Municipal News & Jobs

Residents in a small, southwest Kansas town were ordered to evacuate Tuesday afternoon as a large fire from Oklahoma closed in on the town, officials said. The western half of Kansas is under a red flag warning for fire danger because of the high winds. Officials closed I-70 in both directions between Colby and Wakeeny “due to vehicle crashes blocking the roadway and reduced visibility from blowing dust,” a Kansas Department of Transportation news release said.
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.

Topeka led the way for Kansas’ permanent common consumption areas. Now over 30 cities offer outdoor drinking districts.
Read more: CJonline

The previous goal set a target of having all city facilities powered by renewable energy by 2025 and having 100% of residential and commercial businesses citywide powered by renewable energy by 2035. However, the city has not come close to meeting those goals. It missed the 2025 goal, and only about 3% of its facilities are currently powered by clean energy. Because of this, city sustainability staff suggested repealing the old goal and setting a new goal of climate neutrality.
Read more: LJWorld

The city is making temporary changes to its short-term rental rules from May 25 to July 26 ahead of the influx of visitors for the six World Cup matches set to take place in Kansas City. But even with the relaxed rules, code compliance manager Treni Westcott said that renting out a room for any period less than 30 days would require a short-term rental license.
Read more: LJWorld

Cyndra Kastens, former city administrator in Anthony, is in her third full week in Valley Center. She was hired in January to replace Brent Clark. “The first two weeks were great,” Kastens said. “My priority goal was to meet with all the city directors as well as engineering teams to start getting up to speed on department activities and Valley Center projects.” Kastens said the city is prepared to face its challenges.
Read more: AV News

Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland today announced two Kansas Main Street communities have been awarded funding through the Residential Opportunities On Main Street (ROOMS) program. Projects in El Dorado and Seneca will receive $50,000 each to create a total of 18 new residential units in the upper floors of downtown buildings. “As we continue expanding the state economy by bringing more businesses and workforce opportunities to rural communities, the need for quality and affordable housing also continues to grow,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “Through the ROOMS program, we are preserving the history of our downtown districts while creating more livable spaces for current and future residents.” Last summer, five communities were awarded ROOMS grants, resulting in 29 new upper-floor housing units in downtown communities and generating nearly $9 million in private investment.  
Read more: Kansas Department of Commerce

We’re excited to share a new opportunity for our downtown business community — and we want to make sure this information reaches as many business owners as possible. The Kansas Department of Commerce has released the SIGNS Grant, which helps fund new or upgraded storefront signage for downtown businesses. The City of Coffeyville is preparing an application and is currently identifying interested downtown businesses who would like to participate.
Read more: Coffeyville, KS – News Flash

On Monday, the Iola City Council gave final approval to revisions to the transient vendor ordinance. The changes, which were suggested by Council member Joelle Shallah last year, clarify what is considered a local resident for fee purposes. A local resident is defined as a person living in the city limits of Iola and having any trailers or such registered in Allen County with an Iola mailing address. The revisions also include an increase in application fees from $10 to $30 reflecting what the city has to pay the Kansas Bureau of Investigation for background checks required for applicants. This is part of the overall license fee.
Read more: Ad Astra Radio

Is Kansas the middle of nowhere? A place with nothing to attract people to come, live, work and play? Today we’ll meet a man who was born and raised in the western United States. As he transitioned to work remotely in his career, he has found he can do his work from virtually anywhere — and has chosen to live in rural Kansas.  Mike Ball is a software developer working remotely from Kingman, Kansas. He grew up in Oregon, studied economics at Oregon State, and took training on software programming. He worked in Las Vegas and then Arizona. Ball worked as an independent software development consultant for 11 years. Then one of his clients asked him to come on board full-time with the company. When the Covid pandemic began, everyone in that company transitioned to work remotely. While in Arizona, he and a friend had come to Kansas to visit his friend’s sister who had moved to Kingman. “I really liked Kingman,” Ball said. When his company transitioned to remote work, Ball opted to make the move to Kansas.
Read more: Ad Astra Radio

Several dozen people turned out Friday afternoon to celebrate the groundbreaking for a new fire/EMS station in Sedgwick. The groundbreaking comes nine years after the city relinquished its EMS services because it couldn’t staff the department. In March, 2017, Halstead EMS agreed to cover Sedgwick and did so until January 2025, when Sedgwick revived its dead service. Not only did City Administrator Kyle Nordick get the program off the ground, he promoted Fire Chief Zane Hansen last summer to also serve as the EMS director and found a Community Development Block Grant for $650,000 in January of last year to help pay for the new station.
Read more: Harvey County Now

