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Municipal News & Jobs

Municipal News & Jobs2026-08-07T10:07:18-05:00

Kansas Municipal News

Olathe schools to cut $20 million, eliminate jobs

The Olathe school district is planning to cut about $20 million from next year’s budget and eliminate some positions, officials said, due to declining enrollment during the pandemic and other challenges. The move could be a sign of what’s to come for some other districts that face similar obstacles as they launch into their budget deliberations. In Olathe, while reductions in department budgets are expected across the board, the district has confirmed it will cut library clerk positions next school year — about 15 total at middle and high schools, spokeswoman Becky Grubaugh said.
Source: KC Star Local News

Don’t burn in April, officials remind residents of Sedgwick and 15 other counties

Here’s an annual reminder: Sedgwick County and 15 others are under an open burn ban for all of April. Restricted activities include “burning trees and brush from land clearing, crop residues, construction debris, yard waste and the use of backyard chimineas and fire pits,” a city news release said. Starting April 1, no new burn ban permits will be issued and previously issued permits will be suspended until May 1. Exceptions to the ban include “outdoor cooking apparatuses, ceremonial fires, or open burning for the purpose of crop, range, pasture, and wildlife or watershed management,” the release said.
Source: Wichita Eagle

Solar power plan takes the spotlight

Iola City Council members have two weeks to once again chew on a proposal that would integrate solar power into the city’s energy portfolio after hearing a proposal Monday for a 4-megawatt solar plant on the west edge of town. Iola’s energy consultant Scott Shreve and Rick Borry of Priority Power Management LLC — the company that would build the plant and control it for at least the first five years — explained the advantages to the city, namely the ability to secure a block of electricity for a known amount for at least 30 years. The cost would vary, depending on the timeline explained, from $4.5 million due in five years, or $3.6 million in 10.
Source: The Iola Register

New downtown Wichita schools could bring big boost to area

The first Osteopathic Medical School in Kansas is slated to open its doors in Downtown Wichita this August. Right next to it on Broadway, WSU Tech is building its Institute of Culinary and Hospitality Education, also opening in August. The two places of higher learning at their enrollment peaks could combine for over a thousand students, plus faculty, and staff. It’s something that has Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple very excited. “You can’t have that type of, I guess, activity in a central area like this without seeing a ripple effect of economic opportunity.” Whipple says many small towns are built around colleges that are similar sizes, and those colleges are the “economic engines” of the area. He says being able to put something is “a huge step in the right direction when it comes to diversified our economic blueprint for downtown.”
Source: KAKE – News

Pittsburg City Hall is making changes to improve accessibility

Pittsburg plans to spend upwards of $300,000 to improve the accessibility of its City Hall building. Sprouls Construction Inc. out of Lamar, Missouri will spend the upcoming weeks installing new ramps and making the buildings entrance more level and accessible. The $284,187  project was approved by Pittsburg’s City Commissioner last week. Officials say the funding for this project comes from federal relief grants.
Source: KOAMKOAM

Museum exhibit focuses on history of Arma

The second quarterly exhibit at Miners Hall Museum, “Little Balkans Coal Camp: Arma,” will open Friday and continue through June 26. The exhibit will feature the history of the coal camp now known as Arma. Arma was incorporated as a city on May 18, 1909. Previously the city had been known as Rust, Armiton and Armacost, a small coal camp that was laid out in 1886. The city was named for William F. Armacost, one of the owners of most of the land north and east of the camp. Admission to the museum is free; donations are accepted. Hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The museum is located at 701 S. Broadway in Franklin.
Source: www.joplinglobe.com

Columbus hires Jake Letner as new City Administrator

The City of Columbus, Kansas hired Mr. Jake Letner as their City Administrator. Mr. Letner will assume the City Administrator position on Monday, April 4th, 2022. “Mr. Letner will be a great asset to our team as City Administrator.” says Columbus Mayor Grant Spieth. “Jake is dedicated, hardworking, and is heavily involved in our community. The City of Columbus is looking forward to a lengthy and rewarding relationship with Mr. Letner.” … Mr. Letner holds a Bachelor of Arts from Pittsburg State University and Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. For the last two years, Mr. Letner has been employed with the City of Columbus as the Community Development Coordinator and managed securing over $260,000 in grants for the City of Columbus. His focus was writing and administering grants on behalf of the city, managing the Columbus Land Bank, and working on special projects and initiatives. Letner is a member of professional organizations, including the Board of Directors for the CHC/SEK as the representative for Cherokee County, the treasurer for Columbus PRIDE, and as a volunteer firefighter with the Columbus Fire Department. Jake Letner and his wife Sean Gilmore live in Columbus.
Source: City of Columbus

