Kansas Municipal News
Despite old struggles, can new opportunities in Wyandotte County ‘make this place thrive’?
Wyandotte County seems poised for change. World Cup games are coming to the region in 2026 and a new master plan for the county is in the works, but the area still sees many challenges. Those include affordable housing, gentrification and residents’ historically strained relationship with county government and police. KCUR’s Up To Date broadcasted live Wednesday from the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City’s Breidenthal Unit in Kansas City, Kansas, to discuss the community and its future. For many residents, recent momentum and economic opportunity for Wyandotte County is overshadowed by what work still remains.
Source: KCUR
The new Joint Fentanyl Impact Team seized 5,000 fake oxycodone pills in Pittsburg, Kan.
The Joint Fentanyl Impact Team executed a search warrant in Pittsburg, Kansas leading to the arrest of of two people and the seizure of 5,000 fake oxycodone suspected of containing fentanyl, a large amount of cash and multiple guns with ammunition. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said the JFIT along with the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, Pittsburg Police and the Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office executed the search warrant on Thursday and booked 39-year-old Horace Wright and 43-year-old Amanda Lee into the Crawford County Jail. Wright and Lee were both arrested for possession of opiates, opium, or narcotic drugs, possession of marijuana, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug sale paraphernalia, criminal possession of firearm, and aggravated child endangerment.
Source: KAKE – News
Valley Center named Purple Heart City
Following in the footsteps of Derby and Haysville, Valley Center become the third city in Sedgwick County in the span of roughly one year to officially be declared a Purple Heart City. An official proclamation was made at the Sedgwick County Commission meeting on Aug. 2. The official proclamation serves as a statement of support for military personnel, veterans and families of those who have served through the Armed Services in recalling one of the oldest military decorations still given out. Along with Derby and Haysville, Valley Center joins the cities of Holton, Leavenworth, Netawaka and Topeka; Leavenworth and Jackson counties; and the State of Kansas as part of the Purple Heart Trail in Kansas.
Source: Derby Informer | Area
Kansas hits all-time lowest birth rate
Kansas documented the state’s lowest-ever recorded birth rate for the 2022 year, according to a preliminary report. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s annual report shows the number of births in the state dropped slightly from 2021. Last year’s report documented 34,697 births in 2021, with a birth rate of 11.8 per 1,000 people. The preliminary 2022 report recorded 34,376 births across the state, with a birth rate of 11.7 per 1,000 people. Seven counties accounted for about 60% of the state’s births for the year: Douglas, Geary, Johnson, Leavenworth, Sedgwick, Shawnee and Wyandotte. Unmarried mothers made up 36% of all births with 12,370 reported. The rate of births to teenagers between the ages of 15-19 remained at 4.7%, unchanged from the previous year’s rate.
Source: The Iola Register
City Council recommends more WPD power to suspend club licenses
Wichita City Council is recommending ordinances to give police more authority to suspend the licenses of clubs where violence has taken place. This after a shooting at the City Nightz club in Old Town left 11 people injured on Sunday, July 2nd. Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan issued a 30-day suspension of the entertainment license for the club, which had been the site of twelve previous violent incidents in 2023 alone. Three of those incidents involved guns. Sullivan said the shooting wouldn’t have happened if patrons were properly screened before entering the club. City Council claims current licensing ordinances to suspend or revoke such licenses are inconsistent; specifically citing the method of notice given, the official who requests a suspension, and the length of suspension.
Source: 101.3 KFDI
Munis follow global bond sell off, outflows near $1B
Municipals sold off Thursday, following U.S. Treasury losses after more economic data suggested the U.S. economy is strong enough to potentially warrant more rate hikes in the fall. Equities ended down. Ahead of Friday’s jobs report, Wall Street is “watching a global bond market selloff get uglier as U.S. stocks waver ahead of massive earnings from Apple and Amazon,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at The Americas OANDA. Coupled with the Bank of England signaling more tightening is ahead, recent economic data has confirmed the U.S. economy remains resilient, he said, which fanned more concerns over Fed policy uncertainty. “Both initial jobless claims still remain low and the ISM services employment component supports the argument that the Fed might need to deliver more tightening in November,” he noted.
