Kansas Municipal News
Wichita police announce initiative to help officers interact with people with autism
The oldest of Wichita police officer John Biagini’s three children — who are all autistic and non-verbal — had run away from home. Luckily, the officers who found him knew who he was and were able to comfort him. “It could have gone awful,” Biagini said about the event that happened about 10 years ago. The longtime school resource officer now serving on the department’s exploited and missing children unit is the department’s liaison for its new initiative — one that aims to help officers be better equipped to work with autism or communication problems. The initiative will include several things: kits in Wichita and Sedgwick County patrol vehicles to help calm people with autism, stickers that can go on houses or vehicles to alert police that they may be interacting with someone with autism, a card someone with autism can carry, training for all officers on interacting with people with autism, and a sheet officers will carry that will allow a non-verbal person to communicate through pointing at different letters and symbols.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
JoCo judge final ruling reinstates initial decision on Prairie Village petitions
A Johnson County judge reversed course once again on the three resident-led Prairie Village petitions. Judge Rhonda Mason of Division 4 at Johnson County District Court in Olathe issued a final ruling late Friday evening that reinstated her initial oral decision from Sept. 6 regarding the “rezoning,” “abandon” and “adoption” petitions. She ruled that only the “abandon” petition — which aims to limit what petitioners call a “strong mayor” form of government — is eligible to put before Prairie Village voters. In line with her oral decision from Sept. 6, Mason’s final ruling from Friday, Sept. 15, finds the “rezoning” and “adoption” petitions are ineligible for a ballot measure. This latest ruling supersedes a written ruling Mason issued soon after her original oral decision that found the “adoption” petition eligible for a ballot measure and the “rezoning” and “abandon” petitions ineligible. Mason’s final ruling Friday reverts back to that oral decision.
Source: Prairie Village Post
The Federal Reserve may not hike interest rates this week
The Federal Reserve is likely to pause its aggressive interest rate hikes when it meets this week, experts predict. But consumers may not feel any relief. The central bank has already raised interest rates 11 times since last year — the fastest pace of tightening since the early 1980s. Yet recent data is still painting a mixed picture of where the economy stands. Overall growth is holding steady as consumers continue to spend, but the labor market is beginning to loosen from historically tight conditions. At the same time, inflation has shown some signs of cooling even though it remains well above the central bank’s 2% target.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Municipal Bond Trends for September 15, 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.
Governor Kelly Announces 27 Cities to Receive $22M for Highway Improvements
Governor Laura Kelly announced today that 27 cities across Kansas will receive a total of $22 million for projects to improve intersections and state highways extending through cities as part of the Kansas Department of Transportation’s City Connecting Link Improvement Program (CCLIP). … KDOT was able to increase CCLIP funding for this selection cycle due to additional federal funds coming to Kansas as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation (BIL). The program will provide $5.1 million in state fiscal year 2025 and $16.9 million in state fiscal year 2026. Both federal and state funds are designated for the CCLIP program. Local matching funds are required based on city population. …
For the state fiscal year 2025, the city, category, and amount awarded CCLIP funds include:
- Abilene – Surface Preservation, $400,000
- Atchison – Surface Preservation, $400,000
- Clay Center – Surface Preservation, $400,000
- Colby – Surface Preservation, $400,000
- Council Grove – Surface Preservation, $400,000
- Emporia – Surface Preservation, $400,000
- Harper – Surface Preservation, $400,000
- Larned – Surface Preservation, $400,000
- Leavenworth – Surface Restoration, $400,000
- Lyons – Surface Preservation, $400,000
- Stockton – Pavement Restoration, $700,000
- Winfield – Surface Preservation, $400,000
For the fiscal year 2026, the city, category, and amount awarded CCLIP funds include:
- Clay Center – Surface Preservation, $400,000
- Ellsworth – Geometric Improvement, $1,100,000
- Emporia – Geometric Improvement, $1,200,000
- Fort Scott – Geometric Improvement, $1,500,000
- Girard – Pavement Restoration, $1,500,000
- Hoisington – Pavement Restoration, $1,100,000
- Lakin – Pavement Restoration, $1,400,000
- Meade – Pavement Restoration, $1,300,000
- Ness City – Pavement Restoration, $1,100,000
- Pittsburg – Geometric Improvement, $1,500,000
- Russell – Pavement Restoration, $1,000,000
- Sedan – Pavement Restoration, $1,250,000
- Wamego – Pavement Restoration, $650,000
- Westwood – Pavement Restoration, $400,000
- Yates Center – Pavement Restoration, $1,500,000
A map of these CCLIP projects is available here.
