Kansas Municipal News
Torline creates collection brick by brick
North Newton resident John Torline, all in all, just wants to put another brick in the wall. But he doesn’t want to do that to oppress people, as the Pink Floyd song implies. He just wants to do it for his brick collection. The wall on the back of the Torlines’ outdoor freestanding fireplace contains various bricks from different Kansas towns, all with writing on them. One says, “Don’t Spit on Sidewalk.” “When I was growing up, my oldest cousin built a fireplace in Wichita,” Torline said. “He used bricks from brick factories that were from Kansas. Just about every town in southeast Kansas and southwest Missouri—about every little town had brick factories.”
Source: Harvey County Now
70 years ago downtown KCK was a shopping entertainment hub. How has it changed?
Years ago, the “other” Kansas City — the one in Kansas — had its own busy downtown. Though less grand than its Missouri cousin, a stretch of Minnesota Avenue west of 7th Street was lined for decades with shops, banks, theaters and eateries. The addition of the towering Town House Hotel came in 1951, which attracted celebrities performing in the area like country singer Patsy Cline. She stayed there the night after her concert at Memorial Hall. Sadly, it was her last one. Cline died in a plane crash on the way back to Nashville A view of the same scene in 2023 shows some storefronts and the tall tower still standing in the background — it’s now a home for seniors.
Source: KC Star Local News
50,000 people will flood into small Kansas town of Wamego on Tuesday
In the Pyro Crew’s planning lair — location undisclosed for security reasons — Chris Hupe produced a layout of the launch site and spread it out across a long table. He stood over the map like a general, stabbing a thick finger at various white squares. “Each of these boxes by themselves could be a small fireworks show,” Hupe said. “We have 81 of them.” He rattled off some more stats: a 225,000-square-foot site, 12,000 pounds of fireworks, 2,051 electronically triggered events, 800 hand-lit shells, 25 “dragons” that throw columns of flames 30 feet in the air. … On Tuesday evening, it will add up to Boomtown, a free pyrotechnic extravaganza that rockets the population of Wamego — a town otherwise best known for its Oz Museum — from 5,000 to something like 50,000 every Independence Day. Families arrive not just from neighboring towns but neighboring states to witness a 30-minute Fourth of July fireworks show that’s among the largest and most ambitious in the Midwest.
Source: Kansas City Star
Newton approves U.S. Golf Adaptive Open
Newton’s Sand Creek Station Golf Course will host the U.S. Golf Association’s Adaptive Open Championship in the coming year. The event will feature 96 men and women, in eight different impairment categories, to compete in the event. “We are here because we have a good partnership here,” said Greg Sanfilippo, senior director of championships for the U.S. Golf Association. “We’ve been here; we’ve done this. We’ll have an awesome championship here, should we be able to do that here in 2024.” Newton hosted the USGA Amateur Links Championship in 2014. The adaptive championship will take place in the second week of July 2024.
Source: Harvey County Now
Municipal Bond Trends for June 26, 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.
Love of comics, cosplay marks 2023 Smallville Comic Con in Hutchinson
The Smallville Comic Con wrapped up another successful convention this past weekend for the 2023 gathering. This year marked the tenth anniversary of the convention, and many came to celebrate. …. “I think with (the con) being this far out west, it gives the chance for everybody around the community, the smaller towns, to actually be able to come in and enjoy the nerdy community,” [Wichita visitor] Ocelot said. “I always do a DC cosplay when I come here.”
Source: Hutch News
Hutchinson’s first Chalk the Town event will include activities, demonstrations
A Hutchinson artist and long-term substitute teacher has inspired a movement. Kara Vaughn, a local artist and long-term substitute teacher in Hutchinson Schools, is working in partnership with Downtown Hutch and the City of Hutchinson to launch the 2023 Chalk the Town event. Vaughn, who draws cartoonish chalk paintings on sidewalks, has garnered more than 30 million views on TikTok and around 400,000 followers. Vaughn had posted her drawings on TikTok (under Varakaughn).
