Municipal News & Jobs

Groundwater in western Kansas is a precious commodity. Hays and Russell are back in court to defend a plan to transfer water from a ranch in another county. Western Kansas towns see the writing on the walls. Water is growing more scarce in the region, and for some of the people who live and work there, it’s a problem that needs to be addressed today. Communities are already pouring resources into it, like water transfer projects, water recycling and aquifer recharge attempts. But, as some towns have learned, water is a hard thing to share in the semi-arid area, and courts are struggling to balance precedents and statues.
Read more: The Iola Register

When Matt Rehder arrived in Iola in 2021, he inherited a daunting to-do list and nearly five years later, the city administrator is steadily checking it off. Matt Rehder likely doesn’t need a crystal ball when it comes to 2026. That’s because when Rehder began as Iola city administrator in 2021, the position came with a to-do list. Develop more housing. Rebuild U.S. 54. Replace aging infrastructure. Bring in more business. Rehder laughs. Kind of. After all, that’s a pretty tall order. But in his almost five years in the position, he’s earned some notches in his belt.
Read more: The Iola Register

Governor Laura Kelly today announced that $6.7 million has been awarded to five Internet Service Providers through the latest round of the Broadband Acceleration Grant program. These awards will be matched with an additional $6.7 million in private and local investment, resulting in $13.4 million to expand high-speed internet access across eight rural Kansas counties. Together, these projects will deliver reliable service to approximately 1,068 households and businesses, many located in some of the state’s most underserved and hardest-to-reach areas.  
Read more: Press Releases Archives – Kansas Department of Commerce

Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland today announced the Office of Rural Prosperity at the Department of Commerce has awarded $337,833 in Strategic Economic Expansion and Development (SEED) grants, supporting 15 quality-of-life projects across Kansas. The awards leveraged more than $744,186 in local contributions, bringing the total investment available for the projects to almost $1.1 million. “Our small towns in Kansas are the heart of this state — they have character, history and most importantly, they have passion for growth,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “Investing in these projects provides opportunities for smaller, rural communities to make themselves more appealing to their current and future residents as well as attract potential new businesses.”
Read more: Kansas Department of Commerce

Gov. Laura Kelly and the Kansas City Chiefs today announced that an agreement has been reached to build a domed stadium and a mixed-use entertainment district, as well as a new team headquarters, training facility and mixed-use development in Kansas. The project will be a massive economic win for the state, with the construction phase alone creating over 20,000 jobs and $4.4 billion in economic impact for Kansas. From there, the stadium will bring over $1 billion in annual impact. The agreement includes two distinct parts: (1) a $3 billion stadium in Wyandotte County, which will open at the start of the 2031 NFL season; and (2) a new Chiefs headquarters and training facility in the City of Olathe in Johnson County. Both sites will have mixed-use developments that could include sports, entertainment, dining, shopping, office, hotel and residential properties.
Read more: Press Releases Archives – Kansas Department of Commerce

This past March, a wildfire caused by high winds and a smoldering brush pile tore through 130 acres in Yates Center, consuming the Yates Center Health and Rehabilitation Center, a senior living facility, and causing nearly $5 million in damage. All residents were safely evacuated, but their home burned to the ground. Dense stands of eastern red cedar trees near the building provided ample kindling for the blaze. “The fire jumped the road and got into the cedars,” Yates Center Fire Chief Brandon Gaulding told KOAM News. “It went through the cedars so fast that by the time we got to the nursing home, we tried to do everything we could to save it, but the wind was too much.” The highly flammable trees are everywhere in Kansas, including places they never used to grow.
Read more: The Iola Register

While much of the headlines have been toward the news the Kansas City Chiefs are coming to Kansas in 2031, a theme park based on Mattel products like Barbie and Hot Wheels also is in the works in Wyandotte County. A theme park spotlighting famous toys including the Barbie brand and Hot Wheels is slated to come to Kansas powered by the state’s sales tax incentive for major developments. Bonner Springs officials in October approved a large tax incentive package to help the $540 million development of Mattel Adventure Park in Wyandotte County. The park will be built near an entertainment district in Kansas City, Kansas. That area already features shopping and sports venues, and it will likely be the new home of the Kansas City Chiefs new $3 billion stadium.
Read more: The Iola Register

Crawford County IT Director Brandon Spaur presented the commissioners with the annual VMware maintenance renewal with a substantial increase in cost. In past years, the annual cost for cyber protection was $1,000 — this year, it skyrocketed to $13,680. Spaur said that one reason for the increase was the purchase of VMware by a larger corporation, BroadCloud, that requires a minimum core count purchase of 190. The county has only required 32. Core count is the amount of processing cores in a CPU and is an indication of how many tasks the CPU can handle simultaneously.
Read more: -Morning Sun

