Municipal News & Jobs

The tourism district Loretto Companies has planned in Olathe, featuring an ultra-accessible amusement park and a sports complex focused on youth sports, is still happening, the developer says, but the timeline is uncertain.
Source: Johnson County Post

The city of Wichita opened its first accessible playground on Wednesday, marking the first of a series of planned improvements to L.W. Clapp Memorial Park. At a ribbon-cutting late Wednesday morning, city leaders celebrated the opening of the playground and the installation of a piece of public art.
Source: Wichita Kansas Local News, Crime & More |

Wichita school district leaders say some student records at Southeast High School were changed — possibly to meet graduation requirements — and the district is investigating allegations of grade fixing at the school. Southeast High’s principal, Claudia Cooper, was replaced unexpectedly last week. In an email to employees, Lauren Hatfield, assistant superintendent of secondary schools, said Connie Redic would serve as Southeast’s principal for the coming school year.
Source: Wichita Kansas Local News, Crime & More |

Major energy provider Evergy has filed a rate increase that could lead to higher bills for customers in the Wichita area, and stakeholders will soon have the chance to comment on the request. Evergy is requesting a $196.4 million rate increase for Evergy Kansas Central, which includes customers in Wichita, Manhattan and Topeka. The new rates would begin in September and come out to a 8.62% rate hike for residential customers, about $13 more per month.
Source: Wichita Kansas Local News, Crime & More |

A town about an hour and a half drive from Wichita has a main street you might not want to miss, according to USA Today readers. Emporia, Kansas, with a population of just exceeding 24,000 residents, was recognized by the publication as having the second best main street in the U.S., ranking just behind Pennsylvania city. “Whether you’re looking for unique shopping, mouthwatering dining, or a lively night out, Commercial Street in downtown Emporia is the place to be,” the April 16 10Best Readers’ Choice piece reads.
Source: Homepage

Reviving a department after a 12-year layoff can be a daunting task for any city operation, but once in a while, things just fall into place. Larned City Manager Brad Eilts noted that for some time, he and the city council had realized not having a department for regular repair and maintenance of city vehicles and equipment was a drawback.
Source: Homepage

With seven measles cases now on record in Pawnee County, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment on Monday added the current total to its outbreak status. Its latest dashboard posting noted that last week, seven more cases were added to the state’s list, bringing the total to 71 since the beginning of the year. Measles was first reported in a Pawnee County resident by the Pawnee County Health Department to KDHE the last week of May.
Source: Homepage

The so-called “dark store” controversy over big-box property values may have seemed settled with a Kansas Supreme Court ruling in Johnson County’s favor three years ago. But in Johnson County, haggling over big box property valuations has returned in a big way over the site of one of Olathe’s most highly visible stores — the Bass Pro shop at 12051 South Renner Blvd. Phoenix-based Arciterra BP LLP, the owner of three parcels of land where the outdoor retailer is located just off Interstate 35, is delinquent on property taxes for every tax year since 2018, according to county records.
Source: Johnson County Post

Supporters of Prairie Village’s new city hall project came out in force at Monday’s city council meeting, this time urging the city to pay for “green” sustainable features that critics say is driving the cost up. Those same critics also mobilized at the meeting to outright oppose the entire $30 million project altogether, arguing that it’s a waste of taxpayer dollars and that Prairie Village voters should get a say in whether the plan should move forward.
Source: Johnson County Post

Kansas health officials reported seven new measles cases in the past week, bringing the total to 71 statewide. Most of the cases, 69, are linked to an ongoing outbreak in southwest Kansas. Three people have been hospitalized, but no deaths have occurred. The outbreak now includes Pawnee County, making it the ninth affected county.
Source: KCLY Radio

Abilene is continuing to monitor low aquifer levels as water supplies remain stagnant despite recent rainfall. Although eastern Kansas isn’t facing the same aquifer depletion seen in the west, Abilene’s underground sources—the Sand Springs Aquifer and Smoky Hill River Alluvium—are not at healthy levels.
Source: KCLY Radio

The State of Kansas ended May 2025 with total tax collections of $657.7 million, exceeding estimates by $158.3 million, or 31.7%. However, this total marks a slight 0.2% decrease compared to May 2024. Individual income tax collections totaled $314.7 million—85.1% above the estimate and 3.1% higher than last year. Corporate income tax collections reached $29.2 million, falling 2.8% below expectations and down 26.8% from May 2024. Combined retail sales and compensating use tax receipts came in at $282.1 million, 4.1% above the estimate and unchanged from the previous year. Source: KCLY Radio

The annual birthday celebration of the city happens every year the first weekend of June. It’s an annual fundraiser for the Galena Volunteer Fire Dept.
Source: www.koamnewsnow.com – RSS Results in news/local-news of type article

The history of settlement in Pawnee County predates the county’s official organization in 1873, as the eighth of 65 counties organized in that year. As an official township, Ash Valley was organized in 1881, with a community of the same name first opening a post office in 1877.
Source: Homepage

The Great Bend City Band had its first concert of 2025 Thursday evening, performing in the Clayton L. Moses Memorial band shell on the courthouse square. It was the final concert for conductor Grant Mathews, who is leaving for other opportunities. The concert was dedicated to the late Joe Boley, who passed way Sept. 4, 2024.
Source: Homepage

Iola Public Library’s new assistant director has a deep passion for service, a love of books, and a knack for community building. Laura Force stepped into her new role on April 14, bringing with her a unique blend of nonprofit leadership, outdoor education, and artistic creativity. “I really love living here,” said Force, 41, who moved to Iola in 2021 with her husband and their eight children after years working in summer camp operations. “We found a great place to live here and we wanted to stay in Kansas.”
Source: The Iola Register

A new three-level parking garage to be built on the surface lot behind Olathe City Hall is being considered by county and city officials as a way to ease a parking shortage and improve handicap accessibility for the courthouse. Johnson County commissioners on Thursday voted to enter into a 50/50 agreement with Olathe to build the garage, which would provide parking for the public and city and county employees and is intended to address the ongoing lack of parking space on the north side of Olathe’s downtown.
Source: Johnson County Post

Park City is the latest Kansas community to give the green light to golf carts on city streets. The Park City Council approved the change on May 27, and the new ordinance officially took effect June 5, according to the Ark Valley News. Under the new rules, golf carts are permitted on streets with speed limits of 25 miles per hour or less and can cross over higher-speed roads. Worksite utility vehicles and utility terrain vehicles have even broader access—they’re allowed on any street within city limits.
Source: KSN-TV

You could smell it before you saw it — the charred remains of the city park restrooms, torched and melted from the inside out. Udall Police Chief Erik King is calling it arson and says it’s unlike anything he’s dealt with in town before. The damage is estimated at around $10,000. Police say it happened Thursday around 4:30 in the afternoon. Then, just hours later, it happened again. He says the timing couldn’t be worse, with the Fourth of July just around the corner.
Source: KSN-TV

A new data center coming to southeast Kansas will generate sales tax and franchise fees in exchange for the big energy it will take to operate. Wildcat Data Infrastructure, a Texas company, is building the first data storage facility in the Industrial park near the Pittsburg Airport The idea was proposed to the City Commission back in late January. Now, the company and the city are working with Evergy to expand the electrical infrastructure at the site on 10 acres of land.
Source: KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com