Kansas Municipal News
Louisburg set for Labor Day weekend festivities
The 51st annual truck and tractor pull sponsored by the American Legion is set to kick off the community’s three-day Labor Day celebration. The truck and tractor pull will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2, at Lewis-Young Park, located at 26600 Jingo Road, a short distance northwest of Louisburg. Concessions will be sold by the Sons of the American Legion. Wayne Knop, commander of the John P. Hand American Legion Post No. 250 in Louisburg, said the truck and tractor pull is the Legion’s largest fundraiser of the year.
Source: Local News | republic-online.com
Miami County finalizes sales tax ballot question for courthouse
Miami County commissioners have been adamant about the need to renovate and repair the historic Miami County Courthouse and build additional courtroom space for the cramped Miami County District Court. Whether or not those improvements are paid for by a new quarter-cent sales tax or potential property tax increases via future hikes in the county budget is something voters will decide when they head to the polls during the Nov. 7 general election.
Source: Local News | republic-online.com
Prairie Village to consider establishing public arts fund policy
Prairie Village wants to ramp up its public art inventory. After years of discussion in committee meetings, the Prairie Village City Council will soon consider establishing a public arts fund policy. This policy would establish the way Prairie Village purchases public art, including how to fund it and where the art would be placed.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Shawnee remains undecided on possible ban on AirBnBs
Shawnee city councilmembers expressed mixed feelings about moving forward with regulating short-term rental properties, including potentially banning them from all residential zones of the city. On Monday, the city council committee — which convened immediately after a lengthy regular city council meeting — discussed several options for short-term rentals, like AirBnBs and VRBOs. The idea of a short-term rental ban was previously brought to the city council in April, when several residents from the McAnany Estates subdivision spoke out against short-term rentals in their area, which they said had begun popping up more frequently in recent years.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Pratt denies special liquor sales on Main Street
At their August 21 meeting, the Pratt City Commissioners denied a proposal for looser liquor laws on Main Street. The proposal was presented by John Beverlin on behalf of one of his clients, Lotus Aesthetics and Wellness. Lotus Aesthetics, a medical spa at 310 S. Main in Pratt, will be celebrating its grand opening on September 6 from 5-8 pm. The owners had hoped to be able to bring in a mobile cocktail establishment to serve cocktails at the event. The vendor serves the cocktails out of a heavily modified horse trailer that would have had to have been parked in front of Lotus Aesthetics with the service window toward the store so that it could have served customers on the public sidewalk.
Source: Pratt Tribune
Municipal Bond Trends for August 30, 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.
Saline County feels weight of supply shortage through patrol vehicles
For the past two years, Saline County has had difficulties in purchasing police-grade patrol vehicles due to a lack of availability and manufacturers changing their production due to shortages. In response to this ongoing issue, the Sheriff’s Office requested a new timeline in the process that might leave out a popular brand of police vehicle, but ensure the department new vehicles, at least for 2024.
Source: Salina Journal
Kwikom breaks ground on $12 million fiber network for Franklin County
A ceremonious turn of the shovel Monday morning on the Franklin County Courthouse lawn served as a sign of things to come as work is currently under way to bring an expanded fiber network to Ottawa and much of Franklin County. Local officials joined Kwikom leaders, breaking ground on a $12 million investment to bring what they describe as a stateof- the-art fiber network to more than 7,000 Ottawa homes and businesses as well as those in Wellsville, Pomona, Williamsburg and the surrounding area.
Source: Ottawa Herald
Municipal Bond Trends for August 29, 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.
Barton County Commission honors the retiring Wornkey
Barton County Register of Deeds Pam Wornkey announced her plans to retire Aug. 1. On Tuesday morning, the County Commission recognized her for her years of service. Her last day on the job is Thursday. “The best indicator of the future is a study of the past and holds true for you,” said commission Chairman Shawn Hutchinson, District 3, said, reading from a letter to Wornkey. “You will continue to be a remarkable presence in this community for years to come. “It is apparent from your employment history with the county that you’re centered on the greater good time and time again, you stepped into various positions which for the betterment of our citizens,” he said. “You carried your skills, dedication and commitment to detail into your role as registered of deeds.
Source: Great Bend Tribune
‘Don’t overcrowd the city’: Neighbors object, Johnson County apartment plan stalls again
The Shawnee City Council on Monday sent a proposal for a housing development off of Kansas 7 Highway back to the drawing board, as nearby homeowners protest the plans. Neighbors have submitted a protest petition, and gathered 430 signatures on Change.org, in opposition to plans for 184 apartments and townhomes on 16 acres in the western part of the city, between Old K-7 Highway and K-7 Highway, south of 47th Street and north of 55th Street. The developer, naming the project The Zarah, wants to build four three-story apartment buildings and seven two-story townhome buildings on the rural land, which now has a 1970s-era home and three greenhouses.
