read more: The Sunflower State Radio Network

A proposal to reshape Manhattan’s waterfront may soon become part of the city’s 20-year strategic plan for the Parks and Recreation Department. Local stakeholders in the last few years have discussed developing the area around the banks of the Kansas River where it crosses Kansas Highway 177.  City commissioners on Tuesday will review a recommendation from the Manhattan Urban Area Planning Board to incorporate the city’s MoveMHK Master Plan into the city’s comprehensive plan.
Read more: themercury.com – RSS Results in news of type article

August 18 is the first day of high school football practice in Kansas, and two southwest Kansas schools have agreed to a cooperative agreement for the 2025 football season. According to Kansas Pregame Magazine’s John Baetz on Friday, Bucklin and Ashland have agreed to enter a cooperative agreement for the 2025 football season. The team will play 6-Man football, as both teams played 8-Man football in 2024. As a result, the team will be ineligible for postseason competition, due to being in the second year of the football cycle.
Read more: Western Kansas News

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.

As of now, the plan is to have finalists visit the city in the morning and then meeting with the public in the evening on Aug. 11 and then having closed-session interviews with the commission individually throughout the day on Aug. 12. It seems the names of the finalists will be announced before they visit the city, with the public notified of when they will be able to meet them on Aug. 11.
Read more: Salina Journal

After large dips in the stockmarket in 2025, the Kansas public pension system ended the fiscal year with strong returns. Despite the significant gains, financial advisers told members of the KPERS Boardof Trustees duringmeetings July 24 and July 25 in Topeka of risks and uncertainties to future investment performance.
Read more: Salina Journal