Russell City Manager Jon Quinday Discusses How Increased Valuations Impact Property Taxes

A few days ago, I was asked if the City receives more tax money when valuations increase. The answer is, “It depends.” Property tax is the most criticized and misunderstood source of government revenue. The citizen was interested in recent media reports indicating statewide increases in property valuation. While in Russell County, we have not yet seen our valuation notices, it is probable, based on media reports across the State, we will experience the same. Naturally, we are all concerned about an increase’s effect on our property tax. Different property classes – residential, agriculture, commercial – have different assessment rates, adding to the difficulty of answering the concerned citizen’s question. The straightforward answer is this: Your taxes increase if your property valuation goes up and all the local taxing entities keep the mill levy the same, or the combination of levies remains unchanged. Conversely, a decrease in the overall levy should offset an increased valuation. If the taxing entity’s budgeted revenue from property tax remains the same as the prior year, then the mill levy for that taxing entity would go down if values go up (more on that below).
Read more: KRSL

‘It’s pretty cool stuff’: Large hotel and sports facility under construction in Goddard

The Genesis Sports Complex will be one of the premier complexes in all of Kansas and hopefully the Midwest. The complex in Goddard has five functional high school-sized baseball fields being played on and five more fields under construction – not to mention a water park, sports bar, hotel, Genesis Health Club, daycare and a large indoor swimming pool also in the works. The pool will be used to host future swimming events, such as the state swim meet and other large meets. There are big plans to have the fullblown, near-100-acre complex all ready by summer.
Source: Hutch News

From rivals to frontmen: Council member chooses opponent for redistricting panel

Brett Kell and Marcus Clark were political opponents Nov. 2, when Kell beat Clark to win the District 5 seat on the Topeka City Council. But last week, Kell appointed Clark as that district’s representative on the commission assigned to redraw the boundary lines for the city’s council districts. “We may have been opponents in the recent election, but I believe he had a great message and was running for the right reasons,” Kell said. He said that Clark, the pastor of Love Fellowship Church, will make “the decisions that are best for Topeka.”
Source: CJonline

City of Lawrence gives details for why it claims strip club cannot legally operate at its current location

The City of Lawrence has shed more light on why it is trying to shut down a local strip club that it says has been operating illegally. In a lawsuit filed Feb. 2 in Douglas County District Court, the city alleged that Allstars has been operating without the license required for a sexually oriented entertainment business… The city also claimed Allstars is ineligible to receive such a license .. There are various provisions in city code that would make a business ineligible or disqualify it from being provided a city license for a sexually oriented entertainment business, and previously the city had not specified which of the code’s provisions it believed Allstars had violated. But in a recent court filing, the city stated that Allstars was in violation of a provision that prohibits such businesses from being located within 1,000 feet of certain properties, including schools, churches, city parks, residences and certain businesses.
Source: LJWorld.com

Residents of unincorporated community in Douglas County file petition to be incorporated as a city

Residents of the unincorporated community of Clearfield in Douglas County have filed a petition in hope of being incorporated as a city, Douglas County commissioners heard at their meeting Wednesday. Clearfield is an existing unincorporated community in Douglas County located 9 miles northeast of Baldwin City within Palmyra Township. The proposed incorporated city limits, however, would be within five miles of Baldwin City, Edgerton and Eudora and encompass 18.2 square miles of land in roughly the shape of a backward letter P.
Source: LJWorld.com

County leaders are interested in using land for both solar energy and agriculture, but some worry about technical challenges

Douglas County leaders indicated Wednesday that they’d like to continue to consider how land in the county could be used for solar power generation and agriculture simultaneously, but they had some concerns about the technical challenges that could arise in such a system. At a study session on Wednesday, the Douglas County Commission heard from a panel of guests who explained how that concept, called agrivoltaics, could be implemented in the area with proposed solar farm regulations that the commissioners will consider at a future meeting. Agrivoltaics can include land uses like growing crops, grazing livestock or planting pollinator plants.
Source: LJWorld.com

