Kansas Municipal News
Ford County Commission green lights Seaboard Foods project
The Ford County Commission permitted Seaboard Foods to build on two sites in southeast Ford County near Bucklin at the regular meeting on Sept. 18. Both sites will have two buildings housing 2,500 hogs. Each hog will consume approximately five gallons of water daily, but apart from this, the project will funnel the water back into the system and will not be a drain on the water supply. The hogs will be fed by crops purchased from area farmers and the manure used for soil fertilization.
Source: Dodge City Daily Globe
Wichita High School East turns 100: ‘History walks our halls’
Can you imagine a teacher today throwing a chalkboard eraser at a student for not paying attention in class? Or a coach buying his high school sports team beer and cigars because they won a tournament? How about a school making its boys swim naked in their gym class? Such stories are part of the lore of Wichita High School East, the city’s oldest high school, along with the more serious legacy of educating generations of Wichitans. East is celebrating a big anniversary next month. Though it opened as Wichita High School in 1873, the anniversary celebrates the 100th year the school opened in its current building at Douglas and Grove. “They called it the million dollar school at that time,” said current principal Sara Richardson of the school’s cost, which was $1,044,810.85. Due to the money, innovation and modified Collegiate Gothic style, Richardson said, “It was like the showcase of the Midwest.”
Source: Carrie Rengers: Business Columns & Blogs |
Lawrence Transit launches overnight rides on demand
If you need a ride overnight, Lawrence Transit has launched a new, fare-free option to get a lift anywhere within city limits. Lawrence Transit On Demand service runs from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday through Friday and 8 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, according to a recent news release from the city. “You can expect to see the same friendly bus drivers in our smaller buses that are all ADA accessible and equipped with bike racks,” according to the release. The service will be fare-free for 2023, as are all fixed route buses and T Lift. It’s a shared ride service, so you might not be the only person getting a ride, but drivers will take you from door to door, meaning you can schedule rides between any two places in town and you don’t have to get on and off at set bus stops. Drivers can take passengers anywhere within Lawrence city limits.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Propane bid awarded with a coin flip
After receiving two identical bids for propane, commissioners awarded the bid based on a coin flip last week. Landfill Director Rhonda Carroll presented commissioners with three propane bids for 4,000 gallons. Propane Central $1.499 a gallon while Sapp Bros. and Hoover’s both bid $1.29 a gallon.
Source: www.ccenterdispatch.com
Mahaska water tower is crumbling
The replacement of Mahaska’s water tower is urgent because chunks of concrete are falling off the tower, two city council members told the Board of County Commissioners on Monday. Cal Livingston and Wiley Kerr met with the commissioners to ask if any county money or ARPA funds were available to help with a portion of the city’s water tower replacement.
Source: Backroads News
Municipal Bond Trends for September 22, 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.
AG Opinion 2023-08: RNR Notice Requirements
K.S.A. 79-2988(b)(2)’s use of “shall” is mandatory. As a result, a governing body of a taxing subdivision may not levy a tax rate in excess of the revenue neutral rate where the county clerk fails to timely send out the required notice to the taxpayers pursuant to K.S.A. 79-2988(b)(2).
Source: KS AG Opinion No. 2023-08
Lenexa Animal control officer educates public and advocates for animal welfare
From picking up roadkill on a hot summer day to chasing a loose cow back into a pasture and removing bats from inside a home, the sights for Lenexa Police Department Animal Control Officer Noah Jaksetic are ever changing. “It was kind of a long journey to find my niche, but I did it,” he said. Having pets didn’t necessarily come naturally for Noah. “I got an American-Eskimo poodle named Sammy for my 11th birthday,” he said. “That was the first pet I had growing up.” But he did work on a ranch when he was younger that exposed him to non-domestic animals.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Two key Fed officials express support for keeping interest rates high
Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins expressed support Friday for keeping interest rates elevated as the battle against too-high inflation continues. In remarks to a banking group in Maine, the central bank official said there’s still the possibility that the Fed will have to raise rates further if economic data doesn’t cooperate. “I expect rates may have to stay higher, and for longer, than previous projections had suggested, and further tightening is certainly not off the table,” Collins said in prepared remarks. “Policymakers will stay the course to achieve the Fed’s mandate.” The commentary comes two days after the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee decided not to raise rates following its two-day meeting. Collins is an FOMC voting member this year. The federal funds rate is currently targeted in a range between 5.25%-5.5%.
Source: CNBC
Savonburg residents talk tenuous future
Color David Janssen a realistic optimist. The Savonburg City Councilman was asked to peer into a crystal ball and eye the community’s future, say five or 10 years down the road. On one hand, the future of small towns like Savonburg is bleak, Janssen admitted. With an aging population, fewer and fewer quality homes to entice out-of-towners and an infrastructure that has well outlived its realistic life span, it’s easy to see why rural populations continue to decline, he said. To wit, Savonburg’s population at the 2010 census was over 100. As of 2022, that number had dropped to 75. “If nothing happens, I can see the community going away,” Janssen warned, “and becoming unincorporated.” But Janssen isn’t one to give up without a fight.
Source: The Iola Register
Municipal Bond Trends for September 21, 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.
