Kansas Municipal News
Emporia discusses possible rental registration program
The City of Emporia discussed the possibility of a rental property registration at its meeting Wednesday afternoon. Director of Building and Neighborhood Development Kory Krause and Housing Specialist Jeff Lynch presented commissioners with a proposal for the rental registration program, on behalf of the Community Housing Board. Lynch said the board believes a registration program for rental properties in the city will provide accountability from the city’s landlords and help the city better communicate with landlords and tenants about current codes. The housing board previously debated the need for a registration program in June of last year, citing a string of issues with rental properties in the city.
Source: Emporia Gazette
City Attorney selects new commission member after split vote
After the four sitting members of the Hiawatha City Commission could not come to a consensus on the next Street Commissioner, the vote was left in the hands of City Attorney Andy Delaney at Thursday night’s Special Meeting of the commission. With Toni Hull and Laura Tollefson each receiving two votes, motions to elect Bob Rahe and Tom Martin were put forth, but died for lack of a second. No more motions were made, and Mayor Becky Shamburg announced that the procedure dictated that the City Attorney would make the selection, and it was Hull who received Delaney’s endorsement.
Source: hiawathaworldonline.com
‘Those are pot-bellied pigs’: Experts say no evidence of feral hogs in Garden Plain, credit state’s strict no-hunting law
He says if hunting them was legal, it would just scatter them, causing a multitude of new population pockets. “With most wildlife populations, if we’re trying to reduce abundance, we want to use hunters as tools for wildlife management. It’s efficient, it’s cheap, and that sort of thing. Because the hogs are so prolific, that doesn’t work very well,” said Ricketts. Ricketts says the proof is in the pudding – unlike neighboring states that allow public feral swine hunting, Kansas is the only one with fewer hogs now than in 2004.
Source: KAKE – News
Mission Gateway’s new $268 million proposal cleared its final hurdle
The latest iteration of the $268 million Mission Gateway project is moving forward following a key vote Wednesday night. Now the question is: will developers finally complete it? The Mission City Council on Wednesday approved changes to the tax increment financing plan and Community Improvement District ordinances, as well as a final redevelopment agreement for the fifth version of the project. With those hurdles now cleared, work could finally resume later this year on the site at the intersection of Johnson Drive, Shawnee Mission Parkway and Roe Avenue. The ordinances approved Wednesday terminate a previous TIF project plan and CID and institute new ones.
Source: KCUR News
New Wichita water treatment plant reaches construction milestone
The new water treatment facility under construction in northwest Wichita has reached a milestone. The City of Wichita says crews are now installing the connection line to the raw water pipeline from Cheney Reservoir that will connect to the facility. The plant is under construction near 21st Street North and Hoover, north of the Sedgwick County Zoo. The city says water customers should see no impact in service during installation. The new facility is replacing the current treatment plant, which is 80 years old and will not be able to meet future demands as the city continues to grow.
Source: KSN-TV
Emporia Land Bank considering acquisition of Urbanside Park to spur additional future development
The Emporia Land Bank is looking to foster additional local development with the potential acquisition of a local park. During the Emporia City Commission’s regular meeting Wednesday, City Community Development Coordinator Jeff Lynch delivered the annual land bank report. Lynch noted that in 2022 the land bank managed to sell off three different properties. The annual report comes as the land bank is considering the potential acquisition of Emporia’s Urbanside Park located in east Emporia. According to Lynch, the land bank would like to acquire the 1.3-acre tract for potential development use, however, the exact details are still being ironed out. Lynch says the land bank is hopeful the acquisition and use of the property could spur developers to begin work on a tract located directly to the west.
Source: KVOE Emporia Radio
Leawood turns 75 this year — How the city will celebrate
This year, Leawood will celebrate 75 years as a city. In honor of the anniversary, the city has a number of commemorations in the works for the coming months, including public events and a new public art sculpture. This summer, the Leawood Historic Commission will host scavenger hunts and tours for kids and adults based on historic sites across the city. The commission is also planning a 75th anniversary trivia night for early November, at either the Ironwoods Lodge or the Leawood Community Center’s Oak Room.
