Municipal News & Jobs

Mayor Brad Finkeldei said he believes downtown Lawrence will be transformed, the city will expand west of Kansas Highway 10 and more development is coming in the next year or two. Finkeldei, first elected to a four-year term in 2019 and reelected in 2023, previously served as mayor in 2021. Traditionally, the person who receives the most votes in an election will serve as vice mayor for the first year of their term, then as mayor the following year. The candidate who received the second most votes in the election follows as the next vice mayor. The new commission — which includes Finkeldei and Commissioners Mike Dever and Amber Sellers, plus newly sworn Vice Mayor Mike Courtney and Kristine Polian — stuck with tradition Tuesday evening. In his remarks, Finkeldei said he believes two projects that will be “the two largest single drivers of sales tax in this community in the past 50 years” will come online soon in the new convention center at KU’s Gateway District and in Costco on what is for now the far northwestern edge of Lawrence.
Read more: The Lawrence Times

City Clerk Bailey Saylor was designated as Interim City Administrator by the Lyons City Council during Monday evening’s meeting. This is one of a number of actions taken in the wake of the resignation of Troy Houtman on Nov. 17. As part of a motion setting out interim duties and responsibilities, Steven Thomas was designated as deputy city clerk, with Elizabeth Ramsey to continue in her role as assistant city administrator. The Council also as part of that motion eliminated the position of Human Resources Director, which they will re-evaluate in June. In a related action, the Council authorized Mayor Alicia Hommon, Council President Rick Miller, and City Attorney Patrick Hoffman to negotiate a contract with Sayler for interim duties.
Read more: Ad Astra Radio | Your Hometown Radio Stations & Local News Source

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.

Douglas County currently has a policy that says the accounts can’t have fund balances that are more than 25% of their revenues. Douglas County Administrator Sarah Plinsky said, instead, the 20% to 25% range should be a minimum.
Read more: LJWorld

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 commissioning of Wichita’s new water treatment plant has been delayed again. The City of Wichita said in a news release Wednesday that the delay is due to ongoing problems with the clarifiers. Clarifiers allow solids to settle at the bottom of the water so they can be removed. The new $500 million plant, near 21st Street and Hoover Road, is replacing the city’s 80-year-old water plant. It was constructed by Wichita Water Partners, which currently owns the plant but is slated to turn over ownership to the city once the facility is fully operational. That was originally supposed to happen after successful testing in April. When that deadline was missed, the timeline was moved up to the end of the year. Now, the city said it was told by WWP the facility will not be completed by then.
Read more: KSN-TV

At a special meeting Tuesday, the council voted 5-2 to negotiate a contract with Dennis Marstall. Councilmen Brandon Johnson and Mike Hoheisel voted no. “I am concerned about potential undue influence by elected officials in the process and potentially the selection committee,” District 1 City Council member Brandon Johnson said. “I am concerned about an expectation that immediately excludes one of the finalists.” Marstall is currently the county administrator of Lancaster County, South Carolina.
Read more: KSN-TV

A Sedgwick County Sheriff’s deputy was attacked by a group of dogs while responding to a call in south Wichita Saturday morning. Deputies were dispatched to the 4600 block of S. Hemlock Ave. in Oaklawn after reports of a man being attacked by several dogs. When deputies arrived, they found 10 to 15 dogs, believed to be Boston terriers, running at large. While attempting to assist an 18-year-old male, the dogs attacked the deputy. Two deputies fired their weapons in an attempt to scare the dogs away. The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office said, “No people, animals or property were hit by gunfire. The dogs’ owner later contained them.”
Read more: KSN-TV

The problem sounds easy: Kansas has too few houses for sale, especially in small, rural communities struggling to attract young people and new businesses. The simple answer is to build more houses. But those in real estate say this shortage has been years in the making, and it may take years and creative thinking to emerge from it.
Read more: www.ctnewsonline.com

The Refinery is now open. The grand opening of The Refinery, a state-of-the-art sports facility, was held on Nov. 21. The Refinery is a 200,000-square-foot facility that features six full basketball courts, an indoor turf arena, team suites, pickleball courts, an indoor walking track, restaurant, arcade, convenience store, pro-shop, events center and more. The facility is designed to be a hub for youth sports and recreation in Garden City, offering opportunities for youth of all ages and abilities to participate in various sports activities. A second phase of the project is already underway and includes four all-turf baseball/softball fields, outdoor wiffleball fields, athletic training weight room, children’s recreation equipment and a sports bar.
Read more: Garden City Telegram

Harvey County will provide 51 of its used 800 MHz radios to Walton Fire, Burrton EMS, Sedgwick EMS, Hesston Fire & EMS, and Newton Public Works, a result of its purchase of 100 new radios earlier this year. Don Gruver, Emergency Communications Director, told commissioners Tuesday morning that the Sheriff’s Office and jail both have new radios, and he still has some new ones in a box that will be used to replace the ones that fail. He said the new ones will be used for the County. The used radios will go to the five departments listed above, who have all agreed to pay the County $500 for them.
Read more: Harvey County Now

