Kansas Municipal News
Governor Laura Kelly announces Building a Stronger Economy (BASE) Grant Application
Governor Laura Kelly, today, announced the launch of the Building a Stronger Economy (BASE) program. BASE is a new grant opportunity to help support infrastructure development and advance economic development opportunities across Kansas. “Programs like this provide vital funding to ensure Kansas communities continue to recover from COVID-19 and grow their economies,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “These dollars represent an important opportunity for communities to build economic foundations for the future.” The grant program will be administered by the Kansas Department of Commerce. As proposed by the Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) Executive Committee, the program offers matching funds to address economic development opportunities with the goal of expanding the state’s base of businesses and residents as we continue to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
INTRUST Bank gifts $150,000 to Newton Public Library
INTRUST Bank has gifted the Newton Public Library $150,000 as part of the Where Community Connects Campaign. “Libraries are a signature community asset, benefiting everyone in a community,” Newton INTRUST Bank President Kimberly Richtig said. “INTRUST Bank is part of the Newton community, and we are proud to be part of the campaign to help build a 21st Century Library for this growing community.” In 2018, the City of Newton, the Newton Public Library, and the Library Foundation formed a partnership to help fund and construct a new public library. After receiving this donation, the campaign has crossed the $1.6 million mark.
Source: KSN-TV
Should the next city manager come from Topeka? Efforts made to ensure Topekans have fair shot at job
Topeka’s last two permanent city managers, Brent Trout and Jim Colson, both left because there was someplace else they’d rather be. As Topeka elected officials recently laid the foundation for choosing a new city manager, they consequently left the door open for potentially finding a replacement who is from Topeka and wants to stay here. “I think there’s people here who are homegrown who may have more of an investment in this position,” said Councilwoman Sylvia Ortiz. Councilman Mike Lesser said he wanted to ensure qualified people who live here have a fair shot at the job. He suggested the mayor and council keep open the option of hiring a qualified, “proven business leader” to run the city, and not restrict the candidate field to people who have been city managers elsewhere.
Source: CJonline
Ark City seeks ideas
Arkansas City officials, hoping to bring new life to the downtown area, will ask local citizens for their ideas during a special public forum next week. The city, along with the Arkansas City Area Chamber of Commerce and Cowley First, the county’s economic development department, will host a public “visioning session” from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 5, at the Burford Theatre. City Planner Josh White said that a group of students from Kansas State University plan to tour the downtown area Friday, visit several of the buildings and talk to business owners. “Just to see what is in our downtown, and what our downtown has to offer,” White said
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
Fed could hike at every meeting this year, BofA says
The two biggest U.S. banks raised their forecasts of how quickly the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year, with Bank of America Corp. predicting a move at every meeting to tackle the highest inflation in four decades. “We now look for seven 25 basis point hikes this year and a peak funds rate of 2.75%-3.00%,” economists led by Ethan Harris wrote in a note Friday to clients. “This should affect the economy with a lag, weighing on 2023 growth.” JPMorgan Chase & Co. separately lifted its call to five hikes in 2022 from four previously. Chief U.S. Economist Michael Feroli said Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks following Wednesday’s meeting “were clearly intended to dissuade the market from expecting a quarterly tempo of rate hikes.”
Source: The Bond Buyer
Muni yields hit levels not seen since early April 2020
Municipal yields rose double digits Friday bringing levels to highs not seen since early April 2020. The short end of triple-A scales have risen more than 30 basis points over the past five sessions on elevated selling pressure and overall market volatility. Triple-A yields rose by six to 10 basis points and ratios increased again as U.S. Treasuries saw small gains.
Source: The Bond Buyer
Overland Park ‘sober living’ house can move forward, despite some opposition in Shannon Valley subdivision
A planned “sober living” house in Overland Park’s Shannon Valley Estates subdivision falls under federal Fair Housing Act protections and can be operated without additional use permits or hearings, city officials say. The decision has left neighbors no clear path to continue their opposition, which included a fundraising page for possible attorney fees, a website and, briefly, a petition against the plan. One of those neighbors, Rosalind Price, said concerns about safety and property values remain. The next steps are unclear but the group will hold at least one more meeting, she said. One possibility is to ask the city to provide some notification to neighborhoods in the future.
