Kansas Municipal News
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
Sen. Marshall visits Osawatomie as city pushes for national park designation
The city of Osawatomie continues to gain more traction, both locally and in Washington D.C., on its goal of gaining a national park designation. In May, the Miami County Commission approved a resolution supporting the city’s request to establish the John Brown National Historic Park Site. The commissioners also agreed to give $22,000 to the city to assist in purchasing property for parking surrounding the John Brown Ghost Cabin at the Adair Homestead about two miles west of John Brown Memorial Park.
Source: Local News | republic-online.com
Yoder Heritage Day packs in live music, homemade pie and a huge parade
The sounds of children cheering, tractors puttering, and candy crunching under wheels in Yoder heralded the beginning of 2023 Yoder Heritage Day as the parade made its way through town Saturday. For many attendees, Yoder Heritage Day starts with the midmorning parade, although the festivities officially began at 6 a.m. with the all-you-can-eat pancake and sausage breakfast. … The annual parade is quite the draw, with up to 10,000 people expected to watch. A count hasn’t been publicized yet, but that’s a believable estimate since the street was packed several layers deep as far as the eye could see — kids and families dressed in anything from cape dresses to cut-off t-shirts finding room in yards, driveways and embankments.
Source: Hutch News
Educators start with raises: All Shawnee County teachers will get at least $1,350 salary increases
Shawnee County school districts are wrapping up their budgets, and that includes finalizing contract negotiations with their teachers’ unions. Teachers in Shawnee County public schools are set to see raises of at least $1,000 this year, in addition to any other additional pay increases for continued education and years of experience. The Capital-Journal previously reported on Topeka USD 501’s and Seaman USD 345’s negotiated agreements, finalized or agreed to in principle earlier this month.
Source: CJonline
WSU study projects metropolitan shift
Harvey County is expected to shrink in population, rural areas will continue to decline, and in 50 years, more than three-quarters of the state’s population will live in metropolitan areas. Those are the findings of a study by the Center for Economic Development and Business Research based out of Wichita State University. It projects an average growth rate of 0.3 percent per year, a decline from the 5.4 percent annual growth experienced between 1960 and 2010. “Kansas is expected to be pulling out of the period of population slowing that we’ve seen over the past few years,” Jonathan Norris, research economist for CEDBR, said. “This return to population growth is going to mean a couple of important things—one of which is that we’re expecting the Kansas labor market to be able to continue expanding and the Kansas economy continue to grow. Though we’re heading toward growth of the population overall, there remains the trend of increasing migration toward metropolitan and micropolitan areas.”
Source: Harvey County Now
Johnson County schools start year with hundreds of vacancies. The worst hit: Special ed
Johnson County is starting the school year with hundreds of positions unfilled, as districts in the region manage a record number of vacancies, especially in special education. Labor shortages continue to plague school districts in Kansas and Missouri this year, as educators leave their jobs at higher rates and fewer applicants seek to replace them. Last month, Shane Carter, director of teacher licensure with the Kansas education department, said schools in the state reported 1,634 teacher vacancies this spring. That’s up from 1,381 the spring before, when officials warned it was the state’s worst-ever shortage. The highest number continues to be in special education, with 377 teaching jobs unfilled across the state this spring. Even in Johnson County school districts, which tend to pay teachers higher salaries than in urban and more rural areas, the special ed teacher shortage is acute. The Olathe district has eight vacant special education teacher jobs this month, while Blue Valley has 13 being filled by substitutes.
Source: Joco 913 News
Child care can cost more than a mortgage in Kansas, but providers can barely afford to stay open
Ann Elliott runs one of the largest child care centers in all of Kansas. The Family Resource Center, or The Center, in Pittsburg, Kansas, is licensed to care for over 350 kids At $145 a week for toddlers, $135 a week for 30 month to 5 year olds, and $185 a month for preschool — parents might assume Elliott and her staff are rolling in money. They aren’t. They lose money on child care and grants help offset the loss. “It doesn’t pay for an employee to make a living wage,” Elliott said. “We’ve been around 25 years. So somehow we’re continuing and we will continue as long as we can.” Kansas is at a crossroads, child care providers and experts say. Child care slots are hard to come by and they are expensive. Some parents quit their jobs because child care eats up entire paychecks and it’s just cheaper to be a stay-at-home parent. Others are paying more for child care than their mortgage.
Source: KCUR News
Lawrence school district partners with county to prevent truancy
The Lawrence school district is partnering with county agencies to hopefully prevent students from being introduced to the criminal legal system for missing too much school. The district is partnering with Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez’s office, Douglas County Youth Services and the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) to address truancy. Students are considered truant if they are absent without excuse for a “significant portion” of the school day for three days in a row, for five days in a semester, or for seven days in a school year. At the high school level, a “significant portion” of the school day is one class period, according to Lawrence High School Associate Principal Mark Preut.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Municipal Bond Trends for August 28, 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 Establishes Advisory Panel for Regional Psychiatric Hospital in South Central Kansas
Governor Laura Kelly announced today that, to improve state mental health care, she has signed Executive Order 23-05 establishing the South Central Regional Psychiatric Hospital Advisory Panel. The 14-member panel is tasked with gathering public input and making recommendations on the operation, location, and workforce development needs of the proposed 50-bed psychiatric hospital in south central Kansas. The panel will examine how a state hospital would fit into existing or planned services in the region and identify existing resources, gaps in services, and opportunities to improve access to mental health services.
Source: Governor of the State of Kansas