Fed declines to hike, but points to rates staying higher for longer
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady in a decision released Wednesday, while also indicating it still expects one more hike before the end of the year and fewer cuts than previously indicated next year. That final increase, if realized, would do it for this cycle, according to projections the central bank released at the end of its two-day meeting. If the Fed goes ahead with the move, it would make a full dozen hikes since the policy tightening began in March 2022. Markets had fully priced in no move at this meeting, which kept the fed funds rate in a targeted range between 5.25%-5.5%, the highest in some 22 years. The rate fixes what banks charge each other for overnight lending but also spills over into many forms of consumer debt.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Program to eliminate poverty to kick off
A Bourbon County program aimed at addressing the poverty issue is preparing to launch this fall, officials said. During the Bourbon County Commission meeting Monday, commissioners were updated on the progress of the program, called Core Communities. Local business owner Bill Michaud, who has helped get the program off the ground, and Cherri Walrod, one of two staff members who have been hired for the program, spoke to the commission.
Source: Fort Scott Tribune
USD 231 joins national class-action lawsuit against social media platforms
Lynne Hermansen Gardner News School officials discuss cell phone usage The Gardner Edgerton Board of Education is joining a class-action lawsuit for vaping ads targeting youth on social media. Board officials decided to join the suit at Monday’s monthly board meeting. Superintendent Dr. Brian Huff said the lawsuit was similar to a previous class-action lawsuit several Johnson County school districts participated in against Juul tobacco and vaping products.
Source: Gardner News
USD 112 superintendent asks county for daycare funds
Central Plains USD 112 Superintendent Bill Lowry met with Barton County Commissioners on Tuesday to discuss a matching funding request for daycare in the Claflin community. “I’ve raised some funds,” Lowry said, referring to donations to the school district’s Childcare Network established in October 2022 that provides 70% in state tax credits toward renovating an existing classroom in Wilson and a new building in Claflin. The program reached 50% of its goal by December 2022, but a year later Lowry was in hopes that he could move the fundraising along. “I don’t have enough at this time to really start a project,” he said. “Even if you have the funds to hand and you can commit to a project, there’s still a timeline involved to find a contractor to take on the project. I’ve got a lot of people here that really need daycare,” he said.
Source: Great Bend Tribune
Fire fighting training site seeing upgrades
The Boy Scout motto “be prepared” also applies to the Great Bend Fire Department, Fire Chief Brent Smith told the City Council Monday night as he outlined improvements taking place at his department’s training facility behind Fire Station 2. “We’ve been working with Hazmat Response, our neighbor to the west of us out there station,” Smith said. The business has “been nothing but generous in donating equipment and time to do some dirt work and hauling some buildings for us to add to our burn facility.” In addition, “we’re going to be putting in a grain elevator rescue props and some confined space stuff,” he said. “We’ve eventually going to expand into some hazardous material stuff with a tank car from the railroad.”
Source: Great Bend Tribune
Baxter Springs School District reflects on introduction of 4-day school week
This year, the Baxter Springs School District introduced a new 4-day school week. A month into the school year, administrators say the 4-day school week has been a success thus far. Superintendent David Pendergraft says he’s received various emails from parents who were a bit skeptical of the change initially, but now they’re seeing the benefit of how it helps them to balance their work life and personal life. The schedule change has also helped with the recruitment of teachers to the district.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Outside help: Wichita plans to outsource management of city animal shelter
Wichita is seeking a private operator to take over day-to-day management of the city’s animal shelter from the Wichita Police Department. The vendor will be asked to “manage shelter services and improve communications with rescue partners to find homes for abandoned pets, provide veterinary care and overall improvement of services that fit standards and best practices,” according to a city news release. The request for proposal was issued on Sept. 15 and will close on Nov. 3. City spokesperson Megan Lovely told The Eagle that plans were already in motion to outsource management of the animal shelter before the Sept. 6 incident when 12 dogs were improperly euthanized without approval.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Festival Planned in Central Kansas to Celebrate Monarch Butterflies
A host of butterflies, bees and bugs will all be in residence at the Kansas Wetlands Education Center’s (592 NE K 156 Hwy, Great Bend) annual Butterfly Festival from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 23. In addition to a variety of family-friendly activities, “The Instars,” Steve Craig and Amy Short, will present their “Butterfly Magic” show – a melding of humor and magic that illustrates the astonishing butterfly life cycle. “This year promises to be a much better year for the monarch butterfly migration, as millions undertake their annual fall flight to Mexico,” said Pam Martin, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks education specialist.
Source: Governor of the State of Kansas
Riley County gives go ahead for new mural at Zeandale fire station
Riley County officials on Thursday approved a motion for a new mural to be installed at the county fire station in Zeandale. Resident Diane Hoobler, representing the Friends of the Zeandale Fire Station 101, presented a draft example of the mural which the artist plans to start painting on Oct. 7. She says some of the art depicted in the mural, including the train station will be made larger, for a better visual perspective. She discussed some of the other identifying landmarks. The train station, the Pawnee Trail and the old Zeandale school will be depicted in the mural.
Source: 1350 KMAN