Source: Shawnee Mission Post
New mural goes up in downtown Pittsburg
Art students at Pittsburg State University have completed a 12-by-29-foot tiger mural on the south exterior wall of Main Street Axe Company, 216 S. Broadway. The mural was conceptualized, designed and painted by students in Jamie Oliver’s mural painting class. Past classes have contributed to “Southeast Kansas Love Story” at 310 N. Broadway and colorful crosswalks at Lakeside, George Nettels, Westside and Meadowlark elementary schools. … The tiger mural was funded by a grant from the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas. It was designed by Hannah Kinsey, from Grove, Oklahoma. Students then spent several months turning Kinsey’s design into several panels that were painted on campus in Porter Hall and then transported downtown.
Source: www.joplinglobe.com
Hope springs from Kansas governor’s proposal to restore water funding
Connie Owen, director of Kansas Water Office, says the governor’s recommendation to restore funding for water projects has given her organization momentum as it considers a wide range of needs. Legislators since 2008 have not allocated the full $8 million that is supposed to go toward a State Water Plan established in 1989. During the past 14 years, Owen said, the state has shorted the plan by $80 million, jeopardizing efforts to address concerns with reservoirs, groundwater and water quality across the state. This year, Gov. Laura Kelly has proposed fully funding the water plan. If lawmakers agree, that would mean allocating $6 million from the state general fund and $2 million from an economic development fund.
Source: Kansas Reflector
Garden City appoints three to key administrative positions
The City of Garden City has appointed Jared Kuhlmann as Finance Director, Emily Burns as Assistant Finance Director, and Ellie Voepel as Human Resources Director. City Manager Matt Allen said the City advertised in 2021 for key leadership vacancies within its administrative ranks and did not feel certain about making an appointment to those positions from those candidate pools. Three existing employees (Kuhlmann, Burns and Voepel) stepped into interim roles in the Human Resources Department and Service & Finance Department while the City evaluated its situation, considered some reorganization options and made it through some important end of year responsibilities, Allen said.
Source: Greater Garden City » Feed
End of an era: RCPD Director Dennis Butler calls it a career
After 42 years of service to the public, Riley County Police Department Director Dennis Butler is officially retiring. Monday will be his last day on duty. Butler began his policing career in 1979 when he was hired as a cadet. After about a year, he went to the academy and was hired as a police officer in 1980. Through his many years of service, Butler says he has made many memories and has seen a change in policing. Reflecting on his 25 years of service in Alexandria, Virginia before coming to Kansas, where he was Chief of Police in Ottawa before coming to Riley County. Butler says he began his first stint in Virginia during a time of much racial strife and violence. “When I got hired there was about 105,000 people living in Alexandria, a much smaller area than Riley County, it was only 15 square miles and we had 105,000 people. But, that first year that I was a police officer, 13,000 part one crimes were reported in the city of Alexandria. Just most recently, it’s been less than 3,000.”
Source: 1350 KMAN
Winfield arts council receives $50,000 national award
The Winfield Arts & Humanities Council has been awarded $50,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts as part of the American Rescue Plan. Winfield Arts & Humanities Council is one of five Kansas organizations to receive an NEA grant through the program. “We are honored to be recommended to receive this assistance and grateful for NEA’s appreciation for the struggles we face as an arts organization in a small community,” arts and humanities council director Cheri Kindt-Gonzales said. “Although they struggle as well, our supporters have been faithful to keep the arts vibrant in Winfield.” The grant will go toward helping community arts and culture recover from the pandemic. The funding can be used to save jobs and to fund operations and facilities, health and safety supplies, and marketing and promotional efforts to encourage attendance and participation.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
‘Just the beginning’: Wyandotte County to establish public defender’s office by 2024
Wyandotte County will establish a public defender’s office, a week after several residents spoke in a public hearing on why the county needed one. The Kansas State Board of Indigents’ Defense Services voted on Friday to create the office, said Jonathan Carter, a spokesperson for Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree. Eight of the nine board members voted to install the office. One board member abstained from the vote, Carter said. The public defender’s office is expected to be up and running by 2024, Carter said.
