Municipal News & Jobs

Every-other-day watering restrictions may soon be a reality for Wichita Water customers. The Wichita City Council will consider permanent watering restrictions at its meeting Tuesday. “Overall, we’re focused on outdoor irrigation. You’d be able to water three days a week,” Public Works Director Gary Janzen said last month. “Our estimated conservation is 10-15% below normal, which could amount to as much as a billion gallons a year. That’s a real number, and that’s a big deal going forward with long term conservation.”
Read more: Homepage

The 186 residents of Pawnee Rock want clean water to flow from kitchen faucets, but uranium contamination forced one city well to be taken offline and meant the western Kansas community was down to a single well. “No redundancy,” said Katie Miller, director of water resources with Kansas Municipal Utilities, an association working on behalf of more than 200 communities. “No backup.” She told members of the Kansas Water Program Task Force on August 11 the solution in Pawnee Rock was to earmark $4.1 million for a new source of water that hopefully would be adequate in supply and quality. Uranium may be a surprising impediment to operation of a healthy water system, but consequences of Kansas’ over-reliance on irrigation for crops, and pollution of surface and groundwater with nitrates prominent in agricultural runoff, made it difficult to guarantee a lasting supply for the 3 million residents of Kansas.
Read more: www.derbyinformer.com – RSS Results in news/area_news of type article

The Fort Scott City Commission is expected to vote Tuesday on one of several proposals for a sales tax ballot question to be presented to voters in November. During a town hall meeting Thursday evening at the Empress Event Center, commissioners and other city officials discussed the proposals and fielded questions from residents.
Read more: Fort Scott Tribune Headlines

Westwood may bring housing to the site of an old school near Joe D. Dennis Park, signaling the city’s continued interest to guide redevelopment in a part of the small bedroom community that, for years, has been steeped in controversy. The old Westwood View Elementary School property as well as the park and city-owned green space nearby have been the battleground of protests, legal threats and, ultimately, a failed public vote last spring on the sale of the park that would have paved the way for an office-retail project there.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Overland Park is pulling together the final details on its plans to build a new $23.5 million training facility for the police department next year. The new facility will span about 35,000 square feet and sit on the W. Jack Sanders Justice Center campus near 123rd Street and Blue Valley Parkway. Earlier this week, the Overland Park Planning Commission approved a revised preliminary development plan tied to the project, 8-0, laying out more specifics about the site layout and design.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Edward McCabe helped establish an all-Black Kansas town on his mission to create a state inhabited and run by freed slaves. In a new book, author Caleb Gayle writes about how McCabe earned the nickname of “Black Moses” and what his quest for liberation meant.
Read more: Up To Date

Drivers in Sedan got an unexpected show Friday when a massive wind turbine tried — and failed — to make a tight turn downtown. In a social post, police said the state has been routing wind turbines through town again, but this one’s unusual direction turned a routine haul into a long afternoon. The oversized load, headed south through town, couldn’t navigate the Main and School Street junction despite three tries. The driver’s only option? Put it in reverse. And keep going. For a mile and a half.
Read more: KSN-TV

Many teachers spend a lot of their own money to keep classrooms stocked with supplies. In Medicine Lodge, the community found a game-show-style way to help three local educators start the school year right. Friday marked the third annual “Grab and Go” at Dollar General, sponsored by the Medicine Lodge First Assembly of God Church. One teacher from the grade school, one from the middle school, and one from the high school had one minute to race through the store and fill their carts.
Read more: KSN-TV

A Wichita Police-led task force created to address property crimes in south-central Kansas is receiving a national award. The Property Crimes Reduction Task Force was formed in late summer 2024. Led by Property Crimes Bureau Captain Casey Slaughter, the task force is a partnership involving Wichita Police, law enforcement agencies in Sedgwick and surrounding counties, prosecutors, and local businesses. This week, the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators announced that the task force will be the recipient of its Task Force of the Year award.
Read more: KSN-TV

Matthew Gleason was hired this week as Allen Community College’s new vice president of finance and operations, one of several personnel actions approved by ACC trustees. Gleason brings more than 20 years of accounting and financial leadership experience to Allen, with a career spanning higher education and municipal government. He most recently served as city treasurer and finance director for the City of Grand Island, Neb., where he oversaw the city’s finance and information technology divisions.
Read more: The Iola Register

Downtown Overland Park is undergoing a major transformation. Construction of the new Overland Park Farmers Market is well on its way there. The development is part of part of the $34 million Farmers Market and Downtown Gathering Space Improvement Project. The new market place replaces the original 1991 structure which has already been razed. The new pavilion will feature indoor vendor areas, permanent shade structures, expanded seating, and amenities like solar panels, electric vehicle chargers, and native landscaping in the space between Santa Fe Drive and Marty Street. The year-round gathering space will get upgraded restrooms to add to visitor comfort.
Read more: Homepage

The Kansas Department of Transportation is now accepting applications for the fall 2025 round of the agency’s Cost Share Program. More than $157 million has been given to Kansas communities since the Cost Share Program began in 2019. The Cost Share Program provides financial assistance to local entities for construction projects that improve safety, leverage state funds to increase total transportation investment and help both rural and urban areas of the state improve the transportation system. This is the 13th round of projects to receive funding.
Read more: Ad Astra Radio | Your Hometown Radio Stations & Local News Source

His contract with Saline County will end March 31, 2026 and he intends to embark on retirement. Within the next month, the county will be launching the search for a new County Administrator.
Read more: LinkedIn

A new Kansas law in 2024 required cops to publicly file affidavits of probable cause in court whenever they seek forfeiture of assets they seize. Before the case may proceed, a judge must determine probable cause exists to believe the property is subject to forfeiture. In the roughly 13 months since Senate Bill 458 took effect, there have been dozens of ongoing and newly filed cases in district courts across the state, according to a review by The Capital-Journal of Kansas court records. That includes a handful of cases over seizures in Shawnee County and along Interstate 70 in neighboring Wabaunsee County.
Read more: CJonline

In April 2024, firefighters helped form the Derby Fall Prevention Coalition, a group of community partners dedicated to fall prevention. Now a registered nonprofit, the coalition provides in-home services such as installing handrails, raising chairs, or lowering beds to make daily movement safer.
Read more: KAKE

The KBI recently held a meeting with the Attorney General’s office and the beverage wholesale industry regarding THC-infused drinks, leading many liquor stores to stop selling them. Vern’s Retail Liquor in Topeka says its inventory is legal, containing less than 0.3% THC and has yet to remove the drinks from the shelves.
Read more: KSNT 27 News

The police department says the complaints range from parents riding with children hanging off the side or back of the golf cart to children under the age of 18 operating them.
Read more: www.koamnewsnow.com

Last month, DoorDash became officially available for use in Clay Center. The food delivery service allows users to order fast food or groceries via their smartphone and have their items delivered to a specified address.
Read more: KCLY Radio

Randy Smith began his career as a tower climber by accident. Located in Rolla, Kansas, a town of less than 400 in southwest Kansas, Smith has been the area’s go-to tower climber for decades. Now 70 years old, he said he’ll continue getting up in the air as long as he’s able; he enjoys climbing and said he has his entire life. From roofs to playground equipment, he was up in the air as often as possible. 
Read more: KCLY Radio

The lack of new cases puts Kansas about halfway through the 42 days required for a measles outbreak to be considered over, which is two incubation periods of 21 days each, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Read more: Johnson County Post