New superintendent chosen for Garden City Schools

Dr. Mike Dominguez has been hired as the new superintendent of Garden City Public Schools, following action by the USD 457 Board of Education on Tuesday night. Dominguez will take the reins on June 1 after the retirement of Dr. Steve Karlin at the end of the 2021-22 school year. Dominguez has broad education experience and is in his fifth year as superintendent of schools for the Stratford Independent School District, Stratford, Texas. Previously, Dominguez served as Assistant Superintendent of Premier Charter High Schools in Lewisville, Texas for two years and principal at Vernon High School for two years and assistant principal role for 10 years. He has 32 years of experience in education. USD 457 Board President Jennifer Standley said Dominguez emerged from a very thorough search process as the right candidate to lead Garden City Public Schools.
Source: Greater Garden City

Kansas is on path to make it easier to get your seized property back from police

Police can keep seized property “as long as necessary,” state statute says, if they believe it could be evidence in a trial. A proposed change to state law would require police to give items back. Police hold the power to seize property believed to be used in a crime. Some cases stall or charges don’t move forward and critics of existing state law said getting back property even when it doesn’t link to criminal activity is too hard. “Many (people) opt not to fight the forfeiture and reluctantly give up their property, rather than rack up legal bills exceeding the property’s value,” Alieen Berquist, community engagement manager for the ACLU of Kansas, wrote in testimony to lawmakers.
Source: Andover American

The ‘greatest self-feeder in the world’ was invented in Halstead

One Halstead man’s innovation played an important role in the evolution of threshing equipment more than a hundred years ago. The Ruth Self-Feeder, invented and patented by Halstead resident D.C. Ruth to regulate the speed at which wheat bundles were carried into a thresher, was manufactured in Halstead from 1900-1905. At that time, Ruth Self-Feeder Manufacturing Company was the biggest business in Halstead, according to Carolyn Williams, who’s done extensive research on the company for the Halstead Historical Society. “It grew and grew and really became big,” Williams said.
Source: Harvey County Now

Cottages to address housing needs in McPherson County

Three of 10 planned Oak Harbor Cottages were completed Monday, with two families ready to move in. The cottages are a joint effort between McPherson Housing Coalition, area churches, the city, and many community businesses. “The community has really stepped up. It’s been amazing,” said Executive Director Chris Goodson…. These cottages are a big step in helping McPherson County families in crisis. The program is aimed at keeping families together in a home while working through whatever their situation may be. Source: McPherson Weekly News

County hears taxation ruling on ATVs

The Kansas Board of Tax Appeals ruled in recent cases that side-by-sides and ATVs that carry more than one passenger and are used for farming or ranching should not be exempt from taxation. Labette County commissioners heard this news from County Counselor Brian Johnson and County Appraiser DeLinda White on Monday. Commissioners and White expect a huge outcry from taxpayers because generally farm equipment is exempt from taxation. Under BOTA’s ruling, if it stands, ATVs that can carry more than one passenger, side-by-sides and even golf carts used on farm operations should be taxed at market value on a 30% assessment. This is because they are considered passenger vehicles and not farm equipment, according to BOTA. One-passenger ATVs are not considered passenger vehicles.
Source: Parsons Sun

Some JoCo pools plan to reduce hours this summer due to lifeguard shortages

It hasn’t felt like it at times this March, but we’re getting closer to summer. That means pool season is nearer to kicking off in Johnson County. Following limited operations in both 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some cities have adjusted their summer pool hours due to ongoing shortages of lifeguards and other pandemic-related limitations. Most city pools in Johnson County open on Memorial Day weekend but days and hours could be impacted beyond that.
Source: Prairie Village Post

Sunflower, Russell County Commission agree on PILOT for solar project

Sunflower Electric Power Corp. and the Russell County Commission came to agreement on a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) for the first ten years of the Sunflower @ Russell Solar Project on March 21. Since current Kansas law provides a 10-year property tax exemption for renewable energy projects, Sunflower offered a PILOT to the county. The payment illustrates Sunflower’s appreciation for the ability to site the project in Russell County and helps to support the county’s infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, that will be used during the construction of the solar facility.
Source: Sunflower Electric

Kansas getting closer to authorizing sports wagering

The Kansas Legislature took a significant step toward authorizing sports wagering Wednesday when the House passed a bill bringing a new form of electronic gaming to the Kansas market known as historic horse racing. The House voted 88-36 to approve what was portrayed as a “grand compromise” that’s been vigorously negotiated behind the scenes for the last several months and had support from three of the state’s four casinos.
Source: Sunflower State Journal

