Kansas Municipal News
“It’s figuring out who needs it the most”: Reno County community teams up to help distribute COVID-19 vaccine
Kansas is preparing for the next step in the vaccination effort. Hutchinson Regional Health Care leaders are getting ready for their next shipment of vaccines. Vice president for Hutchinson Regional Health Care, Chuck Welch says they have already vaccinated all 256 frontline workers in their facility. Their next step is looking at those who will need the vaccine first. At this point Hutchinson health has received doses of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine. Last week they received a dose of 850 Moderna vaccine. Welch says he hopes by the end of the month they will be able to start vaccinating people 65 and older. “So now we will move to the 65 and older and the folks who are the most vulnerable if they are exposed and their life expectancies are not necessarily great with them,” said Welch.
Source: KSN-TV
Expert says Kansas’ economic outlook is ‘not good,’ fears worst is yet to come
As some Kansans continue to face financial hurdles, Dr. Donna Ginther, an economic and social policy researcher at the University of Kansas, said she fears the worst is yet to come. “January is going to be bleak in a number of ways,” Ginther said in an interview Thursday. The unemployment rate in Kansas is back on the rise at 5.6%, leading to many frustrated claimants. This has led to more food and housing insecurity, with more than one-third of Kansas households with children not being able to make rent, Ginther said. Without some forbearance on foreclosures and evictions, the state may see a homeless crisis, according to Ginther. She noted that part of that is linked to the end of the economic stimulus programs. A new stimulus bill is needed to get people the help they need, she said.
Source: KSN-TV
Sedgwick County Sheriff pushing for vaccines for deputies, jail medical staff
As vaccines continue to roll out, the Sedgwick County Jail is asking when will they see a shipment? “We’re getting no direction from them whatsoever in fact we’re having a hard time even communicate with them they don’t return a lot of emails,” said Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter. He says his staff has spent the last month and a half asking KDHE for an update for the COVID-19 vaccines. “The fact of the matter is inside the jail is a lot different environment than anywhere else,” Sheriff Easter explained
Source: KSN-TV
Lenexa Fire Using Digital Alerts for Road Safety
Every day, the Lenexa Fire Department responds to emergencies on roads and highways in and around our community. While risk is always a part of the job, roadside incidents are especially dangerous for fire crews. Struck-by collisions are the leading cause of death for firefighters in the field, and according to respondersafety.com, 46 emergency responders have already died in 2020 after being struck on the road during an emergency response. “People typically think structure fires are the most dangerous thing we do,” said Lenexa Fire Department Battalion Chief Bob Welch, “but the reality is, our safety is significantly compromised when we’re working an emergency incident on an interstate or other high traffic road, even for the most minor incidents.”
Source: What’s New News Summary
Roeland Park adopts ‘safe and welcoming’ ordinance that limits police’s work with ICE
The Roeland Park City Council this week adopted a much-discussed ordinance regarding immigration that, among other things, puts new limits on how the city will work with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Advocates have cast the ordinance as a “self and welcoming” measure that will help build trust between the city and Roeland Park’s immigrant community. A similar ordinance is on the books already in neighboring Wyandotte County and has been discussed in other Kansas cities, including Lawrence.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Lowest Muni Bond Yields Aided Covid-19 Recovery
State and local governments can reap the benefits just when they need money most. When the coronavirus pandemic struck the U.S. in early March, among the first reported casualties was the $3.9 trillion market for states and local governments. The yield on municipal debt sold by almost 2,000 borrowers with more than 55,000 outstanding securities hovered at 1.14%, the lowest since at least 1979, when the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Municipal Index began compiling data. … All told, states and local governments this year will match or exceed the decade-high $478 billion of new offerings in 2016. That’s because the appetite for tax-exempt securities shows no signs of abating when the yield on municipal debt remains relatively high.
Source: Bloomberg.
How Muni Bonds Fared in 2020 and What to Expect in 2021
Municipal bonds fared better than expected throughout 2020 despite the global pandemic and subsequent impact on state and local government budgets. With record issuance and strong investor interest, muni bonds posted robust performance during the year and their yields have largely normalized since disruptions in March.