Source: Prairie Village Post
ACPD brings in new K-9 officer
There is a new face at the Arkansas City Police Department, and it is adorable. K-9 Sal is a police dog of a different breed. His assignment does not include sniffing for drugs or running a track on a fugitive. Sal’s primary assignment is to support the men and women of the Arkansas City Police Department and area first responders. “K-9 Sal was acquired by the department last year after Crisis Intervention Officer Cori Tuxhorn and Lieutenant Jason Legleiter approached me about an incredible opportunity to enhance employee wellness in the department. Four County Mental Health Community Co-Responder Jamie Lovell, who works alongside Officer Tuxhorn, approached the two officers with a proposition to bring an English Bulldog puppy into the PD family,” Police Chief Eric Burr said.
Source: The Arkansas City Traveler
Sesquicentennial Celebration is Planned for City of Lakin
A Sesquicentennial Celebration is being planned for the City of Lakin. A planning committee met last week to begin preparing for the celebration this summer of the 150th year of Lakin. … Lakin began as a railroad town. The United States government made a grant of land to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. By law the A T & SF acquired the title to all their lands within the ten mile limits as fast as they could complete and operate the road, that is, taking it in subdivisions of twenty miles in length of the road.
Source: The Lakin Independent
Fed policymakers call for further rate hikes to beat inflation
Federal Reserve policymakers on Wednesday signaled they will push on with more interest rate hikes, with several supporting a top policy rate of at least 5% even as inflation shows signs of having peaked and economic activity is slowing. “I just think we need to keep going, and we’ll discuss at the meeting how much to do,” Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said in an interview with the Associated Press. The remarks appeared to reflect a widely shared view among her fellow policymakers, most of whom as of December had penciled in a 5.00%-5.25% policy rate in coming months. Mester said that for her part she expects the Fed’s policy rate to need to go “a bit higher” than that, and stay there for some time to further slow inflation. The Fed’s benchmark overnight lending rate currently sits in a target range of 4.25% to 4.50%, and investors expect the Fed to lift that rate by a quarter of a percentage point at the end of its Jan. 31-Feb. 1 meeting. But slowing spending, inflation, and manufacturing – all reported earlier on Wednesday – have helped stoke expectations that the Fed will end its current round of rate hikes sooner than Mester and most of her colleagues expect, with the policy rate just shy of 5%.
Source: Reuters
USDA to Create Plan to Expand Recreation Economies and Help People Thrive Across Rural America
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that it will create a plan to expand recreation economies to help people thrive across rural America. Through a Memorandum of Understanding, USDA Rural Development, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the U.S. Forest Service will partner to develop an annual plan to expand economic opportunities related to recreation in communities surrounding America’s national forests. The annual plan will outline the ways the agencies will partner to conduct program outreach, host informational sessions and workshops, and develop toolkits to help people access the resources they need to thrive in recreation economies. To learn more, read the full Stakeholder Announcement.
Municipal Bond Trends for January 18, 2023
The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. Every issuer’s credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman, Beth Warren and Henry Schmidt.
IdeaTek sweeping across the area
IdeaTek began their internet service in Colwich a week ago. Soon, IdeaTek’s service will start in Hesston, and right behind them will be Halstead. Both towns are expected to be up and running by early spring, according to IdeaTek’s Communications and Marketing Manager, Amy Bickel. Sedgwick and Burrton recently entered into franchise agreements with IdeaTek to bring their internet service to their towns. Bickel said they’re also constructing fiber in a residential portion of McPherson. IdeaTek, which is based out of Buhler, is already in the other area towns of Inman, Moundridge, Andale, Haven, Mount Hope, Yoder, and Goessel, according to Bickel.
Source: Harvey County Now
Sedgwick County employees to get one more holiday this year
Sedgwick County Commissioners voted unanimously on Wednesday to restore the Presidents’ Day holiday in February to the calendar for county employees. Commissioners had removed the holiday in November in order to add Juneteenth to the calendar. Commissioner Ryan Baty said it’s important to restore the holiday to show employees that county leaders are concerned about morale and stability of staff. Baty said it makes financial sense to restore the Presidents’ Day holiday. Commissioners David Dennis and Jim Howell are concerned about the $800,000 impact of adding the holiday, in light of projected deficits for 2024 and beyond. Commissioners agreed to make the change for this year and have staff look at the concept of a floating holiday for county employees next year. County Manager Tom Stolz said those discussions are underway.
