Municipal News & Jobs

Wichita school district leaders have given an initial go-ahead to put another bond issue to voters next year. The amount and details of a bond have not been decided. But school board members during a workshop Thursday approved a tentative two-year budget plan that would keep the district’s mill levy flat and seek a bond vote in November 2026. Addi Lowell, chief financial officer for Wichita schools, said another bond issue is the only reasonable way to finance needed repairs and upgrades, and the timeline would work in the district’s favor.
Read more: Wichita Kansas Local News, Crime & More |

Hand-carved signs welcome motorists to Arkansas City. Few people realize how much work went into the three new stone welcome signs at the entrances to Arkansas City. The wording and the logo are not just painted on, everything is actually carved into the stone, and all of that work was done by hand. Craig Wilson of Mulvane and his apprentice, Laura Macias, did the carving on all three of the stone signs that welcome visitors to Ark City. Wilson said once the design was completed and given to them, they drew it on the stone using a stencil that was provided by the designer.
Read more: www.ctnewsonline.com – RSS Results

Under K.S.A. 12-757, if owners of 20 percent of the total real property within specified distances from land to be rezoned sign a protest petition, the governing body must approve the rezoning by a supermajority. If a protesting owner is a tenant in common or a joint tenant with right of survivorship in a relevant tract, their signature requires that acreage proportionate to their ownership interest within the specified distance be counted toward the 20 percent needed for a successful protest petition.
Read more: Kansas Court of Appeals

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.

Property maintenance director John Schardine said the city doesn’t like to have condemned properties on the books for long if it can be avoided. “We always like to lift the condemnations as quick as possible,” Schardine said. “So, once the occupants are out of that house, there’s really no reason to condemn it, unless it’s unsafe. So, if it’s a structure violation, yeah, we’re going to keep it condemned until it’s brought into compliance. “But if it’s a just a utility issue with sanitation, we will get the folks out. We’ll secure it. We’ll tell the owner he’s got to keep it secured and then we can lift the condemnation.”
Read more: CJonline

An online public opinion survey indicated 58% supported the initiative, with 40% opposed and 2% no opinion. Overland Park, Prairie Village, Salina, El Dorado, WaKeeney, Pratt and Goodland are among the Kansas cities that allow chickens.
Read more: Hays Post

First responders from Ellinwood and Great Bend spent more than four hours in the July heat Wednesday afternoon during a water tower rescue operation… A water cleaning crew was doing routine maintenance inside the water tower. He fell while inside the tower… it was an extensive extrication just because of the height and all the technical rescue that goes into that.
Read more: Great Bend Post

The Abilene City Commission voted to hire Jon Quinday during a special meeting June 26. Quinday began his role July 1.
Read more: Abilene RC

The additional revenue would primarily fund street and sidewalk projects outlined in the city’s capital improvement plan.
Read more: Abilene RC

City Manager Scarlette Diseker said “this is a great attraction for our community – it’s not only for the residents who live here, but also for people who are passing through.”
Read more: Liberal First

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 unemployment rate in Emporia has shot up to 5.7% in May of this year according to the Kansas Department of Labor. Struggles for many Emporians to retain and find jobs can be traced back to layoffs of workers at the Michelin and Tyson plants, along with the closure of Holiday Resort.
Read more: www.emporiagazette.com – RSS Results in news,government/*

The Holcomb Police Department has announced its brand-new Bike Patrol Unit. This is a proactive step toward enhancing community engagement, improving public safety, and increasing officer visibility in neighborhoods, parks, and public events. The Bike Patrol Unit is designed to strengthen the department’s presence in areas that are difficult to patrol by vehicle and foster stronger relationships between officers and community members. Officers on bike patrol will be able to respond quickly in crowded areas, navigate tight spaces, and engage more personally with residents.
Read more: Garden City Telegram

The North Newton City Council decided to offer a retention bonus to fill the town’s police department sergeant position that has been vacant for years. “To be more competitive and get more applications, the council authorized a signing and retention bonus up to $10,000 for the position,” City Administrator Bradley Harris said. The council was fine with the amount, but discussion centered around the retention schedule, Harris said. The position has been unfilled for close to three years, Harris said.
Read more: Harvey County Now

Mayor Dennis Travis was absent, as were council members Denice Klassen and Shawna Will. The No BESS crowd was modest, but no one spoke at the public forum during Halstead’s City Council meeting on Monday evening. Yet, the most significant action to date was taken by the council relating to the battery energy storage system. With a unanimous 3-0 vote, the council approved a resolution providing a temporary moratorium on BESS over 80 kilowatt hours (kWh) within city limits until Jan. 1, 2028.
Read more: Harvey County Now

A federal lawsuit filed earlier this year with the aim of stopping NextEra Energy Resources’ plans to place a 5,000-acre solar farm in southwestern Jackson County has been dismissed by a federal judge who said that the plaintiffs in the case lacked the standing to sue, it has been reported.
Read more: The Holton Recorder

Electric-vehicle battery production is underway at Panasonic’s $4 billion plant in De Soto. The manufacturing facility at 10301 Astra Parkway is Panasonic’s second U.S. plant and its largest production facility so far. Panasonic anticipates the De Soto plant will boost its U.S.-based production capacity to approximately 73 gigawatt hours.
Read more: Kansas City Business Journal – Local Kansas City News

As part of building the multibillion-dollar facility, Panasonic officials said they hoped to hire 4,000 workers to fill the new 4.7 million square foot factory in De Soto. So far, the company has hired 1,100 employees and anticipates to fill 2,000 positions by next year, all helping build the lithium ion batteries that power electric vehicles.
Read more: Local Kansas City Missouri & Kansas News |

The rapid expansion of wild pig populations, and the destruction they bring, is one of rural America’s greatest threats. Spurred by rabbit-like reproductive rates, the nation’s feral pig numbers have grown from an estimated 2 million to as many as 9 million animals during the past 20 years. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the annual damage to agriculture nationwide by the four-legged rototillers is estimated at $2.5 billion. Damage to wildlife habitat, wetlands and anything earthen, such as runways and important flood-control dikes, may add another billion in damages. Kansas was not immune to the spread of wild pigs. Like Missouri, its first sounders appeared in the mid-1990s. Within 10 years, problem populations were scattered nearly border to border.  Most assumed Kansas would soon be overrun by wild swine. Kansas, in just a few years, became the first state to drastically reduce feral swine populations statewide, thanks to innovative, yet somewhat controversial, methods.
Read more: KLC Journal

Students at Winfield High School will face new rules this year aimed at reducing distractions and improving safety, school officials said. The biggest change is a ban on cell phones, smartwatches, and AirPods during the school day. School leaders say the constant use of personal technology has made it harder for students to focus and learn.
Read more: KSN-TV