The $4 billion development anchored by a Kansas City Chiefs stadium will be made possible by a mammoth incentive district that spans two counties and will divert new sales tax revenue generated there for years to come. A preliminary version of the Sales Tax and Revenue, or STAR bond, district published by the Kansas Department of Commerce shows that essentially all of Wyandotte County and a broad swath of Johnson County will be included.
Read more: Wichita Eagle

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. 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 lawmakers and the Kansas City Chiefs announced an agreement Monday to move the football team’s facilities to the Sunflower State using a controversial funding mechanism called STAR bonds. The Kansas City, Kansas, stadium; Olathe headquarters and practice facility; and other development are expected to cost at least $4 billion. Wyandotte and Johnson county taxpayers, as well as visitors to the facilities, can expect their sales tax dollars to go toward these projects for decades to come.
Read more: Wichita Eagle

Two separate fires on Sunday night and Monday morning left five Kansas City, Kansas, firefighters hospitalized with injuries. Tuesday, the last two who had remained hospitalized were released. The firefighters all sustained serious injuries after the Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department responded to two separate second alarm structure fires within 12 hours, according to a news release from the department, including one in which three firefighters were hurt when the floor beneath them collapsed.
Read more: Kansas City Star

Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday will hold a work session on an updated draft affordable housing incentive policy that aims to increase development to meet the community’s needs and clarify the process, requirements and more for developers seeking city funds. Some projects receive funding through the city’s affordable housing trust fund, which comes from a special city sales tax. Lawrence voters in November 2024 approved doubling the affordable housing sales tax to one penny for every $20 spent in town. The funds have supported numerous projects over the past several years.
Read more: The Lawrence Times

Newton residents are far more satisfied with their City than their regional and national peers. Yet they also have a lower opinion of their city.
That’s according to the results of a city-wide survey conducted by Olsson Associates as part of Newton’s project to create a new comprehensive plan (Newton Next).
Read more: Harvey County Now

On Dec. 26, at approx. 1:30 p.m., Bentley Police Chief Tim Bryan was flagged down by an area resident, who related that there was an injured owl on his property. The man stated that the large owl could still fly a small distance and that hawks were beginning to attack it, sensing its ill health. The Bentley Police Department helped a resident with an injured owl and transported it to safety. The owl was located at the edge of a field near 16100 W 109th St. N. As the closest available game warden was in Sumner County, Bryan captured the bird, identifying it as a great horned owl, and observed it to have an eye and wing injury. The owl was then placed into a plastic pet carrier and transported to the Hutchinson Zoo for care. The Cargill WildCare Center at the Hutchinson Zoo is a certified rehabilitation center, with over 900 orphaned and injured Kansas animals taken there in 2025. They are also well-versed in raptor care and recognized across the area as a licensed partner in this effort.
Read more: Harvey County Now

As the chapter closes on an installment of local politics, David Kauffman feels honored and blessed to have been involved in the city government of Hesston. After 16 years as mayor, Kauffman did not run for re-election for the next term, opening the door for Susan Swartzendruber to take up the mantle. The mayoral position in Hesston does not have voting power, unless a tie needs to be broken; rather, it’s a position that stresses the procedural aspects of the monthly meetings. Before being mayor, Kauffman was elected to the city council.
Read more: Harvey County Now

This year marks the sesquicentennial-plus-four years birthday—or the 154th—of Newton. With that in mind, local organizations decided to celebrate the town’s birthday, possibly every year from now on—if this year’s event is successful. Those entities include the City of Newton and the Newton Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Read more: Harvey County Now

The temporary closure of a small jail in north-central Kansas highlights problems facing counties across the state, officials say. Cloud County Sheriff Ken Davis blamed a lack of competitive pay and the sudden resignation of three employees for the closure. But officials in other, larger counties said those problems aren’t exclusive to Cloud County.
Read more: KSN-TV

A new housing development will be built in Liberal. The City of Liberal is hosting a groundbreaking celebration in partnership with French Construction on Jan. 8 at 2 p.m. The new Doll Housing Addition will have 66 single-family homes. The homes will be built on East Hickory Street near Griffith Avenue.
Read more: KSN-TV

The City of Newton said two water towers will be getting a new look next year. At a recent meeting, city commissioners approved new designs for the towers on Spencer Road and West 17 Street. One tower will feature the City of Newton’s logo, and the other will feature the flag. The City of Newton said the paint project will help protect the towers against rust and extend their life.
Read more: KSN-TV

