Municipal News & Jobs

Between 80 and 90 trains run through Olathe daily, halting traffic for four minutes on average, sometimes more — an issue the city is hoping to resolve. Olathe’s at-grade crossings on the city’s west side have been under watch for some time, and the city has been planning for nearly two years to do a limited, high-level study on them. Now that the city has secured federal funds for the study, Olathe can do a more in-depth analysis of the sites.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Murals depict various themes, from Kansas’ night sky and state symbols to local icons and historical figures like Chester I. Lewis. A comprehensive list of murals can be found on the Visit Hutch website, though some unlisted murals are hidden throughout the city.
Read more: Hutch News

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. 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.

Topeka police chief Chris Vallejo said a big part of his new program PACT — Police and Community Together — is working on data-driven policing that accompanies community policing in crime hot spots. 911 calls is sorted into various categories to determine severity of the situation. The severity of a call will determine which calls get addressed first.
Read more: CJonline

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. 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.

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. 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.

McPherson County Commissioners have adopted a six-month moratorium on new data centers in the unincorporated areas of McPherson County. As initially presented by Planning and Zoning Administrator Jon Kinsey, the moratorium would have been through January 1, 2028, but following an extended discussion that was reduced to about six months. Kinsey said the purpose of the moratorium would be to allow the county’s Planning Commission to study how data centers would fit into the county’s comprehensive plan and what zoning regulations changes might be required.
Read more: Ad Astra Radio | Your Hometown Radio Stations & Local News Source

Over 18 years ago, Jason Thrasher made a change from the manufacturing world into the world of local government. Thrasher became the Hesston City Clerk in 2007 after leaving AGCO. Once again, Thrasher has made a change, only this time, his move was from Clerk to City Administrator, with his official start date being Aug. 12. “I had no municipal experience when I started, and local government operates differently than the private sector,” Thrasher said. “Fortunately, I worked with a knowledgeable administrator and staff who helped me learn the ropes.”
Read more: Harvey County Now

Five-year-old Layne’s pretty young to work as a crossing guard. But, then again, Layne is a large half Maine Coon cat. The City of Newton recently honored Layne in social media posts as a Crosswalk Purr-tector for his work walking kids to school on the sidewalk and crosswalk on both sides of the street. Layne roams the neighborhood around the 600 block of East Fifth and East Fourth and down to Slate Creek Elementary and Chisholm Middle schools. He has a human family consisting of Pepper Stephey, her husband Jason Leal, and children Mackenzie, Maddi, and MaciRae.
Read more: Harvey County Now

Larry Roland grew up in Kansas City, Kansas with a strong sense of wanting to help the people in his community. As he got older that sense of service only got stronger. Born in the heart of the city in 1953, he was raised with strong values, a commitment to community and a quiet leadership that would later shape nearly half a century in law enforcement. Roland, a retired law enforcement official who served with the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department, the Kansas Highway Patrol and as Undersheriff in the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department, died July 27 from Parkinson’s disease, he was 71.
Read more: Homepage

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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