Source: Governor of the State of Kansas
Walnut Valley Festival in full swing for its 51st year
The 51st annual Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield has kicked off. It runs through Sunday, Sept. 17. Everything you need to know is listed on the Walnut Valley Festival website. There are four stages with music all day long from over 30 performers, some new and some old. There are all sorts of food vendors and arts and crafts vendors with everything from tie-dye shirts to art pieces. “It’s kind of a city in itself,” Larry Junker said. “You don’t really have to go outside.” Larry Junker started writing the WVA (Walnut Valley Association) Daily in the 90s after starting to interview contest winners. … Typically, Junker says they bring in 10,000-13,000 people. “Almost doubles the size of Winfield because Winfield is running around 12,000 people,” Junker said. “So it’s like another city out here at the county fairgrounds.” … One group traveled to Winfield from Iceland and has been coming to the festival for years after an American friend told them about it who has gone to Winfield for 38 years.
Source: KSN-TV
Municipal Bond Trends for September 14, 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.
WPD launches new drone program
The Wichita Police Department announced Wednesday that it will be creating a new drone program. The department took to social media Wednesday morning saying they will be partnering with Axon Air to create a new drone program to enhance their law enforcement capabilities. “The cutting-edge drones equipped with high-resolution cameras will help us monitor public events, traffic situations, and emergency scenes more effectively,” WPD said. “This means quicker response times and improved situational awareness.” The department added that drones will be “invaluable” in locating missing persons, assisting in natural disasters and allowing them to provide support in the Wichita community in times of need.
Source: KAKE – News
Wichita City Council passes regulations, licensing for short-term rentals like Airbnbs
Short-term rentals like Airbnbs and VRBOs will need to get a license and pay a fee to operate in the city of Wichita after the council passed new regulations Tuesday. Many of the short-term rentals that operate in residential areas currently do so against existing city codes. “I would venture to say there are very few short-term rentals in Wichita today that are in compliance with the zoning, unless they’re renting for seven days or more,” said Scott Wadle, the city’s planning director. The policy change City Council approved means short-term rentals can now operate legally, if they obtain the required licensing and zoning permits.
Source: KLC Journal
Parsons Police Dept. strengthens community bonds
Parsons Police Department recently hosted a Coffee with a Cop event, breaking from tradition by holding it in the evening. On September 12, 2023, at 6:00 pm, community members gathered for a unique opportunity to engage with their local law enforcement. The event, organized by host Shannon Schibi and Officer Mark Raney, responded to requests from residents unable to attend morning sessions. This shift in timing aimed to ensure that as many members of the community as possible could participate. “We had a remarkable turnout, with approximately 30 citizens joining us during the two-hour duration. The event fostered meaningful conversations, allowing the community to interact with night shift officers who are typically unavailable during daytime events of this nature,” said Chief Robert Spinks of the Parsons Police Department.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Paola firefighter to be honored 66 years after his death
Assistant Paola Fire Chief Wendell O. Phillips was fighting a house fire at 107 E. Wea St. on April 7, 1957, when he had a heart attack. Thinking he was just feeling ill, Phillips went home, but he suffered another heart attack that evening and grew steadily worse. Phillips was taken to the hospital, but he died two days later on April 9, 1957. It was a tragic loss for the community, and the fire department, but, for whatever reason, as the years and decades passed by, fewer and fewer people could recall Phillips’ service and sacrifice.
Source: Local News | republic-online.com
Experience history during Freedom Festival
Osawatomie’s rich history from the Bleeding Kansas time period will come to life this weekend during the Freedom Festival in John Brown Memorial Park. The two-day event will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17. Freedom Festival will feature reenactments of the Battle of Osawatomie and other reenactments from the pre-Civil War and Civil War periods. Several speakers will present talks about this historically significant time for Osawatomie and the surrounding region.