Hutchinson Police Department welcomes new K9

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, the Hutchinson Police Department (HPD) introduced their newest K9. The K9, named Stitch, was rescued from the Hutchinson Animal Shelter. Officer James Sanders and his K9 partner, Tank, the first K9 unit with HPD, welcomed Stitch. Stitch’s new partner is Officer Jesse Jones. Stitch will begin his training to become the Hutchinson Police Department’s first therapy dog. He will be assigned to the Crisis Response Unit. The HPD says, “Studies have shown that the presence of a therapy dog can assist crisis teams in de-escalating and defusing critical situations, allowing for connection with the person in crisis.”
Source: KSN-TV

Telecommunications project facing tighter scrutiny

Pam Blackburn was on a work Zoom call at her home when the power went out. A crew putting in telecommunication company Suddenlink’s infrastructure hit an underground electric line in the Louisburg resident’s yard. Blackburn said she was without power from 9 am. to 4 p.m. that day. The next day, the crew hit the underground power line again, knocking out her electricity for a second time. Blackburn, who works from home, told the Louisburg City Council at its Monday, March 21 meeting that the outages cost her two days of work. To make matters worse, her 91-year-old father was with her during the second outage, she said. “It’s 40 degrees outside and my house is completely cold, and they don’t know when they are going to get the electricity back on,” Blackburn said.
Source: Local News | republic-online.com

Manhattan city government hires public information officer

The Manhattan city government has hired Andrew Lawson as communications manager and public information officer. In a press release on Monday, city officials stated Lawson will be responsible for the strategic development and implementation of citywide communications plans, including public relations, media relations, crisis communications and communication with city employees and elected officials. “We are thrilled to have Andrew on board leading our communications division,” said Jared Wasinger, assistant city manager. “Andrew brings a wealth of experience in local government marketing and communications.”
Source: themercury.com

McPherson approves sending aid to Ukraine

This week, the city commission approved the donation of a considerable amount of old or expired police equipment to Ukraine to help the country as it continues to fight for its sovereignty. The McPherson City Commission approved the request from Police Chief Mikel Golden to provide the equipment to the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police, which will then be distributed to the Kansas National Guard Adjunct General’s office. The adjunct general is collecting expired police equipment from police departments across the state to send to Ukraine.
Source: McPherson Weekly News

An out-of-this-world exhibit lands in a small Kansas museum

In the Rice County town of Geneseo, population 200, there is a sign at the entrance of the city museum beckoning visitors. All kinds of visitors. “Space Ships Welcome.” Welcome to Geneseo, where a movement is underway to name the town the UFO Capital of Kansas and perhaps even host a special global event on July 2 — World UFO day. Evidence of otherworldly visitors is in a new permanent exhibit at the Geneseo City Museum. When it comes to viewing the exhibit, think of a mix of Orson Welles’ “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast of 1938, and episodes of “Lost in Space” and “My Favorite Martian” from the 1960s. The UFO collection was originally gathered by Elmer Janzen, a Geneseo chiropractor.
Source: Andover American

Downing’s public service touch enhances community life in Atchison

The role of lifesaver is the newest achievement that Lt. David Downing Jr., Atchison Fire Department, has recently added to his list of public service work in the community. Downing singlehandedly rescued his colleague as they battled flames and black smoke that engulfed the inside of a residence about an hour past midnight at 927 Mound Street. Downing was presented a letter of commendation for his heroic act on Wednesday, March 23 at the Atchison Fire Station.
Source: Atchison Globe Now

Extra crews help Sedgwick County fire contain grass fire in NE part of county

Around noon, Sedgwick County fire crews responded to a grass fire near 45th and Greenwich, in the Northeast part of the county. Deputy Chief Carl Cox says, crews were able to get the flames under control quickly, thanks in part to the extra hands they had on staff. He says on high fire risk days, they will have more trucks than usual prepped. “That pre-planning definitely helped out today with extra brush trucks and extra units on in service to help us fight the fire.” Cox adds that having tilled fields on either side of the fire area, helps contain it for crews to be able to concentrate. No injuries or damage was reported from the flames, and Cox says crews will be keeping an eye out for hotspots for the rest of the day. He says that the public needs to be really careful with their actions during high fire danger days, because “something that seemingly benign, as far as just, ‘Oh, it’s just a little spark or it’s just a little cigarette or something like that can start a catastrophic fire very quickly on a day like this.”
Source: KAKE – News

