Municipal News & Jobs

County commissioners on Monday extended a moratorium on data center development for another year while reopening questions about whether past wind-energy regulations were adopted through proper public process. After hearing a planning commission recommendation to delay action until after the county updates its comprehensive plan, commissions unanimously approved extending a moratorium on applications related to data centers in unincorporated areas through June 1, 2027.
Read more: Marion County RECORD

The Leavenworth County Commission voted 3-2 Wednesday to impose a 90-day moratorium on data center development. The move comes as residents in Tonganoxie debate a proposed a 1,000-acre hyperscale data center north of Interstate 70, dubbed Project Bluestem. In a public comment meeting earlier this year before the commission, many Tonganoxie residents expressed concerns with the project proposal moving forward.
Read more: KSHB News

Edgerton is the latest town in southern Johnson County to consider a new data center, despite continued pushback from residents — and this time, the community might not have a choice. Tuesday night, the Edgerton Planning Commission approved, by a 4-0 vote, a preliminary plat that combines three properties to convert an existing 400,000-square-foot warehouse at Logistics Park into a large-scale data center. The commission, however, also by a 4-0 vote, tabled the final site plan from Dubai-based company DAMAC Digital, putting off a final decision on the project for now. Planning Commission Secretary Jordyn Mueller was absent from the meeting. Logistics Park Kansas City is already zoned to include data centers. With the proper zoning for the DAMAC Digital site already in place and the application meeting Edgerton’s requirements, the planning commission’s hands are essentially tied. While the commission sat looking for answers on Tuesday night, people in the standing-room-only crowd yelled, “Just deny it.” However, according to City Attorney Todd Luckman, denial must be based on established code. If the city denies a project that conforms to code, it opens itself up for litigation.
Read more: Johnson County Post

CrossFit championships, the Pickleball Open, Top Gun fast-pitch softball tournaments — these are all sporting events on the calendar in 2026 that are expected to draw hundreds, if not thousands, of visitors to Overland Park. They’re all examples of sports tourism as well, a multibillion-dollar industry in the United States that’s seen major gains in the last decade or so. Visit OP — the nonprofit that serves as the city’s official visitor and tourism organization — wants to see Overland Park get a bigger cut of that economic impact.
Read more: Johnson County Post

One of the several grass fires burning in southwest Kansas caused an evacuation that has since been lifted for Meade. Meade County Sheriff Douglas Ritter said numerous fire crews from across Kansas and Oklahoma fought the fire south of town early Friday. Crews finally stopped its progress around 3 a.m. There were no injuries.
Read more: KSN-TV

Duplex boom is attracting middle-income earners to the Midwestern city.
Read more: Wall Street 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 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.

If the Federal Reserve still has any reasons to cut interest rates in the near future, they’re getting harder and harder to find. Friday’s jobs report for April provided the latest evidence that the central bank’s larger concern isn’t a flagging labor market but rather a cost of living that is getting increasingly harder for ordinary Americans to bear.
Read more: CNBC

The Manhattan Public Library made history this week by debuting the first-ever lactation pod installed in a Kansas public library. Mayor Susan Adamchak said it’s great that Manhattan offers this kind of health service. “One of the participants in the ceremony yesterday said that she believed that this was the first to be located in a public library in Kansas,” she said. “So I think that was terrific.”
Read more: News Radio KMAN

Despite economic headwinds nationally. Kansas Lt. Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland says Kansas is more than holding it’s own. Toland told Iola Radio News Friday since he and Governor Laura Kelly took office nearly 7 ½ years ago, there has been over $33 billion in private investment in Kansas, along with creation of 80,000 jobs. Another positive sign appeared last week, when Moody’s Investment Services raised the credit rating of the state of Kansas. Even in southeast Kansas, where the economy has lagged behind other areas in the state, there is positive news, such as the recent announcement of 40 new jobs in Fort Scott, where a company is taking over the building of a business that closed operations a couple of years ago. He added there are a couple of more announcements coming soon for the region.
Read more: Ad Astra Radio

As Emporia and Lyon County continue to manage manufacturing losses and uncertainty surrounding local economic development leadership, Kansas Lt. Gov. and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said Monday that Emporia is uniquely positioned to attract new industry. “There’s a lot of expansions happening at the moment in different sectors, and so we think Emporia is well aligned to be able to get some meaningful wins,” he said. Toland visited the Trusler Business Center on Monday, bringing key state officials to meet with representatives from the city of Emporia, Lyon County and the RDA, as well as Rep. Mark Schreiber and Sen. Mike Argabright. Toland said the purpose of the meeting was to discuss potential economic development opportunities and identify assets the state could use when discussing sites for potential business additions and expansions.
Read more: www.emporiagazette.com

The City of Lenexa unveiled its long-in-the-works plans for three World Cup watch parties that will be held at Lenexa City Center. On Tuesday at the Lenexa City Council meeting, Assistant City Manager Mike Nolan detailed three watch parties that will take place in Lenexa City Center, as well as the amenities and activities it will feature. The watch parties were planned to avoid clashing watch parties with Shawnee Mission Theatre in the Park. The plans were part of two World Cup-related agenda items that the Lenexa City Council unanimously approved, 8-0, including approval of a special event permit for the three watch parties and a resolution authorizing the sale, possession and consumption of alcohol during the events.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Sen. Jerry Moran recently joined other lawmakers in introducing legislation to extend the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration program for another five years. The proposed Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Reauthorization Act would continue support for rural hospitals by allowing them to test alternative Medicare payment models designed to improve financial stability and maintain healthcare access in rural communities. Two Kansas hospitals currently participate in the program: Stormont Vail Health Flint Hills Campus in Junction City and McPherson Hospital in McPherson. Sen. Moran has supported the program since it began in 2004 and has repeatedly backed efforts to renew it during his time in Congress.
Read more: KCLY Radio

More than 150 years after its founding, Neodesha has transformed from an oil-dependent town into a thriving community that offers new opportunities for families through economic diversification and educational support.
Read more: www.koamnewsnow.com

Fort Scott Area Home Developers met on Thursday to discuss the city’s needs and plans. The city says a 2025 study proved Fort Scott faces a housing shortage. The city expects several hundred more jobs to come to Fort Scott over the next year, making the need for housing even more acute.
Read more: www.koamnewsnow.com

Voters may get to decide whether to redirect a city sales tax toward public safety after the City Commission discusses the topic at its meeting Monday. The city for 20 years has charged a 0.5% sales tax to pay off debt from building the Community Center and pool. That debt will be paid off this year, but the city is considering asking voters to continue the tax to support public safety equipment and infrastructure. The required citywide vote for the sales tax would be in November. 
Read more: The Eudora Times

The Reno County Commission will hold a public hearing and consider establishing a sales tax and revenue (STAR) bond district for the Salt Lick Golf & Hunting Resort under development east of Hutchinson during its regular meeting at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, May 13. Developers of the resort are seeking STAR bonds to finance about $26 million of the project, approximately one-third of the total planned cost, commissioners heard in a special meeting on Thursday, May 7. The bonds would be repaid using sales tax revenue from the district, which would exclusively consist of the resort.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

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.