Kansas Municipal News
Municipal Bond Trends for September 12, 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.
Kansas schools brace for utility rate increases
It’s been five years since energy provider Evergy requested a rate increase for customers in the Wichita area. This year, the company has asked the Kansas Corporation Commission for a residential rate of just less than 10%. But the base rate increase for school customers starts at 25%. An Evergy spokesperson tells KSN this week the net increase for schools in rates could be between 11-12%. Some schools say they have budgeted for energy increases, but they are closely watching to see what gets approved by the KCC.
Source: KSN-TV
Great American Market draws crowds to downtown Emporia
With nearly 180 vendors this year, Commercial Street was lined with goodies from the 600 – 1100 blocks. Visitors found everything from plants and handcrafted jewelry to collectibles and antiques, resin art, crochet and knitted items, jams and jellies, food trucks and more. Thousands of people turned out for the Great American Market, as hundreds of vendors drew crowds of visitors to downtown Emporia Saturday for a day of shopping.
Source: Emporia Gazette
USD 216 Deerfield cancels school for second day due to storm damage
A school in western Kansas has canceled class for the second day in a row due to storm damage on Sunday, the district says. According to a release, USD 216 Deerfield will not have school on Tuesday as they work to clear storm damage and, “make the school safe for staff and students.” School was also canceled on Monday due to the damage. It is currently unknown when classes will resume.
Source: KAKE – News
Wichita water customers urged to get backflow tested, city threatens disconnections
In a September 5 news release, the City of Wichita states that residents with irrigation systems connected to the city’s water system are required to annually have their backflow tested. The due date for the annual backflow certification was May 30, and the city says multiple notices have gone out to accounts that have been non-compliant.
Source: KAKE – News
USDA invests nearly $50 million into water infrastructure in rural Kansas
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing more than $49 million for water and wastewater infrastructure repairs and upgrades in four towns and one county in rural Kansas. “Our rural communities in Kansas are in desperate need of investment and infrastructure. Water and sewer is no exception to that,” said Christy Davis, the state director of USDA Rural Development for Kansas. The cities of Girard, Humboldt, Mankato and Perry, as well as Neosho County will receive the funding. The money comes from the USDA’s Water and Waste Disposal Loan & Grant Program.
Source: KCUR News
Hutchinson firefighters participate in 9/11 stair climbs
Firefighters with the Hutchinson Fire Department participated in two 9/11 stair climbs over the weekend. Eleven firefighters participated in events in Wichita and Kansas City. Nine firefighters from Hutchinson climbed 110 flights of stairs at the Epic Center in Downtown Wichita on Saturday, while two firefighters climbed the same number of stairs at the Skyline Collection building located in Downtown Kansas City on Sunday. Each firefighter carried with them the name of a firefighter who died at the World Trade Center during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. There were 343 New York City Fire Department (FDNY) firefighters, paramedics, and one New York Fire patrolman who died that day, along with 23 New York Police Department and 37 Port Authority police officers.
Source: KSN-TV
Winfield fire holds 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb
The Winfield 9/11 Memorial Stair climb was held Monday on the 22nd anniversary of the attacks. The event took place at the 77 Steps of Southwestern College’s Christy Administration Building at 100 North College Ave. It was the sixth year Winfield Fire and EMS hosted the stair climb to honor the victims of that day. To commemorate the 110 stories the First Responders had to climb in the World Trade Towers, firefighters climbed the 77 stairs 27.5 times.
Source: KSN-TV
Goats on the move in Pittsburg park
Nearly 40 goats were released in Lincoln Park on Monday to help the Pittsburg Parks and Recreation Department control some overgrowth along the creek north of Lincoln Center. The goats belong to Robert Dutton, owner of Oscar-Mike Goat Rental. A 12-year veteran of the National Guard, Dutton chose the name Oscar-Mike, which is the phonetic pronunciation of the letters “O” and “M,” is military shorthand for “on the move” as a nod to his military background. “I figured the goat are always on the move, so it made perfect sense to me,” Dutton said. What he didn’t count on was his non-military friends not understanding the shorthand and asking who Oscar and Mike are. Dutton began renting out his goats last year to test the waters and see if a viable business would be practical. This year, Dutton decided to go all in and advertise his goats commercially.
Source: Morning Sun
Municipal Bond Trends for September 11, 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.
Downtown banners official in Newton
Collaboration, and school and town pride were the themes for the ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday morning celebrating the installation of Newton High School and Bethel College banners in downtown Newton. The event was at the Newton Train Station park. “A great day,” said Sal Lujano, who came up with the banner idea. “Everything is falling in line. The weather is great. I want just to kind of repeat the word collaboration because it has been a collaboration of many people coming together to reach this goal and lift our schools and our students and highlight them with pride in our downtown. I feel that this week’s theme is ‘We are in this together.’”