Source: 101.3 KFDI
Markets fully price in quarter-point interest rate hike in February as inflation slows
Markets are nearly certain the Federal Reserve next month will take another step down in the pace of its interest rate increases. Pricing Wednesday morning pointed to a 94.3% probability of a 0.25 percentage point hike at the central bank’s two-day meeting that concludes Feb. 1, according to CME Group data. If that holds, it would take the Fed’s benchmark borrowing rate to a targeted range of 4.5%-4.75%. While the probability is little changed since late last week, economic data Wednesday helped solidify the idea that after a succession of aggressive hikes — four consecutive three-quarter point hikes in 2022, at one point — the Fed is ready to take its foot off the brake a bit more.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
State to apply for federal dollars to extend AMTRAK line to Newton
The next step to Newton becoming a rail hub is in the works. It’s just not been completed as fast as originally expected. A feasibility study to update costs and needs to extend Amtrak service from Oklahoma City to Newton was expected to be completed in December 2022. The study updates a 2012 feasibility plan and will be used in a competitive federal grant process for $7 billion allocated to long-distance rail projects. “The feasibility study is still in progress and not complete or available,” stated Tim Potter, a public affairs manager with KDOT. Grant applications for the Corridor Program are due March 20. “The timeline of the effort has been altered to align with the Federal Railroad Administration Corridor ID Program, as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.” Potter said KDOT has been focused on the application process.
Source: Harvey County Now
Peabody library featured in podcast
Peabody Township Library is featured in the first Sunflower State Small Libraries podcast of 2023. In a 32-minute program, Rodger Charles, librarian since 2011, talks about the library and the difference it makes in the community. Although Peabody’s population is about 900, the library serves a township population of 1,100. Established in 1874, it was the first free public library in Kansas. The town’s namesake, F. H. Peabody, donated the first building, which now sits behind the library building, Charles said. In 1914, the library got a Carnegie Foundation grant and built the present building. The building is on the National Historic Register.
Source: HILLSBORO Star-Journal
Fly In at Hugoton Municipal Airport
Saturday, January 14 was the fourth annual fly-in of the EAA Chapter 377 hosted by Matt and Maddie Rome. Twelve planes arrived in Hugoton for the monthly meeting with 30 people attending. The Chapter meets every month for a fly-in and every January it is in Hugoton. Next month the fly-in will take place in Liberal.
Source: Hugoton Hermes News
Arkansas City police welcome new support K9
A new four-legged member of the Arkansas City Police Department has been brought in to help support the officers and first responders. The department has brought on a new K-9 named Sal. The 8-month-old bulldog will be sent off for specialized training in the next month. The department plans to use Sal to help with community outreach event such as Popsicle Patrol, DARE Camp, National Night Out and more. “Plans are in the works for K-9 Sal to be a community resource. His badge number is 988. He will be a constant reminder that help is only three numbers away when people find themselves or others in a mental health crisis. K-9 Sal will frequent our schools to help educate students about mental health. He will assist with the department’s new suicide prevention program Hope Squad, currently operating at the Arkansas City Middle School, Arkansas City High School, and Cowley College,” Police Chief Burr said.
Source: KAKE – News
Kansas law enforcement say legislation should be passed on fentanyl, mental health issues
Kansas law enforcement officials have sounded the alarm about fentanyl and mental health crises across the state, saying fentanyl is now a greater threat than methamphetamines. Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeffrey Easter said he is still seeing a surplus of inmates suffering from mental illness, waiting in jail for long periods of time in order to receive treatment. During a House Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee meeting Tuesday, he urged lawmakers to find solutions. Community hospitals and jails in western Kansas have had to pick up the slack, housing mentally unstable patients without state reimbursement because of shortages of mental health care workers and beds for patients.
Source: Kansas Reflector
WFD firefighters will carry Narcan, Whipple says
A tweet from Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple says that firefighters with the Wichita Fire Department (WFD) will carry and distribute Narcan to victims of suspected opioid overdoses. “This policy change, combined with funding will save lives as we continue our fight against the fentanyl crisis,” reads the tweet. A town hall meeting hosted by the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office and Wichita Police Department last week highlighted some of the dangers of fentanyl in Wichita. The Sedgwick County Forensic Science Center says the number of fentanyl cases has grown exponentially.
Source: KSN-TV
New K-9s will serve in Saline County schools
Two new K-9s are joining the Saline County Sheriff’s Office to serve in public schools. The dogs are not the typical police dogs who assist officers in investigating crime. They are therapy dogs. Saline County Deputies Tyler Casteel and Braden Long recently traveled to Brevard County, Florida, where they trained with their new K-9 partners at the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Paws and Stripes College. The program uses rescued dogs who are then trained by inmates under the supervision of professional trainers to provide therapy dogs at no cost. Therapy dogs can provide a variety of assistance, including helping to keep people calm during a crisis and easing fear and anxiety for children and adults testifying in court or being interviewed.