Source: Municipalbonds
With COVID causing Kansas hospital capacity issues, patient transfers can take hours
With the coronavirus pandemic causing capacity issues and staffing problems at Kansas hospitals, many patients at rural facilities are waiting hours to be transferred to bigger medical centers. “We will sometimes have to make 10, 15, 20 calls to find bed availability,” said Dr. Richard Watson of Cheyenne Mountain Software, which is working with smaller Kansas hospitals on the logistics of patient transfers. “There have been times where we have had no beds available in Kansas.” When that happens, they look for beds in Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri, Colorado and Texas.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
At end of ‘extreme’ year, Prairie Village approves 1.5% bonus for city employees
The Prairie Village City Council has approved a 1.5% end-of-year bonus for all city employees, citing their work during the coronavirus pandemic, along with a roughly $1.4 million projected 2020 budget surplus. The bonus is based on city employees’ 2020 base salaries and the payouts will total roughly $101,250, according to council documents. The move was approved at Monday’s city council meeting. Mayor Eric Mikkelson said city employees merited the bonus because they had “made extraordinary sacrifices to keep our city running smoothly this year.”
Source: Prairie Village Post
Sedgwick County gets first doses of coronavirus vaccine
Officials with Sedgwick County says the county’s first allocation of the coronavirus vaccine has arrived. The county is using guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) to determine who gets the vaccine. The first doses are going to health department workers who take samples from people who might have the coronavirus. EMS personnel are also among those getting the first doses.
Source: KSN-TV
Horton police chief to retire at end of the year
The City of Horton announced Tuesday Police Chief John Calhoon will retire on Dec. 31. Calhoon is not only Chief of Police but also works as City Administrator. After 35 and a half years of working in law enforcement, he will retire from his chief position, but will remain with the City of Horton as the City Administrator.
Source: KSNT News
Municipal Bond Trends for December 22, 2020
The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. Every issuer’s credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.
Across Kansas, communities getting creative with federal COVID-19 relief funds
In northern Lawrence, the city set up 20 white and gray tents in a park to house people who are homeless. It’s not health care or COVID-19 tests, but federal coronavirus tax dollars are paying for the camp. “If we put our homeless population into the shelter, there’s a higher chance that they’ll get the virus and then they’ll spread it across the community,” Douglas County Commission Chair Patrick Kelly said. The camp marks but one example of the creative ways communities are using the federal money. They scrambled to spend the cash before a deadline at the end of December, but Congress is now giving them more time. Restrictions also mean that money can’t go to some of the top priorities in local budgets.
Source: LJWorld.com.
Lawrence police department marks ‘historic occasion’ with opening of its nearly $20M headquarters
Wearing dress uniforms complete with white gloves, Lawrence police department command staff unfolded the U.S. flag and sent it slowly up the flagpole in front of the department’s new headquarters Monday, officially marking the building’s opening. In the crowd gathered along the road in front of the nearly $20 million headquarters were former police chiefs, city staff members, city commissioners and other local leaders. Interim Police Chief Capt. Anthony Brixius thanked all those who worked on and supported the project, and he said the building and the long-discussed goal of uniting police staff under one roof would benefit the department and the community. “This is such a historic occasion for us, and it will forever change the way that we are able to serve our community,” Brixius said.
Source: LJWorld.com.
“I can’t imagine”: Rural hospitals and staff straining as they fight COVID-19
Hospital workers in northeast Kansas are being strained as they battle the coronavirus, including those working in rural hospitals. Lacey Niehues is the nurse manager for the Community HealthCare System in rural Onaga. Her nurses work in multiple departments, unlike larger healthcare facilities. “Our nurses are taking care of not just the floor patients or the patients that are on the medical floor,” Niehues said. “They also take care of the ER patients, the outpatients, the OB patients. Our nurses, they wear many hats.”
