Kansas Municipal News
Peabody revitalizing downtown with help of a grant
While many small towns in Kansas have their downtown districts emptying out and buildings falling into decay, Peabody is working on fixing theirs up. This is all thanks to the Peabody Main Street Association ((PMSA), a Kansas registered 501(c)3 non-profit community development organization, that focuses on downtown preservation and revitalization. “All the buildings in our downtown business district are on the National Register of Historic Places because of their unique architecture. Only a few of those even exist in the entire country. Our group’s focus is on preserving that architecture and also assisting commerce in that district,” said Morgan Marler board member for PMSA.
Source: Hillsboro Free Press
Newton City Commission debates changing government
Newton will have to wait a bit longer to know what its commission will decide in terms of government structure. The Newton City Commission reviewed the results of a resident survey conducted by the company FlashVote, but the results were not very definitive to some commissioners. The survey is covered at length in another article in this issue of the paper. Basically, 47 percent of the 229 respondents favored the city directly electing a mayor. However, 45 percent of respondents favored options where the mayor was chosen by commissioners to serve as mayor.
Source: Harvey County Now
Kansas 3rd graders design inclusive playground so they can play with their classmates
Third graders at Lansing Elementary School have come up with a solution to a problem. With two of their classmates in wheelchairs and a third who needs a walker, all their friends can’t enjoy their playground at recess. “I’m really mad about it because it’s not fair that not everyone gets to play on the playground,” third grader Finley Kowalewski said. The students went to their teacher Christina Mills with a solution, a dream playground all their classmates could use. This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. “We just like playing with them because they’re part of the class, and they’re our friends,” third grader Braiden Ling said Mills and another teacher at the school helped the students design their accessible playground.
Source: KAKE – News
$2 mil. Rural Home Loan Guarantee program to make rural housing more accessible
Keeping small towns in Kansas alive. A new program is putting millions of dollars into rural areas of the state and it’s expected to benefit thousands of homeowners. This $2 million Rural Home Loan Guarantee program is through the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC). KHRC’s Executive Director said this will help small-town banks and families get into their dream homes. “There is a need for housing of all different qualities and sizes,” said Lyons City Administrator, Chad Buckley.
Source: KSN-TV
Topeka catalytic converter ordinance approved
Topeka city council unanimously approved a new ordinance Tuesday they hope will deter catalytic converter thefts. Just in the last couple weeks of 2022, Topeka saw more than 20 catalytic converter thefts. Tuesdays unanimous vote, which was taken just minutes after the issue was presented, shows just how much the city council wants to see this crime stopped in its tracks. It’s a costly crime, and the thieves work so fast, it’s almost impossible to catch one in the act.
Source: KSNT 27 News
‘The house shakes’: Residents sue Olathe, company over rock quarry near neighborhood
On a remote patch of land in the southwest corner of Olathe, an eruption breaks the silence. The explosion is a regular part of rock quarry Hamm Companies’ operations – blasts loosen the earth to allow for removal. But not everyone on a nearby residential street appreciates the activity taking place on the other side of a grassy berm. Residents Randy and Cynthia Kriesel are suing the City of Olathe and Hamm Companies for expanding the quarry’s property, which inches closer to a small neighborhood off West 167th Street near Interstate-35.
Source: KC Star Local News
Labette County hears about drug shortages
The Labette County Commission, meeting Monday as the Labette County Board of Health, heard from pharmacist-in-charge Tracy Gilmore that pharmacists and providers are seeing a lot of drug shortages and are hoping the Labette County Health Department does not see it in its daily work giving vaccines and antibiotics. For now, the Health Department reported no shortages. “It is kind of a scary situation in some aspects,” Gilmore said.
Source: Parsons Sun
Merriam reignites plan for old community center site
Merriam is relaunching efforts to transform the site of the former Irene B. French Community Center. A special committee previously charged with finding a use for the land at 5701 Merriam Drive is being reconstituted for the first time in four years and will work to finalize a design for the now-empty green space. Anna Slocum, parks and recreation director, told the city council on Monday that the committee, dubbed the 5701 Committee, would soon seek a landscape design architect for the project.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Manhattan city commissioners want to prevent members from holding 2 government positions
State Sen. Usha Reddi, D-Manhattan, said Tuesday she would “eventually” resign from the Manhattan City Commission as some suggested changing the rules to prevent a commissioner from holding another elected position. Last week, the Riley County Democratic party elected Reddi to fill in for the remainder of state Sen. Tom Hawk’s position after he announced his retirement. The Mercury previously reported that Reddi said she will resign a few days after she was elected, but on Tuesday, she didn’t commit to that timeline. But she said she doesn’t plan on staying on the commission for her entire term.
