Municipal News & Jobs

History enthusiasts gathered at Valley View Cemetery twice nightly on Oct. 9, 10 and 11 for the Finney County Historical Society’s annual Cemetery Walking Tours. The event takes participants through the cemetery on a guided tour by Johnetta Holmes-Hebrlee, Education Coordinator for the Finney County Historical Society and Museum, meeting characters from Garden City and Finney County’s past, at or near their gravesites. Steve Quakenbush, Executive Director of the Finney County Historical Society and Museum, said the event it about celebrating history and helping people learn about history.
Read more: Garden City Telegram

A sales tax question asking voters if they wish to enforce a half-cent sales tax will be on the Nov. 4 general election ballot. The proposed sales tax is aimed at financing the construction of a new Finney County Jail and a major renovation to the Finney County Law Enforcement Center. Gary Meagher, Interim Finney County Administrator, said the LEC has been plagued by costly issues due to its design with the jail on the third floor and the building’s age.
Read more: Garden City Telegram

An ethics hotline that has been available to Johnson County employees, vendors and contractors since 2012 has recently become open to the general public, and will be subject to future improvements to bring it in line with best practices. The reporting platform quietly became visible on the county website July 16, via a link on the maroon field at the bottom of the county website homepage. Clicking on “Ethics Hotline” leads to an outside webpage where anonymous complaints of possible ethical wrongdoing can be made. The site is run by Navex, a company that specializes in ethics and compliance management. The site offers a way to report electronically or by phone.
Read more: Johnson County Post

From a potential new headquarters for Lockton Cos. to an exclusive members-only club, Leawood’s development pipeline is brimming with diverse and ambitious projects. Here’s a look at five real estate projects that could add corporate office space, luxury apartments and specialized housing for seniors in Leawood.
Read more: Kansas City Business Journal

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation seized hundreds of pounds of marijuana and tens of thousands of pre-rolled joints, THC vapes and edibles during raids last week at 18 retail stores across Kansas. KBI director Tony Mattivi and Attorney General Kris Kobach announced the raids while the first wave were in progress during a news conference with reporters in Topeka. They said retailers for too long had gotten away with brazen violations of state law. Marijuana and THC products remain illegal in Kansas, an abstinent island in an ocean of other states that have given the green light to the substance. Mattivi and Kobach said retailers still routinely sell the illegal goods.
Read more: Kansas Reflector

Humboldt, located in southeast Kansas, will host the first Big Kansas Road Trip (BKRT) Pop Up site for 2026. Organized by the Kansas Sampler Foundation, the one-day event will be held Saturday, May 2, with some activities beginning the day before. Foundation Director Marci Penner announced the news during the opening “Stump” session in Hoxie on October 4, as part of the 2025 Pop Up across Sheridan County. The BKRT Pop Up offers a community open house atmosphere, highlighting local attractions, shops, and eats. Visitors can also enjoy mini-talks and tours featuring unique stories and lesser-known sites.
Read more: KCLY Radio

Clay Center Parks & Recreation and Clay Counts Coalition have partnered together to bring a new program to Clay Center called Girls on the Run. Girls On the Run, a national program, combines physical activity with lessons focused on building confidence, friendships, and life skills to girls in 3rd-5th grade. Because both Parks & Rec and Clay Counts Coalition are committed to creating opportunities that support the health and well-being of kids and families in the community, the program seemed like the perfect partnership.
Read more: KCLY Radio

What began as a friendly visit by Clay Center Fire Chief Johnny Ihnen to a Fire Chiefs meeting in Dickinson County has turned into a newly expanded mutual aid agreement among Clay County Fire Chiefs that will benefit Clay County as a whole. The agreement will help response times around the county in the case of a residential house fire throughout all districts. In many cases, CCFD is able to respond much quicker than the smaller departments, as the smaller stations are run by volunteers who are not at the station at all times.
Read more: KCLY Radio

Wichita State University students earned a record-breaking $39.2 million through applied learning in the 2025 academic year, highlighting the university’s focus on hands-on experience and workforce development. The total marks an 11% increase from last year’s $35.3 million. More students are also participating in these opportunities, with 12,328 applied learning experiences — a 31% jump from last year — through paid work with area businesses, organizations, and on-campus employers, all while continuing their studies.
Read more: KCLY Radio

A new housing initiative is set to launch soon across several counties in North Central Kansas aimed at addressing the issue of dilapidated residential structures. The “Demo to Dirt” program provides financial assistance to help property owners remove unsafe or blighted housing, contributing to safer neighborhoods and enhancing the overall appearance of communities.
Read more: KCLY Radio

Clay County General Public Transportation (CCGPT) is pleased to announce that it has expanded its partnership with Clay County Medical Center (CCMC) to include not just Clay County patients, but patients in parts of the surrounding counties. This partnership will expand CCGPT’s outreach while greatly benefiting patients of CCMC and its area Family Physician Clinics. Don Wright, Public Transportation Director, spoke of this growing partnership.   “We have been working with CCMC about picking up patients and clients to transport to and from appointments. Recently, our surrounding community transportation agencies had asked us if we could expand a little bit to bring patients in since they were unable to.”
Read more: KCLY Radio

A company with a vision of installing “discreet, bespoke,” small, nuclear reactors 1 mile underground for data centers and other electricity-hungry industries plans to put its first reactors in Kansas, Texas and Utah. Deep Fission, which says its technology could meet the “explosive demand for power from artificial intelligence” has signed letters of intent with undisclosed partners in each of those states. In email exchanges, the company said it will not currently disclose the partner and location in Kansas, but would “share more information soon.”
Read more: KCUR News

Silver Lake Schools superintendent Brad Womack announced that he will be retiring in June of 2026, capping off 28 years at the school district. Womack has more than three decades of experience in the Kansas public education system, working his way up from custodian to superintendent. He made the announcement in a letter Thursday, so the Board of Education could begin searching for candidates.
Read more: KSNT 27 News

The School Board is trying to recruit nonresident students to the district to increase enrollment and erase disparities between high school and kindergarten class sizes. During Thursday’s board meeting, Superintendent Stu Moeckel said the district will graduate 140 students this year, and the odds that the district is “going to bring 140 kindergartners in are not going to happen.” Moeckel said this is the second year the district has had nonresident enrollment. He said the first year it started, the district had 61 applicants. He said this year the district ended with 101 applicants, and most of them enrolled. He said at least 10% of the student population in total are nonresident students.
Read more: The Eudora Times

The Hutchinson USD 308 Board of Education approved renewing the district’s license for its virtual school platform, but Superintendent Dawn Johnson said the district may need to shop around in the future after a price increase this year. With the renewal, the per-student cost of the Acellus Gold Spark Program will increase to $790. With a combined 368 students using the platform between virtual school, alternative school, and Reno County Youth Services, that puts the total cost at $290,720. Johnson said base state aid for 368 students amounted to around $2 million.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

LaHarpe volunteer firefighters paid a visit to My Second Home Daycare in LaHarpe Friday to show the youngsters the equipment they use to keep families safe. The youngsters were allowed to hold the fire hose and check out the department’s various vehicles and equipment. They also were allowed to give the siren and horn a quick blast, much to the delight of the other kiddos.
Read more: The Iola Register

The initial log jam grew significantly after additional rain events, extending its length from 350 feet to around 1,000 feet.
Read more: Salina Journal

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 city of Topeka plans to consider a $292,500 settlement for a gender discrimination lawsuit filed by a retired fire captain. This would be the fourth discrimination settlement paid by the city since June 2023.
Read more: CJonline

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.