Source: KSNT News
Rose Hill FD receives state aid
Through the efforts of the SPARK (Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas) Task Force, Butler County Fire District #3 was able to purchase and install the following equipment – to address health and economic challenges inflicted by COVID – at Fire Station #1 in Rose Hill using $38,041.94 in state funds. “With this equipment, we will be able to provide additional protection to our firefighters from the COVID-19 virus by having the ability to wash contaminated turnout gear and to also perform respirator fit tests to ensure respirators fit each firefighter properly,” said Fire Chief Kevin Webster.
Source: Derby Informer | Area
Douglas County dissolves drug enforcement unit
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is ending operation of a special drug-focused unit, calling its structure outdated as the department moves away from focusing on “low-level users.” Sheriff’s office spokesman Jenn Hethcoat told the Lawrence Journal-World that the decision to dissolve the unit that works with Lawrence police was finalized in November. Hethcoat says the office will continue to operate a special investigative unit but with a focus on crimes related to drug activity, “not low-level users who would benefit more directly from behavioral health support than incarceration.”
Source: KSN-TV
Governor Kelly to deliver State of the State Address virtually
Governor Kelly is planning a virtual presentation of the annual State of the State Address to the Kansas Legislature. In a press release, the Governor’s Office said the address would be delivered virtually to ensure the safety and well-being of the Legislative Branch, Judicial Branch and Executive Branch, along with the guests of the attendees. Governor Kelly said the coronavirus pandemic has changes many traditions, and with case numbers continuing to increase, gathering the entire Legislature and Supreme Court Justices into one chamber would be an unnecessary risk to their health and safety.
Source: Country 101.3 KFDI
Missouri offered double the incentives, but Urban Outfitters chose to build in Kansas
When Kansas City lost its bid to land a massive Urban Outfitters distribution center this summer, Mayor Quinton Lucas wrote to city staff, congratulating the negotiating team for holding the line when negotiating incentives with the company. The mayor said the Port Authority of Kansas City, which led those talks, was determined to “not give away the farm,” even with competition from other cities. What was not publicly known at that time were details of the various incentive packages offered on opposite sides of the state line. In Kansas City, Port KC offered about $125 million in total incentives to lure the $400 million project.
…
For years, the watchdog group Good Jobs First has tracked government incentives, arguing that they are overused and often ineffective. Executive Director Greg LeRoy said the Urban Outfitters example — in which the company selected the lower offer — is just further evidence of that. “It’s a textbook example of our mantra that incentives don’t matter. They rarely determine where companies expand or relocate,” he said. “And there’s a very clear reason why: in the broad scheme of things they’re too small.” LeRoy said state and local taxes represent just a tiny portion of a big company’s cost structure, so incentives are just icing on the cake, not usually foundational to making a project work.
Source: KC Star Local News
Sedgwick Historical Society honors police officers
When Dixie Parker Anderson grew up in Sedgwick in the late 1950’s and early 60’s, sometimes she had to go into the pool hall late at night to find her dad. She called it “embarrassing.” Anderson’s dad, Edward Parker, was the City of Sedgwick Marshal from 1946 until 1964, and in those days he didn’t have a radio in his car. One of the ways he received police related messages was through people calling his home and his wife or daughter relaying the message. The pool hall was the only place open late at night, according to Anderson. That made her dad easy to locate.
Source: Harvey County Now
Ark City police get special 150th anniversary badges
Arkansas City police officers were each gifted a limited series 150th Anniversary badge this holiday season. The City of Arkansas City turned 150 years old this year, and despite 2020 being a year in which celebrations could not physically take place, ACPD celebrated in its own fashion. “To celebrate and commemorate our city’s 150th anniversary, we have designed and had produced a special badge,” Police Chief Dan Ward said. “The old badge design and our current badge design were used to overlay and incorporate into one badge, which pays respect to the past and the present.”
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
Rural communities, first responders seeing increased need for suicide prevention
The coronavirus pandemic has been stressful for all of us. The federal government said it’s worse in rural communities. In rural communities, the rates of suicide and depression are higher than in suburbs and metro areas, according to the CDC. People live farther apart, internet access is limited and during the pandemic people in larger cities have relied heavily on the internet for entertainment and comfort. “The isolation is exacerbated times. I don’t even know what the number is,” said Denise Shelbee-Koch, a social worker in Jefferson County. Social workers like Shelbee-Koch said they see the effects in kids.