As zoning demands continue to rise in Jackson County, commissioners have agreed to hire a separate zoning administrator to keep up with the workload. The decision came after county appraiser and zoning officer Kate Immenschuh previously told commissioners that an increase in zoning duties has strained her staff and caused them to fall behind on appraisal duties. During the commissioners’ meeting on Monday, they unanimously agreed to advertise for a full-time county zoning administrator. The top responsibility of the new position will be to administer and enforce zoning regulations in the county’s comprehensive plan, as well as serve as a liaison to the planning commission and board of zoning appeals.
Read more: The Holton Recorder

Helmets will become a requirement for anyone under 18 riding an electric-powered scooter, bicycle or other device in Leawood, the city council has decided. The Leawood City Council last week approved the new rule, which will go into effect after its legal publication. Although the vote was 5-3, every councilmember went on record backing helmets for juvenile riders. The disagreement was over whether the helmet rule should also apply to non-electric bikes, scooters, skateboards or other wheeled devices. The new rule does not specify the type of helmet, but says it must be designed to prevent injury and be properly fitted and secured to the head. It applies to passengers as well as operators, riding on streets, sidewalks, trails and public rights-of-way within the city.
Read more: Johnson County Post

After years of declining enrollment, Olathe Public Schools will be closing more schools — and is gearing up to decide which ones. At the Feb. 5 board of education meeting, district leaders shared a multi-phase plan to determine how many and which schools will close. Once those determinations are made, the district will redraw boundaries and consolidate schools. According to the district, enrollment peaked at 30,216 students in 2019. The district now has 28,140 students. Projections show enrollment dropping to just under 26,000 students over the next 15 years — a decrease of about 4,000 students from its peak. Officials have pointed to slowed birth rates, rising housing costs and an aging population as key factors in the decline.
Read more: Johnson County Post

On February 3rd, Clay Center City Council approved an ordinance to allow utility vehicles within city limits. Work-site vehicles, golf carts, and micro utility trucks will be eligible for in-town use. Drivers must register their vehicles and display their registration sticker clearly on the left side of the vehicle. In addition, an affixed flag needs to be displayed six feet off the ground. City Attorney Dusty Mullin, said the flag needs to be visible while the vehicle is in motion.  The ordinance goes into effect April 1st. 
Read more: KCLY Radio

The McPherson Fire Department gave the public a chance to see its two newest trucks on Thursday. The trucks — also called brush trucks or wildland attack units — give firefighters a faster, more agile vehicle that can more easily maneuver rough terrain compared with traditional fire engines, making them ideal for battling wildfires. They each hold 600 gallons of water. “It does improve efficiency,” Fire Chief Chad Mayberry said. “It allows us to stack the two trucks on the fire line potentially.”
Read more: KSN-TV

Help is on the way for rural Kansas communities in need of housing. The Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC) announced nearly $14 million in funding for development across the state, targeted at medium-income households. The funding comes through two programs operated by the KHRC: the Moderate-Income Housing (MIH) program and the Kansas Housing Investor Tax Credits (KHITCs). According to the KHRC, the Kansas Legislature created the MIH in 2012 to serve those people who have high enough salaries to not be eligible for public housing but don’t earn adequate money to comfortably navigate the housing market.
Read more: KSN-TV

No official date was mentioned and there are still some things to finalize, but the main decision has been made. The Americus City Council voted 4-0 to discontinue the town’s police department Tuesday. Mirroring a conversation KVOE News had with City Council President Nicky Nuessen last week, City Council member Bill Harmon says the board did all it could — but it had to make a tough choice.
Read more: KVOE

The Unified Government of Wyandotte County has approved what could be a $450 million incentive package to help finance a new stadium for the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs are building a 65,000-seat, $3 billion domed stadium that is expected to be ready for the 2031 season. The stadium and an adjacent $325 million entertainment district are expected to take up about 235 acres near the Kansas Speedway. In Johnson County, the Olathe City Council approved another Chiefs-related development earlier this week. The team headquarters and training facility would take over a 165-acre development costing around $400 million, KCUR reported.
Read more: Johnson County Post