Source: The Bond Buyer
Shawnee Names New Finance Director
The City of Shawnee and City Manager Doug Gerber announced on Wednesday the promotion of Sean Rocco as the City’s new Finance Director following a nation-wide search. Rocco has served as Interim Finance Director since May of this year. “Sean has done an outstanding job taking the City through the 2024 budget process and consistently proved himself to be up to the task of Finance Director through his day-to-day work and in every round of the interview process,” City Manager Doug Gerber said. Rocco joined the City of Shawnee in September of 2021 as Deputy Finance Director, after more than a decade in the private sector as an accounting coordinator, project controls analyst, and eight years with Bridgestone Americas as a Senior Field Auditor.
Source: What’s New News Summary
Park City voters approve sales tax increase
Voters in Park City have approved a proposal for a one cent sales tax increase to fund a variety of improvements across the city. The proposal was on Tuesday’s primary election ballot, and 58 percent of the voters approved. The unofficial results have 377 yes votes and 272 no votes. The final numbers will be certified during the Sedgwick County vote canvass on August 10th. The one cent increase will be used for the improvement of streets, parks, and city services, as well as community-driven enhancements.
Source: 101.3 KFDI
Harvey County Commission extends postponement on renewable energy builds
The Harvey County Commission unanimously voted to approve an extension on a commercial renewable energy construction moratorium in the county. The vote was held during the commission’s meeting on August 1st. The Commission previously implemented a six-month postponement at its Feb. 21st meeting. The extension will keep the moratorium in place through Dec. 5th, 2023. The extension was requested by the Harvey County Planning and Zoning Advisory Board, which is currently reviewing the County’s Unified Development Code related to commercial renewable energy.
Source: 101.3 KFDI
New mural, sculpture being added in Delia
It’s a warm Saturday morning in the southwest Jackson County community of Delia, where a UTV is busy dragging the ball field near the former Delia school for weeds and the occasional train whistle punctuates the quiet. It’s also a good day to install a steel sculpture on the south outer wall of the school building, and that’s what Rossville High School art teacher Garrett Larson and his three-person crew are doing — attempting to mount the sculpture using an old Case farm tractor with a loader attachment. The sculpture — a depiction of a buffalo on the prairie at sunset — is actually one of two art projects that Larson has been working on to enhance the outer appearance of the old school, which now functions as a community building after it the Kaw Valley USD 321 board of education voted to close the school in 2010.
Source: Holton Recorder
Rural Kansas school district spared in lopsided vote
Residents of a rural central Kansas school district overwhelmingly voted to keep their district intact, defeating an attempt to dissolve the district in anger over a school closure. Unofficial election results from the Aug. 1 primary show 587 people voted in favor of disorganization and 1,179 voters in Central Plains Unified School District 112 voted against the change. “For Tuesday in August, in a heatwave, this was a huge turnout,” said Denise Schmidt, a Claflin resident, educator and member of the United USD 112 campaign. Ellsworth County Clerk Shelly Vopat, who oversees the county’s elections, estimated turnout was about 60%. The county usually sees a turnout of 30% to 40% in a primary election, Vopat said. Schmidt said the vote showed communities could still pull together and prioritize education.
Source: Kansas Reflector
Lenexa acquired this historic cemetery last year. What happens now?
For generations, volunteers with the nonprofit Lenexa Cemetery Association managed the historic cemetery off Pflumm Road and 87th Street Parkway in east Lenexa. The Lenexa Cemetery, founded in 1872, is the final resting place of several prominent Lenexa community leaders through the generations, including members of the Legler family and some Civil War veterans. The city has now taken over the property and is shifting attention towards maintaining and potentially enhancing the site into the future. Over the years, upkeep of the cemetery and its long-term management grew to be a challenge for the all-volunteer cemetery association. Members of the organization’s board started approaching other groups about taking over for them but there were no takers, Lenexa Parks and Recreation Director Logan Wagler said.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Another move: Sedgwick County thinking of buying this downtown building for admin offices
Sedgwick County government is considering purchasing Murfin Plaza at 250 N. Water for $7.75 million as the new home for its administrative offices. The County Commission on Wednesday unanimously agreed to pay $25,000 in earnest money. The county has 120 days to inspect the 82,577-square-foot property and determine whether to move forward with the purchase. The government has been leasing space at the Ruffin Building on North Broadway at a rate of $58,502.67 a month since moving out of the county courthouse last year to create more room for courts there.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Prairie Village – from farms to suburbs
For generations the area that is now Prairie Village was part of the communally held ancestral hunting territory of the Kanza and Osage tribes. In the 1820s, the federal government removed the Kanza and Osage people to reservations elsewhere in what is now Kansas. The government then removed the Shawnee from their ancestral territory and placed them on a reservation that spanned modern-day Johnson County until 1854. Congress then formed the Kansas Territory and again removed the Shawnee. The influence of Indigenous people and cultures remains today in the names of streets, parks, and geographical features throughout the county. After Congress created the Kansas Territory in 1854, Euro-Americans migrated to the area and purchased land on which to live and farm.