As fertilizer pollutes tap water in small towns, rural Kansans pay the price

Fifteen years ago, Robert Ellis got a letter he never wanted. Haviland’s drinking water had failed a state safety test. It had more nitrate than federal limits allow. And as mayor of this small town east of Dodge City, it was his job to help the town figure out what to do. Building a new water treatment plant would cost millions, so the town started installing water filters one home at a time. That penciled out far cheaper than one central plant. But state regulators told them no. Those in-home filters wouldn’t cut it. The town pleaded its case in a series of meetings and hearings that lasted years. To no avail. If Haviland didn’t build a plant, Ellis said, the state would have fined the town thousands of dollars a day.
Source: KCUR News

City of Lawrence selects Melissa Sieben as the new director of Municipal Services and Operations

Following a national search, the city has selected Melissa Sieben as the new director of Municipal Services and Operations, according to a news release Tuesday. Sieben, who recently served as assistant county administrator at the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas for seven years, has 23 years of local government experience serving communities in Illinois, Iowa and Kansas, according to the release. “I am looking forward to working with Municipal Services and Operations staff and City leadership to implement the goals of the strategic plan and continue to enhance service delivery,” Sieben said in the release. “Lawrence is an amazing community and I look forward to being part of this team that is investing in functional and efficient infrastructure!”
Source: The Lawrence Times

New manager of human services continues efforts toward safe, accessible housing for all in Douglas County

Gabi Sprague is the new human services program manager for Douglas County. She’ll focus on preventing homelessness and helping unify the work of local social service agencies. Though the title is new for Sprague, the work isn’t. Sprague previously was the Housing Stabilization Collaborative (HSC) program manager with the United Way of Douglas County. HSC represents a joint effort of multiple community organizations that began as a grant-funded program through Family Promise of Lawrence after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The mission: preventing homelessness, eviction and loss of utilities while helping navigate community resources. That process can feel overwhelming to those who need financial support, especially during a pandemic.
Source: The Lawrence Times

New Lawrence Police Chief Making Policy Changes

The Police Chief in Lawrence since January, Rich Lockhart, has made a couple of policy changes for the department. Lockhart says that he met with several community members and groups with concerns related to the police department. He says that national news coverage brought many questions and comments surrounding the department’s approach to chokeholds and no-knock warrants. Lockhart says no-knock search warrants do not place the value of human life as a priority, and are dangerous to all involved. Even though chokeholds and no-knock warrants were not a practice of the Lawrence Police Department, these tactics are now banned.
Source: WIBW News Now

Exceeded expectations: Wichita hosts electric NCAA women’s tournament weekend

Wichita was on display for one final women’s basketball match-up Monday night at Intrust Bank Arena, with Louisville clinching the Final Four spot in a 62-50 win over Michigan. The evening capped off an electric weekend in Wichita. An estimated 8,540 tickets were sold for the two Saturday games — including a huge showing from the underdog University of South Dakota — followed by 4,596 in attendance Monday. “I was pleasantly surprised on Saturday,” said Brad Pittman, who is associate athletic director for facilities and operations at Wichita State and serves as tournament director for NCAA games in Wichita. “My goal all along was between 10 to 12,000 total tickets sold, and I think Saturday kind of exceeded those expectations. I think it was an awesome environment. Monday, obviously, you can’t control who wins, so that’s kind of the bummer because South Dakota probably would have brought another 1,000 people with them.
Source: Wichita Business Journal

Passenger numbers at Eisenhower Airport increased 76% in February

A total of 87,545 passengers flew in and out of Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport in February, marking a 76% increase year over year and furthering the airport’s recovery from the impact of Covid-19. According to new data from the Wichita Airport Authority, a total of 43,695 people flew out of Wichita in February, itself good for a 73% increase compared to last February. The airport said on its website that capacity also increased in February with 99 more flights and more than 19,000 more seats than the same period of 2021.
Source: Wichita Business Journal