Source: themercury.com
Kansas officials pursue new megadeals with semiconductor makers
Kansas officials are pursuing megadeals for six new projects, including two companies that make semiconductors, by using the same tax incentives that landed Panasonic’s $4 billion investment last year. Paul Hughes, deputy secretary for business development at the Department of Commerce, briefed lawmakers Tuesday on the status of Panasonic’s operation and the potential to reach multibillion deals with more companies, providing thousands of jobs. Panasonic plans to start pouring concrete this month for its facility in DeSoto, where the company will make batteries for electric vehicles.
Source: www.joplinglobe.com
KHP outlines persistent recruiting, retention obstacles despite 30% salary bump for troopers
The Kansas Highway Patrol said Wednesday the state agency continued to struggle with recruitment and retention of qualified law enforcement officers despite the 30% raise in base salary for newer troopers implemented last year by the Legislature and Gov. Laura Kelly. Capt. Mitch Clark told state senators the KHP was competing with police and sheriff departments in urban centers in Kansas and law enforcement agencies in neighboring states. Nationally, he said, the applicant pool was diminished, training classes where smaller, and retention of young troopers and people eligible for retirement persisted. The economy, COVID-19, the “great resignation” and negative news coverage contributed to staffing woes, he said. “We are all fishing out of the same pond that’s drying up, that’s more shallow,” Clark said. “This is a national crisis.”
Source: Kansas Reflector
Lawrence city leaders express support for hybrid form of government with members elected by districts, at-large and a directly elected mayor
City leaders have expressed support for asking Lawrence voters about changing the city’s form of government to a hybrid system that includes some commissioners elected by districts, other commissioners elected at large and a directly elected mayor. The Lawrence City Commission discussed the potential changes as part of its meeting Tuesday. The commission considered a task force recommendation for potential changes last year but did not come to a clear consensus on how to proceed and directed city staff to defer the discussion until this year. Commissioner Brad Finkeldei said he continued to be in favor of the task force’s recommendation, which called for six commissioners elected by districts and a directly elected mayor, but since there had not been enough support on the commission for that option, he was proposing the hybrid format as an alternative. “For all the reasons I support six (districts), I think that setup would be better than the system we have now,” Finkeldei said.
Source: LJWorld
Lawrence city leaders express support for moving forward with a ban on single-use plastic bags
Lawrence city leaders have expressed support for moving forward with a ban on single-use plastic bags in the community. As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission directed city staff to bring back an ordinance for future consideration that would ban certain single-use plastic bags. The commissioners also discussed the possibility of charging a fee at checkout or creating an educational campaign, but they agreed that a ban was the best option. “This has been discussed for a long time, since I’ve been on the commission, and I do believe that it’s time to initiate an ordinance on a ban on plastic bags,” Mayor Lisa Larsen said. “The idea of a fee, I think, complicates it way too much.”
Source: LJWorld
$400 million STAR bonds district could be coming to former golf course in Park City
Park City on Tuesday took the first step in the possible creation of a new STAR bonds district at the former Echo Hills Golf Course. The City Council voted to approve a resolution to hold a Feb. 14 hearing about the sales tax and revenue bonds, which would create a potentially $400 million district that could include an aquarium and other museum and entertainment venues, restaurants, hotels, athletic complexes and residential uses. “To me, it’s a win for Sedgwick County and south-central Kansas,” said city administrator Sean Fox. “We’re talking millions of folks who will be coming to south-central Kansas on a regular basis.”
Source: Wichita Eagle
Municipal Bond Trends for January 10, 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.
Fed’s Bowman says there’s ‘a lot more work to do’ to bring down inflation
Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said Tuesday she expects more interest rate increases ahead, with higher rates to prevail for a while until inflation is subdued. “I am committed to taking further actions to bring inflation back down to our goal,” the central bank official said in remarks prepared for a speech in Florida. “In recent months, we’ve seen a decline in some measures of inflation but we have a lot more work to do, so I expect the [Federal Open Market Committee] will continue raising interest rates to tighten monetary policy.”