Source: KC Star Local News
Wind energy proponent says Senate bills would kill development in Kansas
Wind and solar farms would be banned in more than half of Kansas counties — and made nearly impossible in the rest — under a trio of bills heard by legislators this week. One of the bills would require leases presented to landowners to come with a message in 16-point font urging them to hire a lawyer. One would deem projects “abandoned” if construction doesn’t commence within three years. The last would ban wind and solar farms on any land not zoned for industrial use — forcing 60 Kansas counties to consider zoning if they want to allow wind development. And it would require wind developers to get a permit before they file signed leases with the county. But according to a renewable development attorney, a developer can’t get that permit until they’ve leased the ground.
Source: Kansas Reflector
Despite missing councilman, Johnson County mayor appoints new leader amid controversy
The beleaguered Spring Hill City Council appointed a new member Thursday night over the objections of a councilman who has vanished from the public eye in a failed bid to thwart the move. New Councilman Chad Young was appointed after the council discovered a technicality allowing them to fill the seat, regardless of Councilman Steve Owen’s ongoing protest, as fallout from the mayoral election last fall continues to dog the small town.
Source: KC Star Local News
Manhattan Levee upgrades to cost nearly $30 million
The City of Manhattan and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are getting ready to start a nearly $30 million construction project to upgrade the Manhattan Levee. The levee system is 6.2 miles long and protects around 7,600 people and $1.2 billion worth of economic development. The project will raise around half of the levee up to three feet in some locations. However, Stormwater Compliance Engineer Bill Heatherman said some of the most important upgrades have nothing to do with height. “Many of the gate wells, which are the big concrete structures that allow us to control water in and out, they’ll have concrete work to strengthen the walls and the integrity of them,” Heatherman said. “Then the biggest part of the work is we’re doing a lot of work to protect against groundwater seepage during the flood fight that might undermine the levees.”
Source: KSNT News
Shortages in qualified police officers impact local departments
Rural police departments in Kansas are feeling the pinch of staffing shortages. Many rural communities have found it difficult to find enough officers to keep a full roster of employees. According to the National Police Foundation, which conducted a national survey of police departments, the problem stretches across the country.
Source: Times-Sentinel Newspapers » Feed
Over 1,000 Wichita school workers out because of COVID-19
More than 1,000 staff members in the state’s largest school district are in quarantine because of COVID-19, but currently all Wichita schools are open. The Wichita Eagle reports that district records show that nearly 14% of the school district’s staff — some 1,033 people — were off because of COVID-19 illnesses or exposure as of Friday. That is up from 912 and 646 in the previous two weeks. Earlier this month, the district had to temporarily close several schools, including one of its high schools, because of staff shortages as the highly contagious omicron variant of the virus spread, but at the moment, the district is keeping all schools open even as the staff absences set a record for the school year.
Source: www.joplinglobe.com
Municipal Bond Trends for January 28, 2022
The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. Every issuer’s credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.
Johnson County Charter Commission recommends no changes after fielding some hot-button proposals
The Johnson County Charter Commission decided in a meeting Wednesday to wrap up its work next month leaving the county’s governing document pretty much as is. With their last votes on substantive issues, commissioners confirmed that no changes will be put on the ballot for voter approval, and there will not be any recommendations for the county commission to consider. The charter commission meets once a decade to decide whether the county’s foundational operating rules need fixing.
Source: Shawnee Mission Post
Garden Plain hires first city administrator
Brian Gartland has been selected as the City Administrator of City of Garden, Plain Kansas. Brian will serve as the City’s inaugural administrator to lead the community through strategic growth. About his new role, Brian says, “Together we will continue to serve Garden Plain by increasing economic development and innovative efforts; and by transforming public services for all who live, work and play in our City.”