Source: Harvey County Now
Downtown’s new dawn: Major developments set to propel Wichita’s core
In just a few years, a $300-million biomedical campus is expected to rise in place of nondescript parking lots near Broadway and William streets and a neighboring city transit center destined for replacement. It’s a landmark endeavor in downtown Wichita’s history, and the project’s driving visionary says it couldn’t have happened without being audacious. “What all this has taught me is that you need to have big, bold ideas,” Wichita State University president Rick Muma said. “I think sometimes, in the Midwest, people are not prone to have those kinds of big ideas.” Muma says conversations and planning surrounding the project — on track to begin construction in 2024 and led by the KU School of Medicine-Wichita, Wichita State University and WSU Tech — started several years ago.
Source: Wichita Business Journal
Johnson County group fought to get contentious issue on ballot. Too late, official says
A contentious battle over whether Prairie Village residents will vote this fall on restructuring the city government reached a screeching halt Friday afternoon. As the city and a group of homeowners awaited clarification on a judge’s ruling over proposed ballot initiatives, the Johnson County election office said the fight is essentially over for now. Election Commissioner Fred Sherman said the deadline has passed for his office to have time to place new questions on the Nov. 7 ballot. But the group of homeowners behind the initiatives, PV United, hasn’t given up. In a letter to the election office shared with The Star, the group urged Sherman to place the issue on the ballot.
Source: Joco 913 News
Wichita to pay $262,500 after police stood outside as man stabbed roommate
The Wichita City Council is set to approve a six-figure payout related to a 2019 incident where police officers stood outside of a house as a man killed his roommate by stabbing her up to 50 times. The family of the victim, Devin Andrea Cook, had sued the city in state court over officers’ failure to intervene during the deadly assault. The agenda for Tuesday’s meeting includes the authorization of a $262,500 payment as “full settlement of all claims against the officers and the City of Wichita” arising from a domestic violence incident on Nov. 23, 2019. That’s the day that police responded to a phone call from Jason McCaleb, who wanted his roommate, 28-year-old Cook, to vacate their south Wichita residence. After speaking with both roommates, police determined that they could not make Cook leave immediately because she had “established residency” at the house, including keeping clothes there and having house keys.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
GCFD firefighters deployed to Alaska inform City Commission of experience
Members of the Garden City Fire Department shared information and their experience on a Wildland Team deployment in Tok, Alaska, with the Kansas Fire Module at the Garden City Commission’s regular meeting Tuesday. The Kansas Fire Module was comprised of members from the Kansas Forest Service, the GCFD and the Olathe Fire Department. The module spent 14 days, beginning on July 29, in the Tok area, in which the protection boundary is comprised of 8.5 million acres of land. Firefighter Raymond Hestikind spoke on the experience on behalf of firefighters Chris Talmage and Ljay Geist, who were unable to make the meeting as they had just been deployed again.
Source: Garden City Telegram
Kansas school districts look for ways to entice kids 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. 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: Derby Informer | Area
Celebrating Heritage: Arvonia hosts history preservation tour
A busload of tourists converged on tiny Arvonia, Kansas, on Labor Day, ready to learn about the historic Welsh settlement and efforts to restore and preserve local heritage. More than 30 people participated in the tour, a supplemental excursion offered through the North American Festival of Wales, held in Lincoln, Nebraska, the previous week. Arvonia Historical Preservation Society board members and volunteers prepared the restored Township Hall for lunch with wooden tables and benches, decorated with daffodils and small Welsh flags. Displays of local maps and platts, correspondence, newspaper articles, school records and other documents and pictures were set up around the room.
Source: Emporia Gazette
Kelly touts budding economic development as boon for state
With a number of economic initiatives propelling Kansas forward, Gov. Laura Kelly believes the State of Kansas is taking monumental steps to invigorate its economy and foster industry growth in the Emporia area. Kelly, who spoke to The Gazette this week, emphasized that this achievement is a direct outcome of the state’s strategic plan for economic development. This comprehensive plan, instated under her administration, provides a modern roadmap for growth — a departure from the outdated strategies that had hindered Kansas’ economic progress for decades.
Source: Emporia Gazette
Claflin Fire District receives donation from Anheuser-Busch
Claflin Fire District No. 1 has received a grant from Anheuser-Busch through the Emergency Drinking Water for Wildland Firefighters program. Drinking water is used directly for firefighter comfort and safety. The grant included a case of powdered electrolyte replacement additive and 98 cases of canned drinking water, which is loaded to coolers on each truck and helps firefighters stay hydrated on fire calls.
Source: Great Bend Tribune
Amid housing fight, Prairie Village residents confused by judge’s contradictory rulings
PV United, a group opposed to proposals to increase affordable housing in Prairie Village, circulated three petitions that would change the city’s government and zoning rules. A judge this week gave an oral ruling on which petitions could appear on the ballot in November, but later contradicted that decision in her written ruling.
Source: KCUR