Source: KSNT News
Municipal Bond Trends for December 21, 2020
The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. Every issuer’s credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.
City of Topeka enhancing safety of Kansas River with new weir
In September, construction began to modify the existing river weir and banks of the Kansas River to enhance public safety, provide reasonable fish passage, improve navigation around the weir all while maintaining adequate upstream pool elevation for water intakes to the treatment plant. On Dec. 12, the contractor poured the first chute for the weir project, as well as creating a rock base for the second chute and basin. Limitations imposed by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism prohibit work in the river during the summer months to protect native fish, therefore the work is being broken down into two phases.
Source: KSNT News
Kansas officials hope to create new courts to help veterans
Officials in Kansas’ judicial system want to establish more special courts aimed at keeping veterans with behavioral, mental health or substance abuse issues out of prison. But The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that they are pursuing the idea amid the coronavirus pandemic and the state’s own budget problems. Johnson County established the state’s first veterans court in 2016, and it remains the only one in Kansas.
Source: KSN-TV
Despite pandemic limits, 12 kids still get presents this year in PV’s annual ‘Shop with a Cop’ event
In its 10th year, Prairie Village’s annual Shop with a Cop event was transformed to fit COVID-19 safety measures. Above, Chief Tim Schwartzkopf (far left) and Maj. Byron Roberson (far right) stand with Santa and the Grinch during the drive-thru event. The coronavirus pandemic put a stop to a number of annual events this year, but Prairie Village’s 10th annual “Shop with a Cop” wasn’t one of them. Police officers in the city normally take 10 or so children shopping for gifts for themselves and their loved ones, but with COVID-19 still prompting limits on many activities, the department took a different tack.
Source: Shawnee Mission Post
Kansas wind farm expansion brings more renewable energy to KC
Enel Green Power North America began operating a 199-megawatt expansion of the Cimarron Bend wind farm in Clark County, Kan., bringing power generation for the entire project up to 599 megawatts and making it the company’s largest renewable energy plant. The Cimarron Bend project was designed by Lenexa-based Tradewind Energy LLC, a brand that was retired after Enel Green Power acquired the company in March 2019. Enel acquired and built the Cimarron Bend project, about 20 miles south of Dodge City. The Kansas City Board of Public Utilities, which serves Kansas City, Kan., has a 20-year deal to buy about half of the power from Cimarron Bend. Google Inc. bought the other half, part of an initiative it has underway to eventually become 100% powered by renewable energy.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal – The Business Journals
Wellington City Clerk Carol Mericle retiring after 20-plus years
“City Clerk/Finance Director Carol Mericle is retiring on December 31. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we are not able to have a traditional celebration for her but we do have a couple of ways for you to help celebrate her successful 20+ years with the City of Wellington: … Mail cards to: City of Wellington, Attn: Carol Mericle, 317 S Washington, Wellington KS 67152. Let’s show her our appreciation for her service to the City and a job well done!”
Source: Sumner NewsCow
Municipal Bond Trends for December 18, 2020
The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. Every issuer’s credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.
Kitty City exhibit offers sidewalk viewing of ‘psychedelic’ cityscape filled with kittens
No matter what’s going on in the world around it, the sky is always blue and the sun is always out in Kitty City. The funky neon cityscape in the Lawrence Arts Center’s window has now served as the temporary home of multiple litters of kittens as they wait to be adopted. Its skyscrapers are decorated with feathers and connected by plastic tubes and catwalks, and passersby on the New Hampshire Street sidewalk can watch the city’s residents play — and even consider taking one of them home. It’s a collaborative effort between the Arts Center and the Lawrence Humane Society, and so far it’s helped the Humane Society find homes for several litters of kittens.
Source: LJWorld.com.
