Municipal News & Jobs

Officials from Mulberry, Arma, Frontenac, and Pittsburg met with county officials at Memorial Auditorium in Pittsburg Wednesday morning to check in with each other and brainstorm ideas to support each other.
Read more: – Morning Sun

Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas Interim President Lyle Butler says his reaction to the recent Michelin layoffs, which will impact 100 employees, was the same as many in the community: disappointment. “My first feeling is for the employees and their families, because that forces change,” he said. The RDA was the first to release information last Thursday, announcing it had been notified of Michelin’s decision to restructure its agricultural track and wheel operations, laying off 100 Emporia employees as part of a phase-out expected to continue through the end of 2026. Michelin is the latest of several companies to scale back or cease operations in the city, with other notable examples including Tyson Foods, Thermal Ceramics and, most recently, Hopkins Manufacturing.
Read more: www.emporiagazette.com

Scooters and e-bikes have raised concerns about safety, and another Kansas City suburb is doing something about it. Olathe now has new rules in place. The goal is to keep everyone safe. The City of Olathe is asking all parents and guardians to go over these new rules with their kids. One change includes: Anyone under 18 years old must wear a helmet when riding an electric scooter or e-bike. “We want our children to be safe. We want our parents to be informed about the capabilities in what they’re purchasing in that device,” City of Olathe Public Information Officer Cody Kennedy said. “But we also want to ensure our traveling public are safe, our pedestrians are safe and everybody understands the rules of the road.”
Read more: FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV

The Finney County Commission adopted a Special Use Permit application form for data centers and amendments to the Special Use Permit Base application form at its regular meeting on Monday. Mackenzie Phillips, Finney County Development and Administrative Coordinator, said on Feb. 17 of this year the Commission approved a resolution establishing Article 36 in the county’s Zoning Regulations which deals with Special Use Permits. “Article 36 created a new framework for the review and approval of land uses that may involve unique impacts, operational considerations or broader policy implications and that require approval by the Board of County Commissioners,” Phillips said. Implementation of Article 36 included the establishment of a Special Use Permit application process which includes a base application form that applies to all Special Use requests and separate, supplemental application forms which are tailored to individual use categories, Phillips said.
Read more: Garden City Telegram

Six people spoke during the Finney County Commission’s Public Comment period during its regular meeting on Monday. Speakers Jackson Turner, Tucker Turner, Ross Marston, Polly Witt, Rance Schreibvogel and Harold Mai spoke against Data Centers coming to the Finney County area. Jackson Turner said he knew the meeting was not about a specific Data Center coming to the area, but the application form in the event someone approaches about putting in a Data Center but said there’s already a project in the works.
Read more: Garden City Telegram

A proposed two-year moratorium on commercial solar projects in Jackson County failed on a 4-4 vote during the Jackson County Planning Commission meeting last Thursday evening. During the meeting, which drew about 40 people to the Jackson County Courthouse, 15 minutes of comments from both proponents and opponents of a solar moratorium were allowed, with each person allotted one minute to speak. At the end of the discussion, planning commission member Doug Fisher made a motion to approve a two-year moratorium on commercial solar projects in the county. The motion was seconded but did not pass on a 4-4 vote.
Read more: The Holton Recorder

Most people in Johnson County who follow the Royals already knew by Wednesday morning that the former Sprint campus near 119th Street and Nall Avenue was out of the running for a new baseball stadium location. That much had been announced by the team back in January. But the news on Wednesday that the Royals reached a deal with Hallmark Cards to build a downtown stadium near Crown Center — bringing a downtown location that much closer to reality — meant that some of the neighbors who had vigorously opposed it for Johnson County could exhale a little more.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Kansas utility regulators are weighing the benefits and costs of approving construction of a $493 million transmission line that would travel through four southwest counties. Multiple Kansas landowners protested the line’s construction and route during nearly three days of hearings in March at the Kansas Corporation Commission, which will make a decision on the proposal by May 13. They contend the line will disrupt agricultural activities, harm the environment and offer few benefits for Kansans. Utility officials said the line is necessary to provide electricity stability for Kansas, as well as 13 other member states in the Southwest Power Pool. Rapid growth in energy usage and grid challenges that occurred during 2021 Winter Storm Uri require improvements to the grid, they said.
Read more: Kansas Reflector