Source: CNBC
SEC, market need to hammer out uncertainties in muni disclosure law
A controversial new law requiring cities and states to standardize their disclosure raises a bevy of questions that market participants and regulators will need to answer to pave the way for implementation. That’s the message from Ernesto Lanza of Ballard Spahr, who wrote a white paper on the newly passed Financial Disclosures Transparency Act along with the firm’s Teri Guarnaccia and Kimberly Magrini. “The ability to collect data in a structured way makes a lot of sense, but it’s going to be an interesting journey to get to something that works,” Lanza said. “There’s a lot of uncertainties to be dealt with and decisions to be made by regulators, hopefully along with people who understand the market.”
Source: The Bond Buyer
Iola weighs merits of development costs
Iola City Council members will mull over a request for an incentives package to entice a developer to build a series of duplexes at the north edge of town. The request from Gabriel Woodman of Merak Development, Springfield, Mo., comes with a stiff price tag, Council members acknowledged Monday. Woodman has requested the city extend at least two blocks of streets into the undeveloped land at what was once Cedarbrook Golf Course, at an expected cost of $1 million. Woodman is also asking the city to donate the land for what will be 10 duplexes.
Source: The Iola Register
Lawrence and Douglas County seek public’s feedback on draft wind regulations
Lawrence and Douglas County community members are invited to a meeting Thursday and an open house on Jan. 30 to discuss a new draft of wind energy regulations. The Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission directed city staff members to review Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS) regulations “in order to better align the wind regulations with recently adopted solar regulations,” according to a news release from the city. The draft regulations are now available for public comment… According to the release, “A WECS is a system of wind-driven generators that convert wind energy into electrical power. An individual machine is also referred to as a turbine, wind tower, windmill, or wind pump. A WECS may be for personal or commercial use, these two varying uses are referred to as P-WECS and C-WECS, respectively.”
Source: The Lawrence Times
Kansas House leadership lay out united plan for 2023 session
There are eight major areas that Republicans are calling their “a better way” platform. It covers almost everything impacting Kansas today, from taxes and workforce development to education and healthcare. “Yesterday was pretty much a ceremonial today, [now] we get to work and we all are ready to get to work,” said Representative Dan Hawkins. For the Republican leadership of the Kansas House and Senate, getting back to work Tuesday meant laying out their plans for this year’s legislative session, releasing its platform called “a better way.” “The senate president and I started talking four months ago,” Hawkins said. “And the one thing that we wanted to do is we wanted to have a legislative session that was keyed in on what was important to our members.”
Source: KAKE – News
Stocks (and Interest Rates) Tick Higher With Fed Officials’ Comments
U.S. stocks rose, as investors parsed Fed remarks indicating a higher-for-longer rates outlook and awaited comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. Yields on U.S. government bonds edged higher Tuesday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note climbed to 3.595% from 3.516% on Monday. … Mary Daly, president of the San Francisco Fed and Raphael Bostic, president of the Atlanta Fed, in comments Monday both highlighted that interest rates would need to rise above 5% and remain there for some time. The Fed’s benchmark rate is currently a range of between 4.25% and 4.5%. “The critical question on everyone’s mind right now is: When are we going to see the Fed’s tightening peak?” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management. “We keep seeing the Fed come out and make these really hawkish comments, but the market isn’t really pricing that in.” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the central bank is strongly committed to lowering inflation, even though interest-rate increases to restrain economic growth could fuel political blowback.
Source: WSJ.com: Markets
Topeka to punt on car insurance
Motor vehicle insurance is mandatory for all drivers in Kansas. But city governments aren’t required to carry it, and Topeka city manager Stephen Wade has decided to not renew the city’s vehicle coverage. Topeka’s city government is consequently becoming self-insured, in a move anticipated to save it $250,000 a year, city attorney Amanda Stanley told The Capital-Journal. Topeka’s city government has alternated over the years between carrying vehicle insurance and exercising its option of being self-insured, Stanley said. Lawrence’s city government self-insures its vehicles, with accidents involving those vehicles being investigated by the Lawrence Police Department and the city’s risk management division, according to its city website. Stanley talked this past week about the reasoning behind Topeka’s city government’s recent decision to self-insure the vehicles it maintains.