Source: Local News | republic-online.com
McElroy named Garden Plain city administrator
The City of Garden Plain, about 45 miles southwest of Newton, has hired Newton City Manager Kelly McElroy as its city administrator. The Times Sentinel Newspaper, which serves that community, reported the hire after covering Garden Plain’s city council meeting. McElroy lives in Garden Plain, and the Sentinel’s report stated McElroy will begin working in Garden Plain in late October. Kelly informed the City of Newton in July she would leave her position in October. McElroy worked for Newton for seven years, rising through the ranks as community development director, then city planner and assistant city manager. She replaced manager Bob Myers after his retirement in 2020.
Source: Harvey County Now
Sedgwick County commissioners approve moratorium on large-scale solar projects
Sedgwick County commissioners have voted to approve a six-month moratorium on any large scale solar energy zoning applications. The moratorium will suspend the application process for any large scale solar projects, such as wind farms or other operations that would generate and sell wholesale energy. It would not apply to homeowners or businesses that are putting up solar panels for their own use. The moratorium would also be in place for the unincorporated areas of the county, and it would not apply within cities and towns.
Source: 101.3 KFDI
New Interactive Dashboard Shows Cities Are Rebuilding America Using Federal Infrastructure Funds
Today, the National League of Cities (NLC) launched an interactive dashboard tracking how thousands of cities, towns and villages are investing Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding into valuable projects for communities across the country. The dashboard tracks more than 1,600 projects across 1,100 local governments. Overall, this map represents $13 billion dollars in direct infrastructure funding awarded to local governments for investments in resilience, safety and clean energy as well as roads, bridges, public transportation and other infrastructure that are used by more than 97 million people.
Source: NLC
City of Shawnee can restrict roommates: Judge dismisses suit over controversial law
A federal judge has sided with Shawnee, dismissing a lawsuit over the city’s controversial co-living ban, which limits how many unrelated people can live together. David Deerson, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation representing the property management company suing the city, told The Star he plans to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. The city adopted the ordinance last year, prohibiting more than three unrelated people from living together in a single residence. The city only allows more people to live together if they are blood relatives or related by marriage, adoption or guardianship. The ordinance says if one resident is not related to anyone in their household, then the entire household is considered unrelated.
Source: Joco 913 News
Wichita Parks Department makes changes to Pickleball complex plans to address noise problems
Pickle Ball is one of the fastest growing sports in America and the distinctive sounds of the plastic ball hitting a paddle is popping up all over cities in the US. That sound is something William Long will have to get used to. “It doesn’t really bother me,“ Long told KAKE on Thursday. Long lives right next to the soccer fields of South Lakes sports complex. It is also going to be the home of the City of Wichita’s new pickleball complex. While pickleball is a fast growing sport, one problem about it is also growing at a major rate, noise concerns.
Source: KAKE – News
Kansas folk artist M.T. Liggett is more than his eccentric ‘character’ in a new documentary
Those who drive through Mullinville, Kansas, population 197, might not remember the town. But they probably remember the miles of metal sculptures that line U.S. 400 just outside of it. Those totems and whirligigs are the work of eccentric folk artist M.T. Liggett. He’s the subject of “It Started With A Horse,” a documentary by Kansas City filmmaker Joshua Dubois. The documentary, filmed over the course of 20 years, aims to tell the “true story” of Liggett, who died in 2017.
Source: KCUR
Open Streets ICT to take place in downtown on Sunday
Open Streets ICT will take place this Sunday, Sept. 17, from 12 to 5 p.m. through downtown Wichita. The event will run on Douglas Avenue from Wichita’s historic Delano District all the way to College Hill. Douglas will be blocked for four miles from Bluff to Glenn Street during that time. Wichitans and visitors will be able to cruise along Douglas on bikes, skateboards, or walk and stop at activity hubs, shop businesses on the route, and visit food and street vendors while listening to music. There will be hubs of shops located at West Douglas, Kennedy Plaza, Naftzger Park, East High School and College Hill.
Source: KSN-TV
Pittsburg is landscaping with new “four-wheel-drive weed eaters”
The City of Pittsburg has a new landscaping team – one with a new “environmentally friendly” approach. “The area that customers are looking to maintain will show up while fenced off with a portable electric fence. And then, we’ll turn to goats in there. And then, depending on how far down, we usually try to do 70 to 75% vegetation reduction. But it’s up to the customers how long they want to leave the goats in there,” said Robert Dutton.
Source: KSNF/KODE