A ballooning housing market. Thinning resources for homelessness services and affordable housing projects: Wichita’s housing challenges remain after voters overwhelmingly rejected a 1% sales tax that could have addressed them. What’s next without a $150 million allocation earmarked for affordable housing and Second Light, the city’s homeless resources campus? That set-aside was only about 18% of the total tax that would have been collected. There’s little evidence that Wichita voters don’t see the need for more resources to go into housing and homelessness. The bigger problem, according to polling done by Wichita Documenters and Wichita Forward, was voters’ lack of trust and the current high cost of living. 
Read more: KLC Journal

Leaders in Sublette held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new splash pad on Wednesday. The Haskell County Rotary Club raised $400,000 to make this addition to the rec center. The splash pad will be 2,360 square feet, have seven water features and five more water sprays spread through three areas — a toddler bay, family bay and action bay. There will also be a seating wall for parents. The site where it is being built is bordered by a park and athletic fields. Because of its close proximity, the water used at the splash pad will be used to water the rec’s soccer field.
Read more: KSN-TV

Emporia is facing more layoffs after it was announced Thursday that Michelin would cut 100 jobs and rework its operations there. It’s another blow to Emporia’s job market, which has faced roughly 1,200 job losses over the past few years according to the Regional Development Association (RDA). Eight hundred of those cuts were related to Tyson Foods closing a processing facility there in 2025. On Monday, KSN News spoke with leaders from Emporia organizations, who are focused on workforce and business development, to understand how the community could bounce back from the trend.
Read more: KSN-TV

Twenty‑five years ago, Hoisington High School students were preparing for a memorable prom night. It was also the night an F4 tornado struck. The Hoisington tornado of April 21, 2001, caused widespread damage and heartbreak. The storm destroyed 200 homes and 12 businesses, and another 200 homes received minor to moderate damage. One person died, and 28 others were hurt. The tornado touched down southwest of town and quickly moved into the city.
Read more: KSN-TV

Residents of Galena are taking matters into their own hands – after they say they’ve lost federal and state support over the city’s landfill. Facebook group Galena Kansas Neighbors for Clean Air has been pushing back against the landfill on the outskirts of the city, which they feel is polluting the environment. Recently, group member and EcoSavvy Insights founder Kaylann Loraine has been collecting signatures for an environmental risk survey through her organization. The survey collects data about symptoms possibly caused by the landfill – where and when odors occur – and any other complaints.
Read more: KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com

The Kansas City Royals are moving from their longtime home at Kauffman Stadium to the downtown Crown Center area, partnering with Hallmark Cards on a $3 billion project that includes a mixed-used development with a new ballpark as its centerpiece. Royals owner John Sherman was joined by Hallmark chairman Don Hall Jr., Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, along with other local and state dignitaries, in making the announcement Wednesday near Hallmark headquarters. While the finalized master plan has yet to be complete, Sherman said the $1.9 billion stadium would break ground next year in the middle of Crown Center as part of the first phase of an 85-acre project. Two-thirds of the funding will come from private sources and the remaining one-third from public partners, including money earmarked by the state for stadium projects.
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.

“The (incentives are to) fund both our growing population and also resident demand,” Danielle Gabor, Haysville’s economic development director, said. “…we have several housing developments that are either underway or are on the horizon. So because of that increase, we wanted to increase our dining options.”
Read more: Wichita Eagle

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 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.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller on Friday said current economic conditions are complicating the approach to interest rates, with policymakers facing a potentially long-lasting inflation shock and a labor market with no job growth that nonetheless appears stable. Against that backdrop, Waller said the Fed could have to stay on hold for a prolonged period until the economic direction becomes clearer.
Read more: CNBC Bonds

A new study that followed thousands through their lives found no evidence that fluoride in drinking water had a negative effect on young people’s IQs. Researchers found that children exposed to fluoridated water did not experience lower IQ or reduced cognitive performance later in life, according to findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research followed more than 10,000 people in Wisconsin, tracking fluoride exposure during childhood and measuring cognitive performance over decades. Participants were tested at age 16 and again throughout adulthood into their 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s.The result: no measurable difference between people who grew up in communities with fluoridated water and those who did not.
Read more: WCVB Top Stories