Source: WSU Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs
These five large Johnson County projects could take center stage in 2022
Although several coming downtown Kansas City developments might garner brighter spotlights, few can compare to the sheer magnitude of some coming down the pike across the state border — at least, if they deliver on the full mixes of uses touted at their inception. In 2022, builders are poised to kick off or advance construction on multiple expansive projects throughout Johnson County, some spanning hundreds of acres. Others could return to the negotiating table in their respective cities over substantive plan updates or new incentive requests.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal
Efforts move to establish art district in Downtown Pittsburg
The art scene has always been strong in the City of Pittsburg, exploding in recent years. Now a new movement is underway to use that art to develop the community. “Here recently we’ve had a wonderful movement of artists in the area. Really the groundwork has already been laid,” said Christa Cunningham, Pittsburg Artwalk President. So at Monday’s Downtown Advisory Board Meeting, Cunningham presented the idea to establish an arts district in Pittsburg. “The idea is to encompass our downtown area. That would be pretty much from the Farmer’s Market Pavillion, and then south to Jolly Fox, west to the library, and then as far east as the Frisco Event Center and the new Fun Depot.” The effort is designed to help promote tourism through the local art scene that’s developing throughout downtown.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Oswego BOE selects new superintendent
The USD 504 Oswego Board of Education announced this week the selection of Mitchell Shaw as the new superintendent. Shaw will begin as superintendent July 1 after the retirement of current Superintendent Douglas Beisel. Beisel’s retirement is effective June 30. Shaw holds three degrees from Pittsburg State University with a bachelor’s in political science, a master’s in leadership and an educational specialist degree to better qualify for district level management.
Source: Parsons Sun
Spring Hill mayor appoints new council member ending political stalemate
Spring Hill Kansas now has both a mayor and enough council members to have a meeting. The small Johnson County city south of Olathe has been struggling for a couple months now to figure out whose in charge and how to move forward after a number of unusual departures and absences.
Source: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF
How will Kansas build and repair its roads without a gas tax as more electric vehicles emerge?
Getting charged up about buying a new electric vehicle? More and more Kansans are — and it presents a conundrum for the state. Officials are expecting to see more EVs on the road in the years to come, as well as hybrid cars and those using alternative fuels. That might mean cost savings for drivers — but money not spent at the gas pump also has an impact on how the state builds and repairs its roads. Driving an electric vehicle has the same impact on roads in terms of wear and tear — but users are not paying gas taxes, one of the core mechanisms the state uses to fund infrastructure.
Source: CJonline
Survey: 52% of State, Local Public Workers Considering Leaving Jobs
Over half of state and local government employees are thinking about leaving their jobs, according to research released on Thursday. The statistic presents a red flag for public sector managers already dealing high rates of turnover and struggling to hire. The survey findings, from MissionSquare Research Institute, a nonprofit that studies government workforce issues, show that about 52% of state and local public sector workers are considering abandoning their jobs for different positions, retiring, or otherwise leaving the workforce. Burnout and inadequate pay are two reasons employees pointed to for feeling this way, the survey found. “If you’re working in state and local government and you’re not considering leaving your job, the person sitting next to you is,” Rivka Liss-Levinson, the lead author of the research, told Route Fifty. “I think it’s safe to say that we are definitely teetering on the brink of a public sector workforce crisis.”
Source: Route Fifty – All Content
Input for American Rescue Plan Sought
The Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) Executive Committee is inviting Kansans to share their investment ideas for the allocation of federal coronavirus relief funds allocated to Kansas through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of March 2021. “This money offers the opportunity to make strategic investments that will have long-term positive impacts on our state,” Governor Laura Kelly said. … The online submission form for proposing a SPARK investment idea is available here. Currently, SPARK is requesting proposals for program-level investments. The four Advisory Panels may consider these submissions as part of the process to determine investment priorities and make recommendations to the SPARK Executive Committee. Advisory Panels will begin meeting in the coming weeks.
Source: Fort Scott Biz
Work to convert electric system begins in Marion
Groups of bucket trucks are making their way around eastern Marion as work to complete a long-planned upgrade of the city’s electrical system has begun. Workers for Integrated Electrical Services Commercial and Industrial in Holdrege, Nebraska, are replacing poles and cross arms where needed, replacing transformers, and installing new lines to convert older 2,400-volt electrical service to 12.5-kilovolt service for three city circuits not earlier upgraded. After lines are replaced along the circuits, IES will overhaul the city substation, including installation of a system that reroutes power quicker during an outage.
Source: HILLSBORO Star-Journal
Rural counties struggling with lack of resources to treat COVID-19 patients
COVID-19 has brought record setting hospitalizations in Sedgwick County, but some rural counties in Kansas have it much worse. In Wilson County, the health department reports nearly 24% of its entire pandemic cases have occurred since Jan. 3. Dr. Jennifer Bacani McKenney, the Wilson county health officer, said her community doesn’t always have the resources it needs, whether that’s ventilators or hospital beds. They’ve tried reaching out to large hospitals to help get patients care. “We will call 30-40-50, there was one point where we called I think we contacted 115 hospitals and there were no beds,” she said. “No beds that were available for our ICU patient that needed to be on a on a ventilator.”