Source: KC Star Local News
Rural Kansas attorney shortage putting access in jeopardy
The 73-year-old has been practicing law in the small central Kansas town of Marion for more than four decades. He’s done a little bit of everything – “domestic work, adoptions, estate planning, quiet titles, other land disputes, oh, my goodness, you name it” – but he doesn’t do quite as much as he used to. “If you write a will, they expect you’re going to be around here” to execute it when the client dies, he says. “So I’m getting to tell people now that at 73, I’m likely to not be here by the time this will goes into use. Hopefully not, anyway.” The problem? Marion, with a population of roughly 1,900 residents, has no younger lawyer to take his place.
Source: KLC Journal
Pro Pickleball players make a stop in Pittsburg
The Pickle in Pitt event took place on Monday where folks could get signed autographs from some of the top-ranked pickleball players in the world. Proceeds from the fundraising event will go to help maintain and enhance the Jack Johnson courts and create new pickleball programs at the Four Oaks Sports Complex in Lincoln Park.
Source: KOAM News
Keeping Kansas history alive, one ghost town at a time
Kansas history has never been more alive than it is now in the hands of students and historians devoted to putting the pieces of the past together through hours of painstaking research. A group of students and staff at Kansas State University, along with historians at the Kansas State Historical Society (KSHS), have made it their mission to ensure the history of Kansas towns and communities isn’t lost to time. Their efforts are wide-ranging, comprehensive and aimed at showcasing the history of places in danger of being forgotten or that aren’t well-documented. KSNT 27 News spoke with members of the Chapman Center for Rural Studies at K-State to learn more about what’s being done to catalog and record the history of Kansas’ relatively unknown towns and communities.
Source: KSNF/KODE
“Stepping Up Initiative” passed by Crawford County Commissioners
A new initiative in Girard will bring more resources to those who are incarcerated and dealing with mental illnesses. “It’s important that anybody who has a mental illness receives treatment, gets the services. Part of our goal is really reducing barriers and increasing access,” said Heather Spaur, CCMHC Director. The “Stepping Up Initiative” was unanimously passed, Tuesday morning by Crawford County Commissioners. It’s a nationwide movement designed to reduce the number of people with mental illnesses in jails.
Source: KSNF/KODE
“Leadership Kansas” Visits Pittsburg
You might call it “Pittsburg 101” — Leadership Kansas got up close and personal as part of a statewide tour today (Friday). Forty leaders from throughout the state are embarking on a statewide tour to learn and discuss social, business, and political issues in different cities. They toured Pitt State, the Community Health Center, Kansas Technology Center as well as Millers Professional Imaging. Many among the group say they admire the way different sectors in Pittsburg are working together for the betterment of the city.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Voters say yes to Bluestem special bond question
Voters said yes to the Bluestem special bond question Tuesday. According to unofficial results, 395 voters, or 57% of voters, voted yes, and 298 voters, or 43% of voters, voted no. In Leon, the Bluestem school district has seen growth. The bond will add classrooms to the elementary school and high school, as well as expand programs. “A lot of it is just our location and with the population around us,” Bluestem Superintendent Joel Lovesee said. “Depending on cost of living in Wichita to Andover, people want to move farther out. A lot of the programs we offer, I would say one of the best ag programs in the country when it comes to elementary school.”
Source: KSN-TV
New transit route in Reno County gives access to shopping
Residents in Reno County will soon have a way to get to grocery stores and other shopping. A news release from Reno County says the Reno County Area Transit announced a new Shopping Route that begins Tuesday, Sept. 5. The route is available to designated housing facilities, allowing transportation specifically for grocery and other shopping. The release says the bus used for this route is larger than other vehicles and has more room for bags. Those using the route will also have more time to get their purchases on and off the bus.
Source: KSN-TV
New restrictions on large solar farms in Butler County
The Butler County Commission voted Tuesday to restrict the size of a solar farm to no more than 2,500 acres. It also prohibits such development in the protected Flint Hills Eco-Region. The decision comes after a company submitted a proposal in April for a large solar farm facility that would’ve been almost 4,000 acres in size. Moving forward, any new solar farm must be three miles outside of any city limit as well. The main concern of residents was protecting the native grasslands in the Flint Hills Eco-Region.
Source: KSN-TV
Voters say no to Valley Center school bond issue
The preliminary results are in for the Valley Center school bond, and it appears the $73.9 million bond issue failed. The Sedgwick County Election Office posted the unofficial results shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday. The difference between the yes and no votes is 176 votes. The special election was by mail, and all the ballots had to be turned in by noon Tuesday. The election office reports that of the 11,235 people registered to vote in the school district, only 4,154 voted. Twelve votes are not included in the total. There will be a vote canvass on Sept. 7 for the Board of County Canvass to review any uncounted ballots and finalize the election results.
Source: KSN-TV