Source: Hutch News
Eudora chooses interim city manager to take over top City Hall spot in growing community
As the city of Eudora gets ready to grow outward, it has looked inward to fill its top City Hall position. The Eudora City Commission on Monday agreed to hire Kevyn Gero as the community’s next city manager. Gero, a former city of Lawrence administrator, has been the assistant city manager in Eudora for about two years, and has been serving as Eudora’s interim city manager for the last six months. “Those six months in our interim role really cemented it for us,” Eudora Mayor Tim Reazin said in a brief interview with the Journal-World. … Prior to joining the Eudora city staff, Gero had worked for more than nine years in Lawrence City Hall. She had served as a management analyst in the city Municipal Services and Operations department, and also played a key role in obtaining accreditation for the Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical department.
Source: LJWorld
Restoring history: Walton changing Stone Building into community center
Dean Davis has helped save buildings for much of his career with the Newton Fire/EMS Department and Walton Fire Department. Now he and Walton residents are working to save a building for the town in quite another way, although that building had a fire in it in 1958. Davis worked for the Newton Fire/EMS Department for 25 years, retiring as deputy fire chief, and also served 55 years with the Walton Fire Department. At Walton, Davis is on the fire board and does a lot of the fire department’s paperwork.
Source: Harvey County Now
McPherson looks to add to make water supply more sustainable
Turning on a faucet and having clean water is something most don’t think twice about but having that easy access is something the staff at the McPherson board of Public Utilities are always thinking about. Chris Unruh, a project manager with BPU says, “There’s a lot that really goes into supplying safe drinking water, being able to provide water for recreational purposes and continue to provide that reliability.” Right now the city is pulling more water from its main source, the Equus Bed aquifer, than is sustainable long term according to BPU general manager Josh Bedel. “The Kansas geological survey did a study years ago and they calculated a safe yield of 10,000 acre feet a year and currently we’re sitting close to 12,000 acre feet a year,” said Bedel. He says water levels are declining about half a foot each year.
Source: KAKE – News
Kansas to receive federal funding for high-speed internet access
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly said Monday that the state will receive $451.7 million in federal funding to support the construction of broadband infrastructure to provide access to high speed internet across the state. The governor said the funding will help in moving toward a goal of becoming a top ten state for broadband access by 2030. This investment is being made through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program as part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The BEAD Program, which is led by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) office at the U.S. Department of Commerce, will provide a total of $42.45 billion to State Broadband Offices to expand broadband to unserved areas across the country.
Source: 101.3 KFDI
This years Great Lenexa BBQ Battle championship was unusually close
The 2023 Great Lenexa BBQ Battle finished in a near dead heat, as the 41st annual event concluded with Damn Fine Beef and Swine from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, being crowned Grand Champion, and taking home the Grand Prize of $3,000. Head Chef Ryan Cain had to overcome stifling heat on Saturday, and collected his second Grand Champion finish since he and his wife, Kim, began competing three years ago in barbecue competitions around the Midwest. They bested 168 other competing teams in what officials from the Kansas City Barbeque Society referred to as perhaps the best and biggest event in the Midwest.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Grant Opportunity: Engaging Placemaking for Innovative Communities (EPIC)
EPIC 2023 is a pilot program funded by the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission at the Kansas Department of Commerce and the Patterson Family Foundation. EPIC is an opportunity for arts-driven community development projects designed to connect cross-sector local and regional stakeholders. EPIC provides technical assistance, funding, and mentorship through planning and execution.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Pittsburg Kite Festival takes off July 1
Ten thousand kites are making their way to Pittsburg all the way from India for Pittsburg’s first ever Kite Festival, scheduled for Saturday, July 1. This high-flying adventure will take place from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm at Pittsburg High School. Sponsored by Al Patel with Pitt Discount Liquor and Pitt Discount Smokes along with Chirag Patel with the Pittsburg Dairy Queen, this new event is partnering with the Pittsburg Parks & Recreation Department and is free to attend. Patel is providing a kite and thread for all participants. Food trucks will also be set up at the festival for those who wish to purchase food.
Source: City of Pittsburg
Kansas Receives $451.7 Million for High Speed Broadband Infrastructure
Governor Laura Kelly announced today that Kansas will receive $451.7 million in funding to support broadband infrastructure construction to connect all Kansans, ensuring access to high-speed internet across the state. … This investment is made possible through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program as part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The BEAD Program, which is led by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) office at the U.S. Department of Commerce, will provide a total of $42.45 billion to State Broadband Offices to expand broadband to unserved areas across the country. … In anticipation of this funding, the Kansas Office of Broadband Development is completing work on strategic plans for broadband access and digital equity. Data is still being collected to better understand broadband needs, in order to deploy this funding efficiently. The Kansas Office of Broadband Development is encouraging Kansans to complete a speed test and participate in the process. To participate, residents should visit the official website, broadbandks.com, where they can complete a quick and simple online speed test. This test, which only takes a few minutes, will provide valuable data on internet connectivity throughout the state.
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
Motel owners seek city help to reopen
The Town House Motel in downtown Arkansas City may soon be back in business. The affordable motel which evolved into long-term, low-income housing for some residents, closed in December of 2020. Two of the building owners, Raju Sheth and Hasu Bhakta, approached city commissioners during a work session Friday to discuss reopening the motel. Sheth said that he had been working with building official Mike Bellis with plans to revamp and reopen the facility. A big holdup has been getting an electrician to come and make the necessary wiring improvements.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
Hotel Topeka not fully in city’s hands just yet
The City of Topeka is in the process of finalizing its deal to take over Hotel Topeka. The city won an online auction bid earlier this month to acquire the hotel at $7.6 million. At the time, a city spokeswoman told KSNT 27 News that officials were finalizing the purchasing documents, then the sale would be final. After asking for a status update Thursday morning, the sale is not yet final. “Because Hotel Topeka at City Center is in receivership, the purchase has to be approved by the court. That is unlikely to occur until late July. We do not expect to have an update on whether or not the sale is final until that time.”- (Gretchen Spiker, Director of Communications for the City of Topeka) Spiker also said a request for proposals went out recently that will help the city evaluate the hotel facilities. The city previously expressed it wants to work with private partners and industry experts to develop the property. Topeka’s governing body first expressed interest in purchasing Hotel Topeka after learning it was going up for auction.
Source: KSNT 27 News
City of Readings reach continues to grow with evolution of annual Tornado Trot and Trail
What originally began as a benefit for a community impacted by a natural disaster has grown into an event with an incredible reach far beyond just the local area. The 11th annual Reading Tornado Trot and Trail took place at Reading Park Saturday morning with right around 100 participants either running or riding the route. Organizer Jan Briggs says this was easily one of the largest turnouts they have had for the event in recent memory. The Trot and Trail began back in 2011 as a benefit for the community following an EF-3 tornado that damaged the town and killed one person. Most recently the event has grown and evolved into a fundraiser benefiting Handlebars of Hope. Handlebars of Hope is a charitable organization that provides free bikes for disadvantaged residents both locally and in Mexico. Briggs says by supporting Handlebars the community now gets to play a major role in impacting the lives of so many far beyond their borders.
Source: KVOE Emporia Radio
Wichita police use surveillance cameras to help find arrest shooting suspect in Oklahoma
Police used the Flock Safety license plate reader surveillance system to help find a 45-year-old Wichita man in Oklahoma after he was accused of shooting someone in the middle of the street in broad daylight at 18th and Chautauqua. Jeremi Mothershed will be extradited to Wichita. He has been charged with felon in possession of a firearm and aggravated battery, police said Friday. Police took the suspect vehicle description and used Flock to find a white Audi headed south toward Oklahoma. The vehicle and license plate were then relayed to law enforcement in Oklahoma. Mothershed was arrested by Norman police and booked into the jail on an unrelated charge. He had a 9mm handgun with him, Wichita police said. The shooting in Wichita happened just after 2:50 p.m. June 6 at 18th and Chautauqua. It left a 28-year-old critically injured with a gunshot wound in the upper left leg.“At the time of the incident, officers only knew that the victim was walking around the intersection … when he got into a verbal argument with a male suspect driving a white vehicle when the suspect produced a handgun and shot the victim,” police said in a news release.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Wellington City Council approves $18,974 for the purchase of 20 point-blank ballistic vests
The Wellington City Council met Tuesday to clear their desks of routine purchases and resolutions before the July holiday. The first resolution of the evening completed a request from the Wellington Police Department to purchase 20 point-blank AXBIIIA ballistic vests for $18,974.40. Ballistic vests have a shelf life of five years, and this bid came in at $4,000 under budget. Police Chief Tracy Heath also stated that he would apply for a Department of Justice grant to reimburse the City for half of the cost. After that, the council approved the resolution unanimously.
Source: Sumner NewsCow