Bonner Springs, Edwardsville could apply for UG’s ARPA funds

Bonner Springs and Edwardsville may be interested in applying for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. At a Unified Government ARPA subcommittee meeting on March 22, representatives of the two cities indicated interest in receiving some of the ARPA funding that the UG has not yet spent. Another ARPA subcommittee event, a community workshop, is scheduled from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. tonight, March 29, both virtually and in person at City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas. At the workshop the public may discuss how COVID has affected them and the community, and discuss how they would prioritize recovery funds. The workshop will be on Zoom.
Source: Wyandotte Daily

Lawrence police prepared for busy Final Four weekend to bring 100K to town

As we inch closer to Kansas’ Final Four game on Saturday, preparations have already started in Lawrence, but they didn’t just begin this week. The Lawrence police chief said Final Four weekend preps started nearly 3 months ago. Lawrence expects to top the 80,000 visitors from 2008, the last time the Jayhawks won the title. The city estimates the weekend will bring in more than 100,000 people to the city – a number that doubles the city’s population. “Our community is really excited because this is really the largest sporting event we have in the state of Kansas,” Chief Rich Lockhart said. With all the extra people, there will be a significant amount of the law enforcement on the ground in Lawrence, and not just from the Lawrence Police Department.
Source: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF

Chiefs consider move to Kansas, Mark Donovan says

KThe Chiefs have recently considered crossing the state line to become the Kansas City, Kansas, Chiefs. That’s according to a report from Kevin Clark of the Ringer after he spoke to Chiefs President Mark Donovan at the NFL Owners Meetings in Palm Beach, Florida Tuesday morning. Chiefs fans are watching, including Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas. “We look forward to working with the Chiefs, our state of Missouri partners, and local officials to ensure the Chiefs remain home in Kansas City and Missouri for generations to come,” Lucas wrote on Twitter.
Source: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF

Good ideas flow from combined Great Bend / Barton County meeting

From budgeting woes to shortages in house, workforce and childcare, there are many daunting issues facing both the Great Bend City Council and the Barton County Commission. But, both bodies meeting in their second-annual joint meeting Monday night said cooperation will only make these challenges easier to overcome. “It’s up to everyone to make this county a good place,” said Ward 2 Councilwoman Jolene Biggs. “We have a lot of good things going.” “Your constituents are our constituents,” District 2 County Commissioner Barb Esfeld said, echoing Biggs’ sentiments. “We’ve just got to keep working together.”
Source: GB Tribune

Reno County resident forms fire watch group

Dr. Christine Sanders recalls seven or eight years ago experiencing a wildfire near her home for the first time after moving into the Spyglass subdivision northeast of Hutchinson. “I came home from work to get the dogs,” she said. “Ashes and embers were landing everywhere, I realized that I didn’t know how to turn on the sprinklers.” It ended up not being a problem be on the winds blew the fire north, but Sanders decided she needed to be better prepared…. She asked the fire department to assess her property and then hosted an educational session, which was attended by about two dozen people and put by the fire department, Kansas Forestry Service and Natural Resource Conservation Service…. Sanders also set up a text group with her neighbors, so they can communicate when there are fires in the county and look out for each other.
Source: Hutch News

Wichita begins effort to remove sand from major streets

The City of Wichita is starting its annual program to remove sand that was put down on major streets during winter storms. Assistant public works director Ben Nelson said the city used about 16,000 tons of salt and sand mix during the past few months, and half of that is sand that remains on the streets.   He said removing the sand will make the streets safer for pedestrians, motorcycles and bicycles, and it also keeps sand from getting into the storm drainage system. Nelson said the city will be running six street sweeper vehicles during the overnight hours, and some crews are being moved from first shift to second and third shifts to get the work done.   He said the focus will be on the arterial streets, secondary snow routes and school access snow routes that were treated during winter storms. The goal is to finish the cleanup by June 15th, but the work could be finished in May.
Source: Country 101.3 KFDI

Houseless in Johnson County will have few options after shelter closes at end of March

Bob Winner has spent almost every night this winter on a plain cot inside the Lenexa church where the nonprofit Project 1020 hosts Johnson County’s only emergency shelter for single adults who find themselves without a place to stay. The building is warm, the food is good and the volunteers are kind. Yet Winner rarely sleeps. He is consumed with what will happen to him and hundreds of other unhoused people who have sought help from the shelter come April 1, when the winter-only facility closes its doors for the season, exposing a hole in the Kansas City area’s safety net for people experiencing homelessness.
Source: KC Star Local News

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