Source: KSN-TV
Broadband access to improve in 15 Kansas counties, here’s where
More than $40 million has been awarded to service providers in Kansas to extend high-speed internet across several underserved counties. Cassie Nichols, a spokeswoman for the Office of the Governor, said a total of $44.5 million has been distributed to nine service providers to extend internet access to 18,468 locations in 15 counties. This will be the third and final award phase of the Kansas Capital Project Funds (CPF) Broadband Infrastructure Program. Nichols said the CPF program provides funding to make broadband connections in critical areas of the state that don’t have access to high-speed internet. The $83.5 million total CPF investment and $42 million in matching funds will result in more than 24,500 homes, businesses, schools, health care facilities and other public institutions being connected to faster, more reliable internet for the first time.
Source: KSN-TV
Sedgwick County commissioner joins meeting a day after giving birth to twins
It was out of the ordinary for Wednesday’s Sedgwick County Commission meeting. County Commission chairman Pete Meitzner welcomed Commissioner Sarah Lopez via Zoom before the meeting began, and Lopez announced she had given birth to twin girls on Tuesday. “I’m really just excited to share that our daughters are here, they’re healthy and I’m doing good,” Lopez said. “I couldn’t really ask for anything better.” The twin girls, Alejandra Marie and Ana Lucia, were born prematurely at 33 weeks but are doing well. The twins are in the neonatal intensive care unit but will be moved to a different unit soon, Lopez said.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Sedgwick County rolls out public alert system for emergencies, starting in these cities
Sedgwick County government has rolled out a voluntary public alert system — Civic Ready — that can send text messages, e-mails or voice alerts of emergencies or important news. City governments in Wichita and Mount Hope are also able to send out more targeted and localized alerts through the system. Other cities in Sedgwick County are expected to join the program later this year. To use it, residents have to sign up and select how they want to be notified — and what kind of alerts they would like to receive.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
McPherson Police Chief Mikel Golden graduates FBI National Academy
On Thursday, Dec. 8, McPherson Police Chief Mikel Golden graduated from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Golden began training at the FBI National Academy 10 weeks ago, in mid-October, and successfully completed the training this week. Golden’s training included classroom instruction, physical fitness, and more. Golden has dedicated over 15 years of law enforcement service to the McPherson community. He joined the McPherson Police Department in October 2006 as a patrol officer. While attending the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center, his classmates voted him class president.
Source: McPherson Weekly News
Kansas teacher shortage prompts calls for higher salaries, paying student teachers
As Kansas faces the worst teacher shortage it’s ever known, one group says the state needs to raise teacher pay, elevate the profession and offer student teachers a paycheck. “Part of the problem is our salaries in education stink,” said Rick Ginsburg, dean of education at the University of Kansas. “Add to that working conditions that are challenging, a public that is rather critical. … So what you end up with is something that is awfully challenging.”
Source: Prairie Village Post
Governor Kelly Announces Nearly $45 Million to Connect Kansans to High-Speed Internet in 15 underserved counties
Governor Laura Kelly announced today that $44.5 million will be awarded to nine service providers to extend high-speed internet to 18,468 locations in 15 underserved counties across the state. This is the third and final award phase of the Kansas Capital Project Funds (CPF) Broadband Infrastructure Program. The CPF program provides funding to make broadband connections in critical areas of the state that lack access to high-speed internet. The $83.5 million total CPF investment, combined with almost $42 million in matching funds, will result in more than 24,500 homes, businesses, schools, health care facilities, and other public institutions being connected to fast, reliable internet for the first time.
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
Days long ‘computer network disruption’ continues in Derby, under federal investigation
Federal law enforcement is investigating what the City of Derby is calling a “computer network disruption.” City Manager Kiel Mangus said IT staff discovered the problem on Saturday, Jan. 14. The city’s email network is down. “They’re evaluating our system to see, you know, what occurred, how it occurred, you know, when can we get things back,” Mangus said. The FBI is investigating the disruption, along with third-party computer specialists. Mangus said this is causing delays in utility bill payments in Derby.
Source: KAKE – News
Municipal Bond Trends for January 17, 2023
The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. Every issuer’s credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman, Beth Warren and Henry Schmidt.
U.S. cities have been introducing tougher measures to address the growing problem of homelessness, prompting a number of court challenges that could set guideposts.
