Municipal News & Jobs

The Salina Police Department is investigating a crash that left an e-bike rider in critical condition. Shortly before 5 a.m. on Wednesday, police and fire crews were dispatched to the area of South Centennial Road and Sunflower Lane for a report of a cyclist struck by a car. Upon arrival, crews found a 66-year-old man with critical injuries. Police said the man was riding an e-bike south on Centennial Road when he was struck from behind by a vehicle.
Read more: KSN-TV

Reno County commissioners spent nearly two hours at Monday’s meeting discussing whether to ban battery energy storage systems and data centers in certain parts of the county. After an intense debate, two proposed motions to impose the bans were ultimately rejected. Community members showed up and spoke from the audience, generating a back-and-forth between them and commissioners.
Read more: KSN-TV

It’s been over a year since half of a Kansas town was wiped out by a powerful EF3 tornado, and now it’s receiving federal funds to help its recovery. On Wednesday, the federal Emergency Management Agency announced that Grinnell is receiving $300,000 for repairs or replacement of roads, curbs and road signs damaged by the May 18, 2025 tornado. The $300,000 was part of $77 million in federal funding approved by FEMA in Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri. Jewel Maier, Grinnell’s city treasurer and administrator, told KSN in April that the funding had been held up by staffing shortages at FEMA.
Read more: KSN-TV

At the end of a relatively short meeting early this week, the Girard City Council applauded the efforts of a former city councilman to help the city look its best. Mayor Nick Cheney noted former councilman Dennis Everett’s work to repair the fountain at City Hall. “I want to thank Dennis Everett for buying the pump for the water feature up front and installing it,” said Cheney. “He also fixed the broken light for the flagpole out front.” Summer officially arrives this weekend, which means more activities and more visitors in town.
Read more: Morning Sun

The Topeka City Council discussed recommendations regarding the Affordable Housing Trust Fund that could help create 229 affordable housing units across the city Tuesday night. The Affordable Housing Trust Fund Committee received six applications. Of those, three projects were recommended to receive funding. The three projects include:
SENT, Inc.
Wible Property Development LLC
Highland Park REO LLC
“We have three projects that we are recommending funding, just under a million dollars, that will roughly create around 229 additional affordable housing units in our community,” Carrie Higgins, Housing Services Division director.
Read more: KSNT 27 News

Beginning Thursday, June 25, the Southeast Kansas Community Action Program (SEK-CAP) is to start accepting applications for the Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) program. The TBRA program, funded through the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation, provides rental subsidies, security deposits, and utility deposits to eligible people and families, who may receive up to two years of assistance in Allen, Bourbon, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Crawford, Elk, Labette, Linn, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson, and Woodson Counties.
Read more: Morning Sun

Hutchinson City Council Member Steve Garza said he changed his mind on data center development in the city and discussed the council considering a 10-year moratorium on data center development Tuesday evening, during the council comments portion of the meeting. After attending a special Reno County Commission meeting Monday evening, Garza said he learned new information and what residents thought concerning data center and battery energy storage system (BESS) development. He added that he considered proposing an election to decide the fate of data center development, as well as outright banning it. However, banning development could lead to potential legal issues for the council.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

Opponents of data centers and battery energy storage systems (BESS) will have a town hall meeting Monday evening, June 22, just outside Haven. The meeting, organized by the “No BESS or Data Centers in Reno County” group on Facebook, is scheduled for 7 p.m. at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church’s Lighthouse building, 8513 E. Arlington Road. A flyer for the meeting says information about hazards of those industries will be presented, along with how people can be involved in opposing them in the county.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

Panasonic’s Kansas electric vehicle battery plant will convert part of its operations to build batteries for data centers, company officials announced. Panasonic leaders announced the company’s shift to focus on developing devices and infrastructure equipment for artificial intelligence uses and data centers at a June 8 investors day presentation.  Yuki Kusumi, CEO of Panasonic Holdings, said the company will invest about $3 billion between fiscal years 2027 and 2029 to advance its work on devices and systems that support AI, including enhancing production capacity.  Panasonic opened its 4.7 million-square foot plant in De Soto in July, but ramping to full capacity was delayed by Trump administration changes in support for green energy and electric vehicles.  The project received nearly $830 million in tax credits from the state of Kansas.
Read more: The Lawrence Times

At the risk of sounding cliché, Majed Al-Ghafry wants Lawrence to know that he is a public servant through and through. The “smile of the entire community” keeps his fire lit. The Lawrence City Commission selected Al-Ghafry as the new city manager Tuesday, and he flew to town this weekend to meet with his new team and house hunt. He’s enjoyed patronizing local restaurants, like Aladdin Cafe and Merchants, and he’s already delighted in Sylas and Maddy’s ice cream — twice. Al-Ghafry said the city manager job in Lawrence is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He wants to bring his values of ethics and compassion to the role, and to address the trust gap between the city and its residents with transparency and no side deals. Being a city manager, he said, is a privilege, not a right.
Read more: The Lawrence Times

Topeka will soon take legal action against AT&T. On June 16, the Topeka City Council unanimously approved initiating litigation. The council didn’t discuss the litigation as the line item was within the consent agenda. City communications director Daniel Garrett said the city is suing due to a breach of contract. “Under the franchise utility agreement with AT&T, they are required to relocate infrastructure within 180 days, if notified of a conflict with public infrastructure,” Garrett said in a statement. “AT&T failed to relocate certain infrastructure within the contracted time. The delay caused additional costs on a City construction project on SW Fairlawn, and the City is seeking compensation for those costs.”
Read more: Topeka Capital-Journal

Rural Kansans could see longer drives to access healthcare or fewer health services because of hospital closures. A report found that Kansas has 28 rural hospitals at immediate risk of closure. More rural Kansas hospitals are at risk of immediate closure than in any other state. That’s according to a recent report by the non-profit policy organization Centers for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. It found that out of the about 100 rural Kansas hospitals analyzed, 69 are at risk of closure and 28 are at immediate risk.
Read more: The Lawrence Times

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.

A single data center would pay millions in local taxes and fees each year.
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 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.

Ten to 15 buildings and a facility that uses an amount of electricity equal to a third of the capacity of Jeffrey Energy Center. Those are some of the specifications of a proposed data center in Pottawatomie County that members of the county’s planning commission have heard so far. Beltline Energy, the Atlanta-based developer brokering the deal, has said that it wants to build a large-scale data center near Jeffrey Energy Center, a power plant north of St. Marys that’s owned by Evergy, and sell to another company. Beltline reps have held meetings to lay out some of their plans, but they have not submitted an application to the government, in part because the land they’re considering using is zoned for agricultural use and couldn’t be used for a data center without a change in the regulations. The county is currently working on draft regulations for such facilities.
Read more: News Radio KMAN

City commissioners debated proposed revisions to Manhattan’s workforce housing sales tax policy Tuesday night. Commissioners pushed back against removing certain requirements and references to workforce housing, which was meant to give the commission more discretion on a case-by-case basis. “The whole rationale for having a policy is to have a set of standards … that our developers can be looking at,” Mayor Susan Adamchak said. The discussion focused heavily on how to define affordability targets, how strictly to cap income eligibility and whether the program should prioritize ownership, rental development or a mix of both.
Read more: News Radio KMAN