Wichita records largest earthquake in at least five years as multiple shakes hit area
The United State Geological Survey has reported a sixth earthquake in Wichita on Saturday. The latest was a 2.9 magnitude at 8:39 p.m. with an epicenter southeast of 13th and Rock. All six of the reported earthquakes have been in east Wichita and ranged in magnitude from a 2.5 to a 3.5. More than 200 people reported feeling the latest earthquake. Most were in Wichita but there were also reports of people feeling it in Texas, Tennessee and Iowa.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Market opens in Oxford
Oxford welcomed the new Hometown Market at the store’s grand opening Wednesday. Without a grocery store for the past year or more, Oxford residents had to drive either to Wellington, 10 miles west, or Winfield, 10 miles east to purchase groceries. Owners Beau and Stacie Gilliland thought the people in Oxford and surrounding area had a need for a grocery store, so in September, they began doing the paperwork, contacting suppliers and cleaning up the former grocery store building in Oxford. They live on Dalton Road and used the Oxford grocery frequently before it closed.
Source: The Arkansas City Traveler
Manhattan, Junction City home sales up 20.1% in 2020
Manhattan and Junction City home sales through November 2020 increased by 20.1% when compared to the same time period last year. Through November 2020, 1,701 homes have been sold, up 285 from 1,416 sold through November 2019, according to data from a Flint Hills Association of Realtors report for the area. This report takes multiple listing services and data from the Flint Hills Association of Realtors, including information combined from Manhattan and Junction City areas.
Source: Derby Informer | News
New courthouse trees ‘something Bill would have loved’
Cowley County will put up a stone in front of a maple tree by the courthouse to honor Bill Taylor, longtime county counselor, who died in 2012. “You can’t go through county records without seeing his name everywhere. He lives in our documents,” said county administrator Lucas Goff. “And it’s because of Bill that we had trees around the courthouse in the first place.” At a county commission meeting a number of years ago, Taylor said the county needed to put in trees around the courthouse itself, Goff said. The county planted several trees at that time. But the Kansas weather took a toll on the trees, Goff said, so they had to be taken out from the front of the courthouse this past year.
Source: The Arkansas City Traveler
Week after Thanksgiving was the worst of the pandemic in Sedgwick County, new data show
New data from the Sedgwick County Health Department show the week after Thanksgiving was the worst of the coronavirus pandemic. Both the rate of new cases and the positive test rate — two key indicators used to measure the spread of COVID-19 in the Wichita area community — spiked in the days following Thanksgiving. The health department’s latest recovery metrics report, dated Friday, shows a record-high positive test rate in Sedgwick County of 28.3% for the week of Nov. 29. The 3,668 new cases of COVID-19 and the resulting rate of 714.2 new cases per 100,000 people were also record highs for one week.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Bar owners spar with county officials over health orders
The Crawford County Commission heard concerns Friday from local bar owners about COVID-19 mitigation enforcement — the second time this week that they’ve received such complaints from at least one owner. Unlike Tuesday’s meeting, county health officials were present to address bar owners’ concerns and respond to them, which may have cleared up some of the issues raised. Other questions, however, appeared unresolved — with more restrictive rules for the general public rather than just business owners discussed as possible solutions.
Source: Pittsburg Morning Sun
Valley Center Public Schools getting onsite health clinic in 2021
An ongoing project that started three years ago for Valley Center Public Schools is finally coming to fruition in January 2021. The School district is opening a part-time medical clinic at Valley Center High School in mid-January. “For students and staff it’s just eliminating the drive into Wichita,” said University of Kansas School of Medicine Wichita Medical Practice Association Executive Director, Aaron Ryan. “We hope that leads to more preventive care visits, more timely visits, decreased time away from the classroom.”
Source: KSN-TV
Major changes on the horizon as Lawrence marks 20 years of citywide bus service
The city marked the transit system’s 20th anniversary this month, but the idea of a citywide bus system had been talked about long before the first buses went into service. By the time the City Commission approved spending property tax revenues for the service in 1999, which together with federal and state transportation funding got the service started, it had been a topic of discussion for more than a decade, according to newspaper archives. As with many government decisions, there were critics, but when the choice to continue funding the service with a special sales tax was put to voters in 2008 and again in 2017, the answer was a resounding yes.