Source: KAKE – News
McPherson officer dances with local high school
A McPherson officer joined in on a dance performance with the McPherson High School dance team, The Steppers. McPherson Police Department School Resource Officer Brady Winkler joined The Steppers to dance at the high school boy’s basketball home game against Central. The Steppers asked officer Winkler to join them, and the rest is history. They danced to a mix of songs, including “Bring Em Out” by T.I. and “Yeah!” by Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris.
Source: KSN-TV
Kansas senate approves billion-dollar, mega-project plan
An economic development bill that could bring a $4 billion business and over 4,000 jobs to Kansas was approved by the Senate on Thursday. SB 347 would enact the attracting powerful economic expansion, or APEX, act which could add a significant boost to the Kansas economy if it is passed by the house and signed off by Governor Laura Kelly. The senators approved of the bill 32 to seven on Jan. 27 after it was amended. If APEX is passed into law, it could mean that a $4 billion company, which remains secret for legal reasons, could come to Kansas. Many in the Kansas Legislature believe that it is important to move quickly before the mysterious company moves to a different state.
Source: KSNT News
Johnson County Charter Commission shoots down proposal for non-partisan sheriff’s election
The Johnson County Charter Commission decided in a meeting Wednesday to wrap up its work next month leaving the county’s governing document pretty much as is. With their last votes on substantive issues, commissioners confirmed that no changes will be put on the ballot for voter approval, and there will not be any recommendations for the county commission to consider. The charter commission meets once a decade to decide whether the county’s foundational operating rules need fixing. The 25 members, chosen by a variety of civic and political groups, have been meeting since March 1, 2021, but much of that time was spent hearing from county officials how their departments are run. It wasn’t until fall that the group began to discuss ideas for improvement.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Senate passes incentive for $4 billion development
The Kansas Senate on Thursday approved new development incentive to help win the recruiting battle for a $4 billion economic development prospect that’s been characterized as one of the biggest projects in state history. The chamber voted 32-7 to approve the package of incentives for the mysterious development prospect that is considering Kansas along with another site for what Lt. Gov. David Toland described as the largest private-sector investment in state history. The bill creates a special tax incentive for economic development projects with at least a $1 billion investment, although a new provision was added to reduce corporate income taxes in order to provide a benefit to existing businesses. The incentive also would be eligible to suppliers that sell more than $10 million worth of products to the primary project.
Source: Sunflower State Journal
How Humboldt, Kansas, became a must-see destination for 2022
The work done by a dedicated group in the small town in southeast Kansas caught the attention of The New York Times. Over the past five years, the economic development group A Bolder Humboldt has been at work building up the town with new businesses and renovations along with venues for recreation, all to revitalize their community. Their efforts paid off as Humboldt was just included on The New York Times’ list of “52 Places for a Changed World.” In writing of the town with a population of fewer than 2,000 people, the Times noted that Humboldt was “becoming an unexpected and affordable oasis of cool surrounded by fields of wheat and soybeans.”
Source: KCUR
Kansas Supreme Court to hear ‘dark store’ case
The so-called “dark store” debate over how big box stores are valued is now in the hands of the Kansas Supreme Court. The state’s highest court has agreed to hear Johnson County’s appeal of a court decision that found the county overvalued 11 big-box retail stores. Last fall, the Kansas Court of Appeals upheld a decision by the state’s tax appeals board, which found the county overvalued a group of Walmarts and Sam’s Clubs by about $60 million in 2017 and $63 million in 2016. The appeals court’s fueled the so-called “dark store theory,” a criticism leveled at retailers that believe their property should be appraised as if their property is vacant, separate from the business activity it generates such as leases. The case has major financial implications for local governments and Kansas businesses with millions of dollars in property taxes hanging in the balance.