Sumner County has rejected a conditional use permit for a battery storage facility near Oxford. After hours of public comment on Tuesday, the Board of Commissioners voted 3-0 to deny the permit for an energy storage facility near Webb Road and Highway 160. Close to a hundred people were present to protest the project, and over two dozen people spoke in opposition, raising environmental concerns.
Read more: KSN-TV

A Garden City veteran lost a leg and his will to live after an accident with a train last summer. Thanks to the town’s fire marshal, he is now embracing life and trying to get back home. It’s been a long half-year of recovery for 88-year-old Garden City veteran Raymond Stroup, who lost a leg last summer after his car was hit by a train. “I’ve had a lot of discouraging thoughts,” Stroup said. After experiencing such a traumatic injury in his late 80s, Stroup was ready to give up on life, but Garden City Fire Marshal Gene Robertson, who met Stroup through the accident, wouldn’t accept that line of thinking from a hero.
Read more: KSN-TV

A metal swarm of eyes in the sky could soon by crowding the air in Wichita’s Old Town and downtown. The city council approved a $600,000 donation from QuikTrip to allow the Wichita Police Department to host a ‘drone hive’ on the roof of its Washington and Douglas location. WPD says the location is a hub for street racing downtown. They aim to improve response time and deter crime in the area, as it is densely populated and a ‘no chase’ zone, making drones ideal for following suspects without the same risks.
Read more: KSN-TV

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. 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.

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. 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.

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. 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.

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. 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.

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. 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.

The Kansas City Chiefs have informed administrative officials that they will announce their move to Kansas today, according to sources who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Read more: KC Star

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. 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.

SEK Animal Advocates rescued 29 cats outside a residence in Altoona last weekend. An Altoona woman, Carol Sharp, died in a car crash last week, leaving dozens of cats without care. Volunteers with SEK Animal Advocates, a non-profit foster-based dog and cat rescue, spent hours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday catching cats and setting traps for the more feral felines. By Sunday night, they had captured 29 cats, with more still in the area.
Read more: -The Morning Sun

The Girard Department has a new high-tech tool that may assist with situational awareness and fire safety. Earlier this month, the Girard Fire Department announced that it received a donation of an advanced, top-of-the-line drone. The drone was donated by Heather Scales, alongside her daughter Maddie, as the two gave the piece of equipment, which will help the Girard Fire Department in numerous ways such as providing an aerial perspective and delivering real-time data during an emergency. Scales is the daughter of the late Ronald E. “Pete” Scales. An active member of the SEK Chiefs Association along with the Crawford County Firefighters Association, which he served 13 years as president, Scales held the position of fire chief in Girard from 1985 until his retirement in 2009.
Read more: – The Morning Sun

Riley County Police Department will be solely responsible for enforcing animal-related ordinances as of Jan. 1 after entering a new contract with the city. The Riley County Law Enforcement Agency Board approved an agreement Monday for the city to transfer specialty vehicles and equipment for animal control needs. RCPD acknowledged and agreed that it will be the sole enforcement authority of animal-related ordinances within city limits. The Riley County Law Enforcement Agency Board approved the contract Monday in a 5-2 vote, with Barry Wilkerson and Kathryn Focke voting against.
Read more: News Radio KMAN

A new camera surveillance agreement will allow the Riley County Police Department to access city camera feeds in real time. Manhattan city commissioners approved the license agreement with RCPD and the Riley County Law Enforcement Agency Board on Tuesday. RCPD has a contract with the intelligence platform Axon Fusus to deploy a RealTime Intelligence Center program. Fusus allows RCPD to integrate with RCPD’s existing cameras and third party camera systems such as local business and now the city of Manhattan’s camera system, including its traffic cameras.
Read more: News Radio KMAN

A newly-approved compensation tool will bring a salary increase for most City of Arkansas City employees and create a more unbiased method of setting compensation. Finance director Jennifer Waggoner said implementation of the new structure will cost $259,399 in 2026 and was included in the budget. Human Resource Director Marla McFarland said the approach will determine the proper compensation level for a position and then consider a number of factors to determine the proper pay for each individual employee in that position.
Read more: www.ctnewsonline.com

Garden City Community College has announced the signing of a landmark Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with three fellow Western Kansas institutions: Colby Community College, Dodge City Community College and Seward County Community College. The agreement was officially signed Dec. 4 on GCCC’s campus, marking a historic moment for regional collaboration in higher education. The Western Kansas Consortium MOA strengthens partnerships among the four colleges and creates new opportunities to expand educational access, support workforce development, and maximize resources for students and communities across western Kansas and the state. For more than a century, the community colleges of western Kansas have each played a vital role in serving students and supporting local communities.
Read more: Dodge City Daily Globe

A southwestern Kansas county plans to sue the state for more than $2 million after nearly a decade of mistaken payments, mounting concern for democratic processes. Voters in Morton County, which borders the Oklahoma panhandle and Colorado, approved a countywide sales tax in 2015 that directed funds to their local hospital. But an early administrative error that the county tried to fix resulted in the Kansas Department of Revenue sending checks to the county’s cities, which spent the money.
Read more: www.emporiagazette.com

The only major grocery store in downtown Kansas City, Kansas will close its doors in less than two weeks. The announcement of The Merc Co+op, a community-owned grocery store, closing came as quite a hit for leaders trying to fill a food desert. The parking lot at 501 Minnesota Avenue was already a bit of a ghost town on Wednesday. Mostly empty shelves and freezers inside likely play a part. Dedric Moore was there in 2020 when they cut the ribbon on Downtown KCK’s Merc Co+op. “It was a big step for the community that we were going to have a grocery store down here in this area that had been a food desert for ages,” he said. Merc Co+op announced in July that it was closing the KCK location at the end of the year and concentrating on operations in Lawrence.
Read more: FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV

When Gallery Mostaza came to downtown Newton, promoters of the city’s core hoped to have scored a coup. The hand-thrown pottery store had a history of drawing crowds to Harper, Kansas, with its events. Yet the question remained: could it do the same in Newton? Anecdotally, that answer following its October pumpkin event was very much yes. The store sold a huge amount of goods, saw lines at opening, and resulted in a downtown that looked much fuller than normal. Businesses reported upticks. With its big Christmas event scheduled, businesses in the downtown organized and remained open for their own events. The result: a success, and now the City of Newton has the data to prove it.
Read more: Harvey County Now

A program that gives property tax relief to eligible low-income homeowners in Johnson County is headed for a major expansion that is intended to open it up to more people next year. County commissioners last Thursday voted to remove the 65-and-older age restriction and disabled veteran requirement while also increasing the maximum home value to qualify for the county property tax relief program. A qualifying home’s value can now be no more than $500,000 next year, an increase from $384,600 currently. However, the income eligibility remains at or below the “very low” benchmarks set by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Those income limits vary depending on the number of family members.
Read more: Johnson County Post

When the city of Gardner in eastern Kansas ordered Aspen Place apartments closed for unsafe living conditions last May, Candice Montgomery came home to a frantic neighborhood. She and other residents of the Gardner housing complex only had 48 hours to leave their homes. “It was total chaos,” Montgomery said. “My neighbors are everywhere, people are crying. My elderly neighbors didn’t know what they were going to do.” Gardner officials had warned the owners of the property dozens of times that the apartments were not safe, largely because of water and sewage issues. The final straw came when a firetruck sank into a street in the complex while responding to an emergency. The city condemned the property the next day, and hundreds of tenants were homeless because their landlord failed to act.
Read more: KLC Journal

A new pharmacy residency program is being developed at the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas with the goal of training and retaining pharmacists in rural communities. The community-based, postgraduate year one residency is currently working toward accreditation through the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
Read more: www.koamnewsnow.com

As last-minute shoppers crowd Wichita stores before Christmas, police are stepping up patrols, which includes officers on horseback as part of an effort to crack down on shoplifting. Mounted officers can see over crowds, spot suspicious behavior faster, and respond quickly if someone tries to make a run for it. While some shoppers are rushing from store to store, others are stopping to notice something a little different. “Our kids love animals. When they were pulling in, we saw them, and we said, ‘Hey kids, look at the horses,’” said Rader. Those horses belong to the WPD’s mounted patrol unit. They are deployed during the holiday season to help prevent theft and keep an eye on busy parking lots.
Read more: KSN-TV

The Morton County attorney and the county commissioners want a new sheriff in town. County Attorney David Thompson and the Board of County Commissioners released a joint statement Thursday saying Sheriff Thad Earls and his staff have refused to resign. So they want the attorney general to step in and force Earls out of office. The officials said in a news release that their grounds for the ouster are misconduct and neglect of duty.
Read more: KSN-TV

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly issued a state of disaster emergency declaration impacting the entirety of the Sunflower State. Kelly issued the declaration for all 105 counties in Kansas on Dec. 17. She cited delays in the delivery of propane for heating purposes as the cause for the declaration. “As every Kansan knows, our winters can become dangerously cold at times,” Kelly said. “We want to make sure every person has access to a steady supply of heating fuel throughout the winter months, particularly those in rural areas who depend on propane to warm their homes.”
Read more: KSN-TV