It’s a mix of Dillons employees and Harvey and Sedgwick first responders packing food to feed hundreds of area families. That will happen because of donations from Harvey and Sedgwick County people. “People of Harvey County are really giving people,” Harvey County Undersheriff Shawn Chapman said, adding they met their goal this year. The Newton Police Department and Harvey County Sheriff’s Office lead the local program, called First Responder Holiday Helpers, locally. The initiative is a partnership with all of the Harvey County emergency response agencies.
Read more: Harvey County Now

After dealing with issues with its old snow map last winter, Overland Park has rolled out a new interactive map online to help residents better track the status of city streets and whether they’ve been plowed. Called the Snow Operations Map, it is intended to be “more accurate and timely,” according to a city news release. Meg Ralph, strategic communications director for the city, said the new map can differentiate more effectively and accurately which areas have already been cleared, which are currently being cleared and which are still pending.
Read more: Johnson County Post

In February 1950, the owner of the land that is now Porter Park in Prairie Village created a single rule for that land: No Black people were allowed to use, own or occupy it. Now, 75 years later, Porter Park is officially home to an interpretive panel, entitled “Inherited Exclusion,” that publicly recognizes the park’s history defined by a racist covenant and also details Prairie Village’s broader history as a community founded in part on racist deed restrictions.
Read more: Johnson County Post

For more than three years, solar panels have provided Spring Hill High School with energy — producing enough energy each month to power 95 homes, wash 13,500 loads of laundry or charge 15 million smartphones. The solar array, which sits in a field just northeast of the school at 19701 S. Ridgeview Rd., began operations in July 2022. Since then, district officials say it has reduced the district’s energy costs by about $258,000, or between $113,000 and $116,000 annually, not including current 2025 figures.
Read more: Johnson County Post

When a clerk in Comanche County asked a group of students on a field trip whether they wanted to register to vote, Joe Ceballos raised his hand. It was an act that would set him on a path to being charged with voter fraud more than three decades later. Ceballos, the twice-elected mayor of Coldwater, Kansas, says he didn’t understand that as a Mexican immigrant he couldn’t vote in the United States. An honest mistake, he said. But now he’s found himself in legal trouble that threatens to upend the life he’s spent half a century building. He now faces felony charges for voter fraud, filed by Kris Kobach, the state attorney general. 
Read more: KLC Journal

One of 2025’s biggest movies is sending people flocking to Wamego to check out a unique Oz-themed museum. Wamego’s Oz Museum is marking an increase in visitors this fall following the recent release of the new movie “Wicked: For Good” which earned $226 million globally during its opening weekend. The film is a sequel to last year’s movie “Wicked” which is an adaptation of the Broadway musical based on the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz.” Last year’s release of “Wicked” brought many new visitors to the museum and the Wamego area. Museum leadership believes additional advertising for the second release is helping to give the museum greater exposure.
Read more: KSNT 27 News

In a 70-minute work session, the Wellington school board met to determine whether or not to bring another school bond proposal to voters, and what cuts need to be made in order to get it passed. There was no vote at Monday night’s work session, as it was technically not an official meeting. In the end, this draft of the bond has been pared down to $17.8 million, nearly $5 million less than the one that fell to defeat at the Nov. 4 general election. Wellington school district voters rejected a $22.6 million bond by 125 votes. Several things were cut from the November bond proposal. The new bathroom at Sellers Park is gone. Two parking lots, which were slated for concrete, have been slated for asphalt. They are also taking out the roofs at Washington Elementary and Roosevelt Center. However, window upgrades at Roosevelt will be included. A line item for “remaining rooftop units at other schools” was also removed with the thought that those united could be replaced out of the capital outlay fund as they break.
Read more: Sumner NewsCow

No two days are ever quite the same for Jessica Woodyard, public communications manager at the City of Hutchinson, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. “I absolutely love my job, and I’m passionate about what I do,” Woodyard said on a misty Monday morning in her office at city hall. From handling media requests to gathering information from different city departments to deciding the best communications tools to ensure that as many city residents receive needed information about what the city is doing, Woodyard’s days are spent in constant motion, especially with the upcoming winter weather season.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

Allen County is one of six counties across Kansas and Missouri that will participate in a Heartland Rural Innovators Initiative over the next 18 months in an effort to draw tech and innovation employers to the region. One of her biggest challenges as economic development director for Iola and Allen County is for Camille Lavon to operate proactively, and not reactively. A new initiative may change that. Allen County has been tapped as one of six rural counties across Kansas and Missouri to participate in the Heartland Rural Innovators Initiative. The 18-month program, coordinated by the Center on Rural Innovation (CORI), is designed to help rural communities in Kansas and western Missouri accelerate their technology and innovation economies.
Read more: The Iola Register