Municipal News & Jobs

Municipal News & Jobs2018-08-05T16:28:50-05:00

Kansas Municipal News

Municipal Bond Trends for June 27, 2025

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.

$200 million hotel and casino expansion set for CrossWinds Casino in Park City

Dirt is moving on a new $200-million development as part of the Crosswinds Casino and Resort in Park City, located north of Wichita. Officials from the Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma broke ground Thursday on a new 15-story hotel and casino expansion, which will feature 238 new rooms with 32 suites, food and beverage offerings, a pool and bar, and an 8,500-square-foot ballroom.
Source: Wichita Business Journal – Local Wichita News

County and city want to get on the same page about RHIDs

City and Riley County officials tried to find common ground in a meeting about RHIDs Thursday. After the county vetoed a resolution to create a Reinvestment Housing Incentive District on June 12, Manhattan officials asked for more specifics about what the county wants to see going forward. The RHID task force, composed of city, county and USD 383 officials, met again at the Lincoln Education Center. An RHID, or reinvestment housing incentive district, is a program to help communities support new housing by devoting the tax property revenue from a new development back to the developer to cover the cost of infrastructure. The city had planned on three RHID projects to address the housing need in Manhattan.
Source: themercury.com – RSS Results in news of type article

New trails bring outdoor activities to western Kansas

Many towns in western Kansas lack gyms and fitness centers. Some small communities are building outdoor walking trails to encourage better health and attract new residents. Western Kansas towns are surrounded by land. Yet some communities have very few spaces to safely exercise and explore the outdoors. While most of the land in this region is used for agriculture, residents of the area want designated spaces to connect with the arid plains. Those spaces also can improve community health and help rural economies.
Source: The Iola Register

Topeka prepares for impact of Kansas City World Cup

Northeast Kansas will be on the international stage next summer and preparations are already underway. Topeka has already started preparations this year ahead of the upcoming World Cup in Kansas City. Local officials and business owners are expecting a bump in traffic from the big event. The City of Topeka is in the process of planning attractions as well as getting local businesses and hotels ready for the expected arrival of new visitors. 27 News spoke with the Greater Topeka Partnership (GTP) about what locals can expect when the World Cup arrives in one year.
Source: KSNT 27 News

Did Edgerton legally annex 600+ acres for warehouses? Judge is now deciding

For five and a half years, rural residents along Gardner Road near Edgerton in southwestern Johnson County have fought a 2020 annexation that could bring millions of square feet of warehouses to their country neighborhood. Now that a three-day trial has ended, those residents are awaiting a judge’s decision about a boot-shaped piece of land at the center of it all. Is the boot — whose elongated toe reaches out to connect Edgerton city limits to a stack of potential warehouse lots — really the “narrow corridor” outlawed by state statute? Or is it more like a partially collapsed triangle whose corner touch would be a perfectly legal way to annex land under Kansas law?
Source: Johnson County Post

$12B data center campus near Kansas Speedway gets initial UG approval

Plans for a $12 billion data center campus, Wyandotte County’s largest economic development project to date, scored initial approval from the Unified Government Thursday. The Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, approved a master plan amendment and request to rezone 550 acres for a six-building data center campus near the Kansas Speedway. Aaron Wolofsky of Red Wolf DCD Properties LLC plans to build three 330,000-square-foot data center buildings and a substation on each side of Parallel Parkway. The 600-megawatt campus would cover multiple land parcels generally located between 131st and 118th streets.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal – Local Kansas City News

Petition to force ban or public vote on Battery Energy Storage Systems submitted

A group opposed to a possible battery energy storage system has submitted a petition to force a vote on an ordinance banning certain kinds of the technology within the City of Halstead. Kevin Henderson stated that he and others delivered a 30-page petition with 252 signatures on Friday to City Hall and received a receipt for the submission. State law requires a City Council to vote on a submitted ordinance if it receives a petition with signatures of registered voters that equal 40 percent of the number of people who voted in the previous City election.
Source: Harvey County Now

Chiefs seek STAR bond extension after Kansas stadium talks hit six-week lull

The Kansas City Chiefs want Kansas to extend enhanced STAR bonds that could publicly finance a domed stadium and other team projects across the state line. Approved in June 2024, Kansas’ stadium offer would allow sales tax revenue bonds to be issued up to 70% of a $1 billion-plus stadium. The legislation is set to expire June 30, but the state’s Legislative Coordinating Council can retroactively extend it up to a year, until June 30, 2026. Senate President Ty Masterson on Thursday said that at the Chiefs’ request, the council would meet July 7 to discuss an extension, potentially to no later than the end of this year.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal – Local Kansas City News

Even with Panasonic, De Soto park has thousands of acres to develop

The start of production at Panasonic’s $4 billion electric-vehicle battery plant in De Soto is nearing. Although the company hasn’t given a precise date, a ceremonial grand opening celebration is planned for July 14. It’s no secret Panasonic’s buildout has become a catalyst for economic development — in De Soto and well beyond — but as battery production looms even as construction pushes forward on other parts of the plant, opportunities for other companies to snag land neighboring the massive battery plant are filling up fast.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal – Local Kansas City News

Proposed 45,000-Pig Farm Near Minneapolis Spurs Public Hearing

A proposed hog farm in rural Ottawa County is drawing public attention ahead of a scheduled hearing next month. The facility, named Smoky Hills Pork, would house more than 45,000 pigs and be located near Minneapolis. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) announced a public hearing on July 9 in Minneapolis to discuss a proposed water pollution control permit for the project.
Source: KCLY Radio

KDOT Seeks Public Input on Proposed Amendment to 2025–2028 Statewide Transportation Plan

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) requests comments on an amendment to the Federal Fiscal Year 2025-2028 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) document. The STIP is a project specific publication that lists all KDOT administered projects, regardless of funding source, and includes projects for counties and cities as well as projects on the State Highway System. The list of projects being amended to the STIP can be viewed at ksdot.gov/about/publications-and-reports/state-transportation-improvement-program-stip. The approval of the STIP amendment requires a public comment period, which concludes July 10. To make comments on the amendment, contact KDOT’s Division of Program and Project Management at 785-296-3254.
Source: KDOT

Beating the Heat: Clay Center Zoo Adjusts Animal Care for Summer Weather

Early this year, during the dead of winter, we spoke with Clay Center Zoo Curator Garett Payne on how they care for animals in the extreme cold and snow. Recently, we spoke to Payne on how the animals are cared for during the heat of summer. Payne said the addition of the new buildings makes it much easier for the animals and caretakers.  Most of the animals have full access to air conditioning when they get too hot. He spoke about the few animals that don’t have access to AC.
Source: KCLY Radio

Kansas Supreme Court: Tort Claim’s recreational exception includes library services

A public library’s core services of allowing patrons to read and borrow books and media fit within these common and ordinary meanings of recreation. In fact, a brief internet search reveals the terms “recreational reading,” a.k.a. “leisure reading,” are in common use and many articles, studies, and books have been published on the subject. … Therefore, we decline Zaragoza’s request to narrowly interpret the term “recreational” in the statutory immunity exception to include only those recreational activities that “involve physical activity or any increased risk of injury.”
Source: Zaragoza v. Johnson County.

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