Cities across the U.S. have been introducing tougher measures to address the growing problem of homelessness, prompting a number of court challenges that could set guideposts on how far municipalities can go. Local governments have been experimenting with a range of homeless policies, such as involuntarily removing people from the streets when they appear to be mentally ill, confiscating belongings or evicting the homeless from public property. City officials say the measures are necessary to address situations that are threatening public safety and leaving homeless people themselves living in conditions that are unsafe and unsanitary.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Trees in Overland Park are in danger due to this pest. Here’s how the city is coping
It would seem the emerald ash borer is enjoying Johnson County, and the city of Overland Park is taking action to eradicate it in a new way. Later this year, the city will begin an ash tree clear-cutting program in some neighborhoods. Currently, the city estimates between 8,000 and 11,000 ash trees still stand in Overland Park. Until now, the procedure has been to remove trees as they become too damaged to safely stand, which means about 500 per year are taken out. That plan isn’t cutting it anymore, according to city forester Bailey Patterson. “(We’re) just physically incapable of keeping up with the pace that they’re declining,” Patterson said. The normal annual budget for removing these damaged trees has been about $250,000. This new program would increase those funds to $2 million over two years.
Source: KC Star Local News
Bill Fiander came to Topeka with a 2-year plan; 26 years later, here’s what makes him proud
Bill Fiander went above and beyond the call of duty by attending the 2002 funeral for Emogene Shepard, president of the Tennessee Town Neighborhood Improvement Association, said her grandson, Michael Bell. As an employee of the city of Topeka’s planning department, Fiander had worked with Shepard and shared her commitment to making a better place out of the violence-plagued central Topeka neighborhood where she lived…. Tennessee Town benefited from Fiander’s considerable skills and education, as well as his willingness to connect with residents on a personal level while realizing he was “helping living, breathing people,” Bell said. Fiander’s last day with the city was Friday. He retired at age 57 as director of planning and development to take a job teaching political science at Washburn University, where he already worked part-time as an adjunct professor.
Source: CJonline
New K-State initiative to bring ‘supercharged’ business support in all 105 Kansas counties
Business owners around the state will now have better access to advanced business support, research and expertise, thanks to a Kansas State University initiative to create more than 3,000 jobs and generate $3 billion in investment by 2030. Officials from the university and Network Kansas —a statewide network of nonprofit, business-building organizations and resources — on Tuesday morning announced a partnership between the two entities that will bring university-level resources, research and professionals to businesses in communities around the state.
Source: CJonline
Construction materials company wants planning commissions to reconsider their opposition to Eudora quarry project
A Topeka-based construction materials company is hoping to establish a new quarry in Eudora, and it wants the Eudora and Lawrence-Douglas County planning commissions to reconsider after they voted nearly unanimously to recommend against the project. At its meeting Wednesday, the Douglas County Commission will consider the request from Mid-States Materials to return the original conditional use permit application to the Lawrence-Douglas County and Eudora planning commissions for further discussion and an updated recommendation. The Douglas County Commission has to give its approval to revisit the application because back in November, the entire seven-member Eudora Planning Commission and all but two members of the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission recommended that it be denied.
Source: LJWorld
Lawrence leaders take another step toward protections for tenants who use housing vouchers, other government assistance
City commissioners Tuesday took another step to make Lawrence the first city in the state to prohibit landlords from refusing to rent to tenants who receive government assistance, such as Section 8 housing vouchers. After about two hours of divided public comment, city commissioners expressed support for an ordinance that would prohibit landlords from discriminating against potential tenants on the basis of their “source of income.” However, commissioners ultimately agreed to delay passage of the ordinance for a month to give the city’s legal staff more time to refine the ordinance, especially in understanding how the new regulation may impact not just rental properties but the sale of homes.
Source: LJWorld
Wichita water plant contractor fined by OSHA for ‘serious violation’ in worker’s death
Federal workplace safety regulators have fined a Wichita Water Partners subcontractor for a serious violation of workplace safety law in the death of a construction worker at the city’s new water treatment plant. Manuel Esparza, a 55-year-old project manager for Utility Contractors Inc., was killed last March while trying to move a large iron pipe at the Northwest Water Treatment Facility.