Source: Prairie Village Post
How local educators are tackling the fentanyl crisis
Local educators and organizations are focusing on prevention and awareness when it comes to the fentanyl crisis in Johnson County. Educators and organization leaders convened for a roundtable on Tuesday morning at Shawnee Mission West hosted by U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids of Kansas’ Third District. Like previous fentanyl roundtable discussions, Tuesday’s summit was closed to the public. In a press conference that immediately followed, Davids said the discussion focused largely on fentanyl education and awareness. Superintendents from USD 232 in De Soto and Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools were present, as well as administrators from Shawnee Mission and Olathe school districts. Davids said she learned that the represented school districts — Shawnee Mission, USD 232, Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools and Olathe — all used naloxone (brand name is Narcan) more than once in the 2022-23 school year.
Source: Prairie Village Post
New book documents Leawood’s 75-year history
A book detailing a quarter-century of Leawood’s history is turning a final page. City officials say “Leawood; The Journey Continues,” will hit the presses this month — coming out in time for the city’s 75th anniversary celebration. The book serves as a second edition of the city’s first history book, “Leawood; A Portrait in Time” — which was penned by local author Ann Morris. Residents can buy the second edition either with a copy of the first history book or by itself.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Public can no longer pull most items from Lawrence City Commission consent agenda
Members of the public can no longer request to pull most items from the Lawrence City Commission’s consent agenda during meetings, commissioners voted Tuesday. A governing body’s consent agenda generally includes a list of items that are considered routine and are approved in one vote. Some bodies, such as the Lawrence City Commission and Douglas County Commission, allow commissioners themselves as well as members of the public to ask that an item be removed from the consent agenda for discussion; the Lawrence school board allows board members and the superintendent to remove items from the consent agenda. The change approved Tuesday was on the consent agenda, but Commissioner Brad Finkeldei asked to discuss it.
Source: The Lawrence Times
County: New ambulance will be hard to get
Buying a new ambulance isn’t going to be a simple process, Allen County commissioners learned this week. That’s because supply chain issues have made for a lengthy wait to receive the units, Terry Call told them. He retired as the county’s EMS and zoning director, but returned part-time to handle zoning issues. Call researched ambulance options after Michael Burnett, Iola’s EMS director, gave a report about equipment needs a couple of weeks ago. Under the terms of a new contract between the city and county, commissioners agreed to provide ambulances and associated equipment. It likely will be more than a year — maybe even well into 2026 — before the county could receive a new ambulance, even if they ordered one now, Call said.
Source: The Iola Register
WaterOne has a new general manager
WaterOne has a new permanent leader. The nonprofit water utility’s board last month voted to confirm Shaun Pietig as WaterOne’s new general manager, overseeing all the operations of its 272-square-mile service territory in Johnson County. Pietig first came to WaterOne in 2007 as a project engineer and has done a number of jobs within the organization, most recently serving as Director of Distribution. Pietig will be the fifth general manager in WaterOne’s history and the first woman ever in that position. She will formally take over her new role on Tuesday, Aug. 8. Previous General Manager Mike Armstrong retired in December after 25 years with WaterOne. An interim general manager has been in place since then.
Source: Prairie Village Post
County seeks solution for excess tires
A company that recycles used tires has been dumping more than 200,000 tires at the Allen County Landfill over the past six months, prompting county leaders to consider changes to the way it handles or charges for tire collection. Shane Lamb with FMS/United Tire told commissioners he needs to dump shredded tires at the landfill until he’s able to build a facility that can convert the material into fine, crumb rubber that is a highly desirable recycled product used by many industries. Lamb operates out of a facility at the former Lehigh Portland Cement plant. Since February, Lamb’s company has dumped 1,980.57 tons of tire material at the landfill. By comparison, the next highest customer, J.D.’s Automotive, dumped 67.31 tons in the same period.
Source: The Iola Register