Source: CJonline
Reno County Commission expands
The Reno County Commission expanded from three commissioners to four on Monday, during the commission’s first meeting of 2023. Voters had extended the commission in November, during a countywide vote, moving the body from three to five commissioners. Due to the resignation of Mark Reese in late December, a new commissioner needed to be appointed. The Reno County Republican Party nominated John Whitesel to fill the vacant position.
Source: Hutch News
Lawrence City Commission to discuss potential ban or fee for single-use plastic bags
City leaders will soon discuss policy options to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags in the community, including banning them, charging a fee at checkout or creating an educational campaign. As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will once again take up the topic, which has been in discussion for more than four years. A group of elementary students from Kennedy Elementary brought their concerns about the harmful impact of plastic bags on the environment to the City Commission in 2018.
Source: LJWorld
Lawrence City Commission to discuss ballot measure for directly elected mayor, other potential changes to form of government
Lawrence city leaders will soon discuss whether they should ask Lawrence voters about changing the city’s form of government, including the possibility of having a directly elected mayor. The Lawrence City Commission will discuss the potential changes as part of its meeting Tuesday. A task force previously considered the issue in 2021, but the commission did not come to a clear consensus on how to proceed and directed city staff to defer the discussion until this year. The city has not reconsidered its government structure in 70 years, and in 2021 the commission created a task force to study the issue.
Source: LJWorld
Municipal Bond Trends for January 9, 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.
10,000 gallons of sewer plant sludge leaks into Slate Creek
You may want to avoid swimming in parts of Sand Creek or Slate Creek any time soon. For one, it’s cold. And two, 10,000 of “sludge” from Newton’s sewer system leaked into the waterways this weekend. According to a City of Newton release, “A valve on the line going from the settling basin (clarifiers) to the digesters failed, causing sludge to be discharged on plant property. Approximately 10,000 gallons of sludge made it to Slate Creek via storm sewers. Slate Creek drains to Sand Creek near the Wastewater Treatment Plant.” This prompted the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to issue an advisory for the two creeks due to potential elevated bacteria and contaminants.
Source: Harvey County Now
Newton residents who responded to survey favor electing mayor
Forty-six percent of surveyed Newton residents believed an elected mayor position would be the easiest way for elected officials to focus the public over potential interests. That’s the result of the City of Newton’s first survey conducted through the company FlashVote. Two-hundred-twenty-nine residents answered the question, approximately 1.23 percent of the city population. The city previously said it needed 200 people to be surveyed for a scientifically valid result. The city commission and city staff pushed forward the survey as a way of gauging residential interest to changing Newton’s elected structure.
Source: Harvey County Now
Harvey County Sheriff’s Office looking for owner of cows ‘trying to hitch a ride on the Interstate’
The Harvey County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) is looking for the owner of two cows who they say are “trying to hitch a ride on the Interstate.” “We are working to get them to safety, but we need help identifying their owner,” said the HCSO. The HCSO says one cow is all black and that the other is red with a white face and underbelly. Both have green ear tags. “We first received calls on these two last night in the area of Southeast 84th Street and South Kansas Road,” the HCSO said. “They’re now in the area of I-135 and Southeast 125th Street.”
Source: KSN-TV
Flags ordered to fly half-staff until sundown Tuesday
Governor Laura Kelly has ordered all flags in Kansas to fly at half-staff from now until sundown Tuesday. It’s to honor former Kansas Attorney General Bob Stephan. Stephan was Kansas’s longest-serving Attorney General from 1979 to 1995. He was a graduate of Washburn University’s law school and went on to practice law in Wichita. He served as a district judge in Wichita from 1965 to 1978 before becoming Kansas Attorney General. A funeral mass will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Church of the Ascension in Overland Park.
Source: KSN-TV
Topeka volunteers celebrates Shawnee County law enforcement
Today is National Law Enforcement Day, and a group of Topeka volunteers is showing its support all day and night. The group is holding a 24-hour meal donation providing law enforcement a free meal any time of the day. Volunteers have been handing them out since midnight, and they will be out until midnight tonight. “The officers, sometimes when you’re out there working in the streets, sometimes you lose track, of how much you’re appreciated. And this is an opportunity for the citizens to show their appreciation for law enforcement,” says Law Enforcement Appreciation Committee Chairman John Sidwell.