Source: Sunflower State Journal
Lawrence’s Sister Cities program connects community with Japan, Germany, Greece
In 1986, the City of Lawrence launched a Sister Cities program to bring people together. And it has. The program has planted the seed for four marriages between Lawrencians and residents in Eutin, Germany; it’s brought our quilting community closer to the one in Hiratsuka, Japan; and it even helped KU Theatre collaborate on a Greek tragedy performed in the ancient open-air theatre of Iniades, Greece. For 36 years, the award-winning nonprofit has been promoting peace and understanding between Lawrence and its three sister cities.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Hutchinson task force recommends bulk of local ARPA allocation be used to address childcare issues
Members of a task force created to recommend where $17 million in federal COVID-19 relief coming to Hutchinson and Reno County should be spent in order to have a lasting impact on the community suggested Tuesday the bulk of money go to addressing child care issues. The group held more than 40 interactive community meetings over a couple of months to receive public input on priorities for using the American Rescue Plan Act dollars. While seven key areas were identified from among the more than 1,100 ideas generated during the sessions, addressing daycare was mentioned at every meeting and was among the top three issues for more than half the participants, according to the study’s findings.
Source: Hutch News
USDA Invests Nearly $23 Million to Improve Community Infrastructure for Rural Towns Across Kansas
Funding Will Increase Access to Health Care and Public Safety for 15 Rural Communities in the State. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Acting State Director Kansas Dan Fischer today announced that USDA is investing $22,965,600 to build and improve critical community facilities in 15 communities. This infrastructure funding will increase access to health care and public safety while spurring community development and building sound infrastructure for people living in rural communities.
The programs assisting these communities include Community Facilities Direct Loans and Grants, Community Facilities Loan Guarantees, Community Facilities Disaster Grants, and Economic Impact Initiative Grants. The projects will finance emergency response vehicles and equipment; build or improve hospitals and clinics and help fund other essential community facilities.
These are the Kansas projects receiving financial assistance:
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Population growth, COVID among concerns as Topeka mayor, city manager lay out vision for 2022
A month into the new year and both of their respective jobs, Topeka Mayor Mike Padilla and interim City Manager Bill Cochran see a bright future for Topeka in 2022. At their first joint news conference, Padilla and Cochran said one of the city’s biggest challenges, aside from managing COVID-19, will be retaining and growing population. … Padilla said lower population numbers could lead to some budget issues, and the city will have to anticipate some potential budget challenges.
Source: CJonline
Saline County using COVID relief funds for workforce development, business recovery, mental health
Saline County, with the use of federal COVID relief funds, will be working with local higher educators and national technology organizations to help with workforce development, business recovery and mental health in the county. The Saline County Board of Commissioners approved four programs during its meeting Tuesday morning as part of the Phase II funding of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes said Saline County was allocated over $10.5 million, half of which has been received while the remaining half is expected to come later this year. The ARPA funding can be used to help meet community needs and the county got feedback from a survey and town hall about what community members identified as those needs.
Source: Salina Journal
Emporia considers new water tower designs
How should Emporia present itself to the heavy traffic that passes through on I-35 every day? That was the question put in front of city commissioners Wednesday morning. The water tower at the corner of 12th Avenue and Lakeview Street near Dillon’s is set to undergo a rehabilitation project, and as part of that, the commission has the opportunity to put something new on it. What that something new is, though, is still undecided. Prior to Wednesday’s study session, the commission received a few mockups of potential designs for the water tower, including one heralding Emporia’s reputation as the founding city of Veteran’s Day, another featuring the logos of Emporia High School, Flint Hills Technical College and Emporia State University side-by-side as well as one devoted exclusively to ESU. And of course, there there was a fairly standard design bearing the city’s name.
Source: Emporia Gazette
Overland Park working out system for residents to more easily track city councilmembers’ votes
People who want to know sooner rather than later how individual councilmembers voted in Overland Park may get some help this year. A city council committee recently sent instructions for staff to work out the nuts and bolts of including voting records on the city’s website within a day or two of a meeting, rather than later in the approved minutes.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Municipal Bond Trends for January 26, 2022
The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. Every issuer’s credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.
10-day isolation order for Cowley County affirmed by court
A district court judge in Arkansas City on Wednesday upheld a health order issued by the Cowley County Public Health Officer last week sticking with a 10-day isolation period for people who test positive for COVID-19. The isolation period is longer than the latest CDC guidance of 5 days isolation, plus 5 days of masking, and two Ark City residents sued Langer claiming he did not have the authority to issue such an order and argued that it curtailed business. Langer said the appointed county health board supported the 10-day period, and that it applies only to people with the virus, not the general population.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler