Kansas Municipal News
Kansas court system down nearly 2 weeks in ‘security incident’ that has hallmarks of ransomware
Kansas officials are calling a massive computer outage that’s kept most of the state’s courts offline for two weeks a “security incident” and, while they had not provided an explanation as of Wednesday, experts say it has all the hallmarks of a ransomware attack. The disruption has left attorneys unable to search online records and forced them to file motions the old fashioned way — on paper. Courts are limping along, although the growing piles of paper are a mess that will have to be sorted and scanned eventually. “It’s really just slowed the whole system down,” said Chris Joseph, a Lawrence-based criminal defense attorney. Since 2019, ransomware groups have targeted 18 state, city or municipal court systems, said analyst Allan Liska of the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. That includes one in Dallas, where some jury trials had to be canceled this year. But state-focused attacks have been much less frequent, and have not yet rivaled what is happening in Kansas.
Source: Western Kansas News
Johnson County’s rural towns are growing. Do they need new libraries?
Spring Hill Councilmember Wendy North has been on a mission to Johnson County Library officials this fall. Her message: Don’t spend $4 million next year to upgrade the tiny Spring Hill library branch. Save the money to build a new one four miles north and east, where more houses are likely to go up. North has told county commissioners and the library board that an informal offer from a developer of single-family homes would allow the city to acquire land near Spring Hill High on 199th Street that could eventually become a new municipal center with an adjacent library similar to what Lenexa has, and what’s being built in Merriam. It’s all in the talking stages, with nothing on the city planning books, North said, citing that as the reason she declined to name the developer. She acknowledged that she isn’t speaking for the city council, since that body has never openly talked about the idea.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Manhattan holds one of the highest ranking floodplain management programs in the state
The stormwater compliance engineer said the city’s floodplain management program is one of the highest rated programs in the state. During Tuesday’s Manhattan City Commission meeting, stormwater compliance engineer Bill Heatherman gave an update to fulfill an audit requirement. The program will have an audit on Nov. 8. The floodplain management program creates plans and projects that help the city improve the floodplains in the area. The city is a member of the National Flood Insurance Program. The city also adheres to the Community Rating System, an elevated set of requirements through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. There is a ranking system, with 10 being the worst and one being the best. Currently, the city has a rank of six. Because of this, residents get a 20% discount on their flood insurance. Heatherman said this is the highest ranking in Kansas. He said a few other areas have a six but nothing higher.
Source: themercury.com
Osawatomie power outage likely to continue into Saturday
Osawatomie officials are confident that a transformer acquired from Garden City, Kan., will fix the power outage problem that has been ongoing since the evening hours of Tuesday, Oct. 24, but it is not estimated to be online until the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 28. Meanwhile, an estimated 250 to 300 residents remain without power, according to city news release updates. A critical failure at the city of Osawatomie’s power plant substation caused the initial power outages in the overnight hours of Tuesday, Oct. 24, into Wednesday, Oct. 25. On Wednesday morning, power was restored to some neighborhoods through the city’s generators, but a secondary equipment failure impacting the generators triggered another outage, according to the city’s updates.
Source: Local News | republic-online.com
Overland Park to formally end old city staff pay structure
Overland Park is taking more steps to update its city employee salary structure and get rid of its old system. Last week, the Overland Park City Council Finance, Administration and Economic Development Committee voted 6-0 to recommend the city council rescind a 2002 resolution that formalized the old compensation system. With the city manager shifting city employee pay into a new compensation structure, the old system was obsolete and no longer needed. The committee’s recommendation to get it off the books would make it official.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Clay Center debates lifting pit bull ban
The Clay Center City Council is asking for feedback on whether the city should lift its ban on pit pulls. Councilwoman Karla Sweet reported at last week’s council meeting that the council’s Administrative Committee is considering the change, but wants to hear more about it from the public. Sweet said she received an email about it, but hasn’t heard much from constituents. Over the course of about 50 minutes, council members also debated whether to add more breeds to the ordinance, whether to modify it by requiring DNA testing of a suspected pit bull and discussed what makes pit bull attacks particularly vicious.
Source: www.ccenterdispatch.com
Municipal Bond Trends for October 26, 2023
The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. 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.
Municipal Bond Trends for October 25, 2023
The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. 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.
Local business owners transforming historical building into event center for Halstead
Reba Lee, and her husband, Jeremy, are turning the former Harvey County Independent building, located at 220 Main Street, into an event center for the community to rent out. The Lees originally bought the building, intending it to be an office for Jeremy Lee, but after trying to host a birthday party for their children, they realized the town was missing an event center for community members to host parties. “I said, ‘Hey we just bought this building; let’s just have the kids’ birthday party up there,’” Reba Lee said. She said this led to the idea of using the space to rent out as an event center. The couple wants the building to be an alternative for community members hosting events they feel would be too crowded in their homes. Reba Lee owns a pop-up consignment shop that she currently hosts in Maize. She hopes to hold pop-up events in Halstead once the building is open for events. They hope to have it open by January.
Source: Harvey County Now
Halstead schools one of first in the state to get electric buses
The Halstead School District expects to replace half its diesel buses with electric buses within a couple of weeks. The district ordered three electric buses, and after the charging stations are finished, the electric buses will be added to the daily routes. Dr. Ron Barry, Halstead superintendent, ordered the electric buses after discovering a federal grant known as the Clean School Bus Program. The grant is being offered on a five-year rotation through the Environmental Protection Agency, as a way to reduce emissions from older buses that are larger pollutants. Barry said this aligned with the bus replacement program Halstead was already on. “I saw this as an opportunity for, one, being a part of our natural bus rotation but also a grant opportunity for reducing costs for us as a district,” Barry said. The district ordered the buses last winter, after receiving approval for the grant. Barry said it was one of five schools in the state to receive the grant.
Source: Harvey County Now
Wichita plans to spend $4.9M to change downtown streets, make them more walkable, bikeable
When voters approved a 1-cent sales tax in Sedgwick County, part of the money was supposed to go to relieve traffic congestion. Now, 38 years later, the city of Wichita wants to use local sales tax dollars to fund a plan that intends to slow down traffic. The Wichita City Council is set to vote Tuesday on whether to use $4.9 million in local sales tax to fund the Wichita Downtown Street Plan. The council approved the project concept in February and hired a design firm in August. The downtown street plan aims to decrease motor-vehicle lanes in downtown Wichita and increase lanes for bicycle traffic. It would also convert one-way streets to two-way streets. The goal is to make downtown more pedestrian-friendly and less car-centric. Proponents of so-called road diets say they make streets safer and improve quality of life in dense metropolitan areas. Detractors say they inconvenience drivers and needlessly slow traffic in areas that need it most, diverting people away from downtown businesses.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission delays action on proposed wind regulations after 8-hour meeting
Planning commissioners asked many questions but opted not to take any final action on proposed wind regulations at 2:37 a.m. Tuesday after hearing from 80 people and one peregrine falcon. The Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission in January 2022 asked city staff members to review existing regulations for wind energy systems, particularly commercial ones, to better align them with recently adopted solar regulations. City staff members produced a draft of new regulations in January 2023. The planning commission voted in March to form an ad hoc committee to help revise that into a second draft. Get a look at the draft and how it compares to the initial draft at this link. Meetings on wind regulations have been long, tense and emotional for many members of the public who have spoken during them. A vast crowd spilled out of the Lawrence City Commission meeting room Monday evening.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Lawrence eyes changes to Mass Street from 14th to 23rd; community meeting coming up
The City of Lawrence is studying options to change a stretch of Massachusetts Street with a goal of better accommodating drivers, people on foot, wheelchair users, bicyclists and transit riders. The city is conducting a multimodal corridor study on Mass from 14th Street south to 23rd Street, according to a recent news release. The road is part of the priority bikeway network under the Lawrence Bikes Plan. The study will include “safety, efficiency, and equity considerations for all modes of transportation,” according to the release. “A roadway reconfiguration can improve safety, calm traffic, provide better mobility and access for all road users, and enhance overall quality of life,” according to the city website about the project. “A road reconfiguration typically involves converting an existing four-lane undivided roadway, like Massachusetts Street, to a three-lane roadway consisting of two through lanes and a center two-way left-turn lane (TWLTL).”
Source: The Lawrence Times
Douglas County to hold meeting on open space plan
Members of the Lawrence and Douglas County community are invited to learn about the county’s open space planning progress and share their feedback during an open house this week. … “It is an opportunity for community members to stop by and learn about the project team’s progress and to provide feedback,” according to a news release from the county. “There will be activities for children and a raffle entry for all attendees.” This open house will build on previous events held in May and June. Project team members will look to gather feedback on the focus areas and preliminary recommendations, according to the release. “A structure, tools and funding source are necessary to protect, restore, support and manage existing and potential future open space,” according to the release.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Child care options revitalized with $11.5M grant
To help remedy the state’s child care shortage, 27 organizations have been allocated $11.4 million to open up more child care slots across the state. Gov. Laura Kelly, in conjunction with the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund, announced a second wave of funding for child care programs Thursday as part of an initiative meant to accelerate the development of more child care options statewide. “Building off the grants announced this summer, this funding will be transformational for families and communities across the state,” Kelly said. “Expanding access to high-quality, affordable child care will spur economic growth by allowing more families to participate in the workforce and support the healthy development of Kansas children.” The first round of funding went out in June, allocating $43 million for the creation of 4,211 child care slots. This round of funding will open up around 1,468 spots, creating a total of 5,655 in 67 communities.
Source: Garden City Telegram and Governor of the State of Kansas
Pittsburg State’s new division focuses on growing SEK economy
A new division at Pittsburg State is looking into ways to grow the economy in Southeast Kansas. The Economic Development and Community Engagement division hopes to use the resources of the university for partnerships and collaborations with businesses. Officials say the goal is to transform southeast Kansas into a place where students will want to live and work after they graduate. The division was previously known as University Strategic Initiatives, which renovated four historic buildings in Pittsburg and helped develop the Kansas Polymer Research Center into the National Institute for Materials Advancement. “Now we’re just sort of taking that to the next level in our planning, revising some of those strategic plans that we’ve done in the past. Working together with the city of Pittsburg to continue to help develop strong economic development policy. We also have the opportunity now with engaging on the research enterprise side off things and help build that out,” said Shawn Naccarato.
Source: KSNF/KODE
As more Kansas students miss school, districts look for ways to entice them back to class
Three years after the pandemic sent most Kansas kids home to learn, schools have a vexing new challenge: getting them to come back to class. Missing school has become a crisis statewide. More than one in four Kansas students were chronically absent during the 2021-22 school year, which means they missed at least 10% of instruction time. That figure nearly doubled over the previous two years. State education leaders are still compiling data from last school year, but they expect the problem is getting worse. “Definitely a dramatic uptick … which is not what anybody would want to see,” said Robyn Kelso, who monitors attendance for the Kansas Department of Education. “At the same time, I don’t know that I’m necessarily surprised.” Many older students struggled with the transition to remote learning and then back to a normal school routine. Some saw their mental health suffer and lost the motivation to attend class.
Source: Garden City Telegram
‘Choose Topeka’ sees boost after Telemundo coverage
A local organization is seeing record interest for a program that aims to bring more people into the Capital City. Greater Topeka Partnership (GTP) team members are wrapping up the third year of “Choose Topeka” in big way. GTP told 27 News around 140 individuals and families have moved to the community through that program so far. For the past week, they’ve seen quite the large influx in interest outside of the state, thanks to coverage by Telemundo in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. The Choose Topeka team has received hundreds of phone calls and thousands of emails from all over the world within the last week. The incentive program has been around since 2019, but the recent boost in eyes has workers excited about bringing even more people from all over into the city.
Source: KSNT 27 News
Heartland Flyer subject of virtual public meeting
Expansion of the Heartland Flyer from Oklahoma City to Newton will be the subject of a virtual public meeting being hosted by the Kansas Department of Transportation. KDOT is looking at providing rail service between Oklahoma City and Newton, where it would connect with Amtrak’s Southwest Chief. The Heartland Flyer currently provides daily service between Ft. Worth, Texas, and Oklahoma City. The Southwest Chief provides daily roundtrip service between Chicago and Los Angeles. It also has stops in Garden City, Dodge City, Hutchinson, Topeka, Lawrence, and Kansas City, Missouri, in addition to Newton. The virtual meeting is scheduled for Nov. 8, starting at 12 p.m. until 1 p.m. There will be a presentation, and then the public will have a chance to submit questions or comments for the project team.
Source: KSNT 27 News
Leawood plans to cap building heights to 4 stories along 135th
Concrete plans to cap building heights in Leawood, but only along 135th Street, are starting to take shape. The Leawood City Council on Oct. 16 considered creating specific rules for new office and mixed-use buildings on 135th Street. City leaders had initially proposed and discussed capping building heights on all new office and mixed-use developments citywide. The city council’s decision last week comes as the latest of extensive discussions in Leawood about amending the city’s development ordinance to keep future developments from creating too much density in the southern part of the city. The Leawood Planning Commission first saw the city council’s request to bring maximum building heights down from 90 feet to 55 feet this summer. At the time, the commission widely disapproved of the plan, voicing concerns that the move would stunt growth in Leawood too severely. The topic itself stemmed from concerns from city councilmembers who wanted to avoid a “canyon effect” along 135th Street with incoming projects like the East Village development.
Source: Prairie Village Post