Municipal News & Jobs

As healthcare systems in rural Kansas face mounting pressure, Newton Medical Center is teaming up with six other hospitals across the state to combat rising healthcare costs and enhance rural clinical care. The seven rural hospitals have formed a clinically integrated network to push for lower costs for medical equipment and to collectively negotiate rates from health insurance companies to drive lower out-of-pocket costs for patients, the organizations say.
Read more: Wichita Business Journal

A brief but powerful tornado killed a 64-year-old man in northern Sedgwick County early Sunday morning, blowing his home off its foundation. The storm touched down for just two minutes and struck without tornado warnings or sirens activating beforehand.
Read more: Wichita Eagle

A lone horse rider carrying letters arrived the City of Horton on Monday evening. The horse hooves clopped on the city street, indicating to a large crowd of people that he was nearby. The scene sounded like it would almost be set in 1860-1861, when the iconic Pony Express would be in operation.
Read more: Hays Daily News

De Soto Mayor Rick Walker says revenue from a planned $3 billion data center campus is an opportunity to grow the city. But one resident is concerned that leaders are moving too fast and not weighing the negative impacts on the community and environment.
Read more: KCUR

On Tuesday, commissioners approved a charter resolution to change the way the treasurer’s department collects back property taxes. A 2019 charter resolution requires Harvey County Treasurer Amy Perkins and her department to apply payments to the most current delinquent property tax bill, which means that in order to pay off the most delinquent tax, owners must pay off all of their taxes. If they can’t pay the whole thing, they often decide there’s no benefit in paying any of it off. The new resolution, which will take effect 60 days from the time it is published two weeks in a row, requires taxpayers to pay the current property tax first and then the most delinquent. This means that if someone has four years of back taxes owed, the new resolution acts like a four-year payment plan. Commissioner Becky Reimer thanked Perkins for thinking creatively.
Read more: Harvey County Now

Strong communities are built on more than businesses alone—they are built on places where people gather, connect, and build relationships. That vision is at the heart of The Zarah Coffee Shop, Great Bend’s newest locally owned coffee destination.
Read more: Great Bend 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.

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 NWS preliminary damage survey says the tornado started at 1:14 a.m. in Sedgwick County and lasted for two minutes.
Read more: KSN-TV

A third accident involving a motorist and a bicyclist in Allen County has prompted Iola Police Chief Jared Warner to speak about traffic safety regarding two-wheeled vehicles.
Read more: The Iola Register

The meeting comes after community members urged city commissioners earlier this month to adopt a moratorium on data center development over concerns of large amounts of energy and water consumption, noise pollution, higher utility bills and more. 
Read more: The Lawrence Times

Bucyrus — population: 168 — is only about 35 miles south of Kansas City, but enough farmland and red barns sit between the last suburban subdivision and the town’s quiet main street that it still feels like country.
Read more: Washington Post

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 Dodge City Commission is being asked to approve a $10 million agreement to purchase thousands of acre-feet of water rights, a proposal city officials say would help secure the community’s water future for decades. According to city documents, the proposed contract would allow Dodge City to purchase 3,732 acre-feet of water rights from JR Farms and Reinert Partnerships. City staff describe the acquisition as a significant investment that could benefit local residents “for generations to come.”
Read more: Dodge City Daily Globe

With the latest policy in relation to the proposed Flint Hills Digital Campus set to be considered by Emporia City Commissioners Wednesday afternoon, Emporia City Manager Trey Cocking discussed the steps taken thus far since the potential project’s announcement two weeks ago. Cocking’s latest comments on the matter came during the monthly Q&A with Trey segment on KVOE’s Talk of Emporia Tuesday morning, where he addressed many of the comments and concerns that have been expressed in recent weeks by those opposed to the development. Specifically, Cocking was asked his response to the common statement that the project is a “done deal” despite leadership stating the opposite, with residents pointing to the previous annexation of land by Emporia City Commissioners as an example of leadership taking steps to accommodate the project. Cocking would use a previously stated analogy of “baking a cake” to outline the city’s perspective on Tuesday, saying the city is “thinking of baking a cake,” noting the cake has not yet been put in the oven. He elaborated, saying that while the city has not greenlit the project as of yet, it is doing its due diligence to ensure it has the “right ingredients” to accommodate such a project if it were to move forward.
Read more: KVOE

Kevin Warsh’s first meeting as Federal Reserve chairman concluded Wednesday with no change in interest rates and a nod to possible hikes ahead. The meeting also saw the removal of key language indicating a bias toward future cuts within a dramatically shorter policy statement. The Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to keep its benchmark overnight borrowing rate anchored in a range of 3.5%-3.75%. The federal funds rate has held there since the central bank lowered rates by three-quarters of a percentage point in the latter part of 2025. With a bevy of intrigue over Warsh taking the central bank helm, the meeting followed the same pattern as the others this year regarding rates but differed otherwise.
Read more: CNBC Bonds

The Reno County Commission met for a special session Monday evening at the courthouse to discuss potential regulations for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and Data Centers. Despite lengthy debate, the commission failed to reach a consensus on new policies or conditions for either industry. As a result, no specific guidance was provided to the Planning Commission, and the status quo remains in place. Future applications for these facilities will continue to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Read more: Ad Astra Radio

At the center of the financing logic behind a STAR Bond project is a simple premise: the project has to generate visitors — and ideally, visitors from outside Great Bend. That’s not just the city’s goal. It’s the state’s requirement. The STAR Bond project has been in development since 2022, when Great Bend Economic Development began collaborating with designers to shape what the Expo Complex expansion could look like. STAR Bond financing was created by the Kansas Legislature in 1999 as a tool for cities and counties to develop major commercial, entertainment and tourism areas.
Read more: Great Bend Tribune

A concentrated effort spanning multiple agencies helped the Hesston Police Department solve the most recent burglary at Dan’s Cycle. On May 6, a white cargo van crashed into the front entrance of the business, and five dirt bikes were quickly loaded at 4 a.m. by four individuals. By the time HPD responded, the suspects were gone. “We went through some camera footage and found a tag,” Police Chief Chris Eilert said. “It was a stolen van out of Kansas City, but we’re not sure why it wasn’t indicating on Flock. We were able to track it using Flock back to Kansas City. Unfortunately, no one was able to intercept it.” Eilert explained it’s hard to track the exact location, because once it goes past the camera, law enforcement is playing catch-up, depending on the camera location. Eilert also said they were able to identify a chase car with the van, a car which was sighted in Hesston days before the break-in at the establishment. The use of Flock cameras was instrumental in solving this crime. Eilert said the cameras have helped solve this crime, burglaries at AGCO and a few others.
Read more: Harvey County Now