Source: LJWorld.com.
Mayor dons cop uniform again at 72
Years after retiring as a full-time cop and city administrator, Marion mayor David Mayfield has plunged back into part-time police work. Mayfield, 72, now works part-time transporting prisoners for the sheriff’s office. “I’m a jail deputy,” Mayfield said. “It’s just prisoner transports.”… Mayfield has known sheriff Rob Craft for many years because both worked for the Kansas Highway Patrol and were trainers at KHP academy.
Source: HILLSBORO Star-Journal
New commission to benefit Belle Plaine
Following a vote in the 2020 general election, the community of Belle Plaine now has a formal Parks and Recreation Commission – a first for the city. While the community wasn’t lacking for recreational sports opportunities, Parks Advisory Board vice chairman Jessica Ferguson noted the entity behind those summer and fall leagues – the Belle Plaine Recreation Organization – was a volunteer group. Additionally, with a Parks Advisory Board instead of a Recreation Commission, the organization kept running into issues pursuing opportunities for the community.
Source: Derby Informer | Area
First doses of COVID-19 vaccine arrive in Cowley County
TThe first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine arrived at William Newton Hospital in Winfield on Wednesday, and will be administered to front line staff who directly care for or come in close proximity to COVID-19 positive patients. The hospital received around 145 doses of the vaccine at around 1 p.m. Wednesday and began giving them to employees on Thursday morning, according to an email from Cowley County Health Officer Tom Langer. The hospital also posted on its Facebook page Thursday morning that it had received the vaccine and begun administering it to workers.
Source: The Arkansas City Traveler
COVID-19 economic woes ‘crushing’ OP Convention Center, which projects $2.8 million loss in 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has crushed revenues at the Overland Park Convention Center this year, with officials now expecting to end the year with only about a third of the revenue and less than half the staff they had in 2019. “This pandemic has moved us back 20 years,” said Brett Mitchell, the center’s general manager. The numbers now more closely resemble how the center was doing its first year of operation, he told the city council’s Finance, Administration and Economic Development committee this week.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Supersonic planes to fly over Kansas on invisible racetrack seven miles high
Supersonic test flights are coming to Kansas with a deal signed between the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). The test flights will be on the new Kansas Supersonic Transporation Corridor (SSTC), an 886-mile invisible racetrack. The planes will fly at or above 39,000 feet, which is 7.3 miles above ground, in federal airspace. The SSTC is for non-military aircraft that fly faster than the speed of sound. … The deal is a collaborative effort involving U.S. Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas, the FAA, NASA, the Air Route Traffic Control Center and the National Institute of Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University. Moran says industry forecasts show a market for up to 300 supersonic aircraft over a 10-year period. It is unclear how soon testing could begin.
Source: KSN-TV
Dodge City police determine messages to former mayor weren’t direct threats, sent from out of state
The Dodge City Police Department completed an investigation into the alleged threats over a mask mandate received by former Mayor Joyce Warshaw. The investigation determined that the emails were sent by an out of state resident in response to an article he had read in an expression of displeasure because the city did not adopt a mask protocol sooner. The investigation of findings, which was reviewed by two prosecutors, showed that the messages received by Warshaw did not meet the elements required by Kansas Criminal Statutes regarding threats.
Source: KSN-TV
Parsons pocket park opens to the public
A local pocket park has opened for one Southeast Kansas town. A tiny park located between two buildings called The Gathering Place, has opened in Parsons on Main Street. This was a joint effort between the city and Southeast Kansas Point of ride. The project was funded locally and several businesses in town contributed to its construction. Jim Zaleski, Director of Economic Development and Tourism, said, “It’s great that we were able to have local contractors, the assistance of the college, the fund was all local, the city stepped up with the land and some of the assistance, the bank, we just had so many people come to this cause, just because that’s how great we feel about the potential of our main street.”
Source: KSNF/KODE