Source: Wichita Eagle
High aspirations: Former Kansas mayor’s tourism vision includes silos, dwarf goats
The Kyner grain elevator that towers over the main street in Wilson, Kansas, hasn’t been in service for well over half a century. Most passers by look at the silos and see a relic of the past. David Criswell sees mountains. Criswell, 60, is a former mayor of Wilson, a purveyor of raw Kansas honey and a passionate goat apologist — they’re “largely misunderstood” creatures, he says — and he has a vision for the defunct silos no less quirky than one might expect from a town of 836 whose claim to fame is the world’s largest painted Czech egg. Criswell wants to turn seven 40-foot-tall concrete silos into an attraction called the Mountains of the Prairie, outfitting them with scaffolding and introducing a herd of sure-footed Nigerian dwarf goats rebranded as “Kansas mountain goats.”
Source: Wichita Eagle
Leavenworth County farm winery blending litigation, politics in bitter property tax dispute
Farm winery owners Bryan Zesiger and Gina Montalbano stirred up a hornet’s nest of property tax controversy by challenging Leavenworth County’s decision to classify a wine tasting room and 1.1 acres at the vineyard as commercial rather than agricultural property. The issue surfaced when owners of Z&M Twisted Vines learned the Leavenworth County appraiser had decided 85.2 acres of the winery would be classified agricultural in 2022. An 1,860-square-foot implement building with space for wine processing and storage, a tasting room for wine and hard cider sales and an event space would be classified as commercial by the county for tax purposes.
Source: www.chanute.com
Kansas legislators renew efforts to save Ogallala Aquifer
Saving the Ogallala Aquifer could mean economic trade-offs in the short-term, the chairman of the Kansas House Water Committee said Tuesday. But the state can make progress and still maintain the farming economy of western Kansas, said Rep. Jim Minnix, R-Scott City. “If I were a banker … looking at the value of agriculture in western Kansas, it makes all kinds of sense to me to try to preserve the aquifer to maintain the economy up there for as many years as possible,” Minnix said. Minnix, a farmer and livestock producer, is the newly minted chairman of the House Water Committee, which, last year, fell short of passing a sweeping bill overhauling the way Kansas regulates water.
Source: Kansas Reflector
After 20 years, Lenexa Mayor Michael Boehm won’t seek reelection in 2023
After two decades, Lenexa’s longest-serving mayor announced Tuesday that he will not seek another term in November. Mayor Michael Boehm was first appointed to lead the city in January 2003, when he was elected to serve the last three months of Mayor Joan Bowman’s term as she stepped away due to health concerns. He was elected in April 2003 and won four subsequent unopposed elections. In 2022, the League of Kansas Municipalities presented Boehm with the E.A. Mosher Excellence in Local Government Award, which honors officials who have shown exceptional service to their cities and the league as well as a strong commitment to local government.
Source: KC Star
Some Wichita roads will be redesigned, get bike lanes
On Tuesday, the Wichita City Council approved money to redesign several busy city streets. And one road that doesn’t get much use will be closed to any vehicles. The City’s Capital Improvement Project includes six makeover projects. Gary Janzen, City of Wichita engineer, told the council members what to expect with the redesigns. The first project he presented was for 143rd Street East from Kellogg to Harry. It is currently a two-lane asphalt rural section with ditches for drainage and no pedestrian accessibility.
Source: KSN-TV
City of Derby computer issue affects bills, emails
The City of Derby is on its third day of dealing with a computer problem affecting emails and billing. The City experienced a computer network disruption on Saturday. As a result, administrative and information technology (IT) staff began working with third-party computer specialists to investigate what happened. Derby says it notified federal law enforcement and is cooperating with law enforcement as they investigate what impact this might have on information stored in the City’s network systems.
Source: KSN-TV
Manhattan Fire Department saves dog from fire
The Manhattan Fire Department saved a dog this afternoon after responding to a house fire. The fire was reported at 2:35 p.m. on Tuesday in the 800 block of Pottawatomie Avenue. Firefighters reported finding smoke throughout the one-story, single-family dwelling and located a fire in a front room. No injuries were reported, and a dog escaped after firefighters opened a back door. Firefighters extinguished the fire within 10 minutes.
Source: KSNT 27 News
Emporia city officials explain processes to restore drinking water taste, odors to normal
Now that the issues have been addressed, city of Emporia officials believe the drinking water should be returning to normal taste and smell soon. Communications Manager Christine Johnson and Public Works Director Dean Grant … says a failure in a programmable logic controller had a big impact on the ozone disinfection system. Public Works crews worked with a vendor to resolve the issues and get the situation fixed by late Monday afternoon.
Source: KVOE Emporia Radio