Source: KSNT 27 News
Change is coming to the Shawnee County Commission
The Shawnee County Commission currently holds meetings every Monday and Thursday to vote on local matters, but that is being changed. Now, every Monday will be a work day where department heads can present their proposals and the commissioners will have more time to discuss it before giving their official decision during the Thursday meetings. “The main thing is it gives us an opportunity to talk amongst ourselves as commissioners to discuss projects and what’s the best route to go,” said County Commission Chairman Bill Riphan. “It’ll be a good opportunity for department heads to give presentations not in one of our formal meetings but in a less formal way.”
Source: KSNT 27 News
Kansas in line to receive over $45 million total from latest wave of opioid settlements
The state of Kansas will receive over $45 million total from two pharmaceutical companies as the state’s fight against opioid abuse continues. Outgoing Attorney General Derek Schmidt says Teva has agreed to pay nearly $29 million. Part of that particular settlement involves Teva agreeing to stop promoting or lobbying for opioid products. Teva also has to monitor and report “off-label” use of fentanyl-based products, share clinical data through and disclose records to a third-party entity and pay for an independent agency to ensure compliance.
Source: KVOE Emporia Radio
Projected enrollment decline causes financial concerns for Lawrence school district
Lawrence schools are expected to steadily decrease in enrollment over the next five years, causing district budget concerns as well as questions about the future of the Lawrence community as a whole. According to future enrollment projections made by RSP & Associates, the outside consulting firm hired by the district, Lawrence Public Schools will lose just more than 300 students by the 2027-28 school year. School board President Shannon Kimball said during the board’s meeting on Monday that the district and community together must recognize the severity of this and commit to a solid plan, especially if the Kansas Legislature does not provide districts with increased state funding, following the Consumer Price Index (CPI), during this legislative session.
Source: The Lawrence Times
$40 million project could remove some of west Wichita from FEMA floodplain map
Flood relief could be on its way for west Wichita. Wichita and Sedgwick County are hoping to tap a federal grant program to help cover a $40 million project aimed at reducing flooding in fast-growing west Wichita and areas outside the city limits. The city and county would each pitch in $5 million, while the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s “Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities,” or BRIC, program would cover the rest of the cost.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Kansas remains number one in wheat
Agriculture is big business in Kansas, with just shy of 88% of Kansas land being farmland. Reno County has more than 1,500 farms and 17% of its workforce dedicated to agriculture. That’s why the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce gathered a group of community leaders, businesspeople and farmers together to tour the several agricultural facilities on Jan. 5 in Manhattan, Kansas. Kansas Rep. Joe Seiwert, Reno County Commissioner Ron Hirst, Hutchinson’s new mayor and vice-mayors, Jon Richardson and Greg Fast, former Kansas Sen. Ed Berger and Hutchinson’s new city manager Kendal Francis, joined agricultural manufacturer Mike Bergmeier, chamber CEO Debra Teufel and others on the tour. Many are on the agriculture committee at the chamber. While touring the KDA building, the group was given lots of facts that will help them understand the impact that agriculture has on Reno County and Kansas.
Source: Hutch News
Topeka eyes ordinance ban to stem rising tide of thefts
Catalytic converters can be stolen from the underside of a vehicle “in a matter of seconds,” says a proposed ordinance being considered by the Topeka City Council. That measure is aimed at helping slow down a surge in catalytic converter thefts the city has seen in recent years. The proposal would make it a misdemeanor for anyone to possess a catalytic converter that has been detached from a motor vehicle — unless they can prove they have a legitimate reason for it. “If enacted, this ordinance will provide capital city law enforcement an impactful tool, with criminal penalties, to aid in deterrence and crime reduction,” Topeka Police Chief Bryan Wheeles told The Topeka Capital-Journal.
Source: CJonline
Salina Police Department has new chief beginning in February
Beginning next month, the City of Salina will have a new chief of police, after the hiring of Clarence “C.J.” Wise, was announced Wednesday. City Manager Mike Schrage, who made the announcement by a news release, introduced Wise to the Salina City Commission during a special meeting Friday morning. “C.J. has a number of years experience in law enforcement, as well as a breadth of experience in law enforcement,” Schrage said. Wise comes to Salina with 25 years of experience, a member of the Edmond Police Department in Oklahoma since 1998. He rose within the ranks of the department in Edmond, serving as an officer, sergeant, captain and now as a major in the Edmond PD.
Source: Salina Journal
Saline County residents can apply for program that aims to reduce energy bills
The Community Housing Development Organization of Central Kansas is running a Weatherization Assistance Program to help reduce energy costs for low to moderate income households in Saline County. By increasing the efficiency of homes, the program aims to reduce the overall cost of utility payments Saline County residents might be paying in the colder months of the year through weatherization efforts. The Weatherization Assistance Program is funded through a grant made possible by American Rescue Plan Act monies, some of which the Saline County Commission has allocated to the CHDO for the project.
Source: Salina Journal
‘Like driving a huge, yellow electric golf cart’ — electric school buses roll into Kansas
They don’t smell like school buses. They don’t sound like school buses. They don’t even feel like school buses. But they ARE school buses, albeit electric ones, and Wabaunsee USD 329 superintendent Troy Pitsch is convinced that his district is at the forefront of an inevitable movement to cleaner, greener student transportation. With the help of a nearly $800,000 Environmental Protection Agency grant, the rural district has received and is getting ready to debut two new electric school buses, believed to be the first in a Kansas school district. Wabaunsee USD 329 expects to give students their first ride on the bus in the coming week, as the district finalizes a few technical details with the buses.
Source: CJonline
Municipal Bond Trends for January 6, 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.
De Soto residents love ‘small town feel.’ Will Panasonic turn it into suburban sprawl?
Steve Prudden believes things are about to drastically change for De Soto, a Johnson County community that’s long teetered at the intersection of rural and suburban. Three generations of Pruddens have processed and sold ground beef, bacon and steaks at his local Steve’s Meat Market. With only 6,200 locals in De Soto, the butcher relied on restaurants and grocery stores across the metro area to stay afloat for the last 53 years. But the fabric of De Soto is about to be forever changed by Japanese electronics giant Panasonic, which is building a massive electric vehicle battery plant on the site of the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant just south of K-10. Panasonic expects to hire 4,000 workers for the nearly 4-million-square-foot plant. “I believe we’re getting ready to explode,” Prudden said. No one knows how many of those workers might live in or near tiny De Soto. But this community was already changing and growing from the relentless sprawl that has defined the state’s wealthiest and most populous county in recent decades. Locals just celebrated the addition of a Taco Bell, which gave the town a total of four fast food franchises. Now, locals expect major developments to follow the $4 billion plant to De Soto.
Source: KC Star Local News
What Wichita can learn from a city that reinvented mental health crisis intervention
There remains growing interest around the country in rethinking how law enforcement responds to residents in mental health crises, with some programs, like CAHOOTS, working to take them out of the equation when possible. Wichita is among the cities that are adapting. The county’s community mental health center, Comcare, operates a non-911 phone number for mental health emergencies. Teams of therapists and case managers respond to situations, but funding and manpower has been limited. In 2019, the city and the county established a pilot program within the police department called Integrated Care Team (ICT-1) in response to an increase in calls related to mental health. Similar to Eugene, teams of qualified mental health professionals and paramedics respond to 911 calls involving a mental health crisis, including suicidal ideation, substance use and psychosis and delusions. But for every situation, regardless whether it’s nonviolent, law enforcement officers on duty are also sent as a co-responder.
Source: Wichita Eagle
‘A new era’ for open records in Kansas: Court says yes, electronic records must be provided electronically
When a person requests a copy of an electronic public record under the Kansas Open Records Act, public agencies must provide that copy in electronic format, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled Friday. This means, for instance, that agencies can’t print off copies of Excel spreadsheets — they must provide the spreadsheets themselves. “The opinion ushers in a new era of presumed and prompt access to electronic records in Kansas,” said Max Kautsch, the Lawrence attorney who argued the case and president of the Kansas Coalition for Open Government.
Source: The Lawrence Times
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.” Ginsburg heads a task force created by the Kansas Board of Regents that’s looking at strategies to ease the teacher shortage. The group includes deans of education at all the public universities in Kansas.
Source: The Lawrence Times