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Municipal News & Jobs

Municipal News & Jobs2026-08-07T10:07:18-05:00

Kansas Municipal News

USDA Invests $20,400 in Community Infrastructure in Ashland, Kansas

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development State Director for Kansas Lynne Hinrichsen today announced that USDA is investing $20,400 toward a new roof for the Ashland City Library. … The city of Ashland will use the $20,400 grant to assist with replacing the Ashland City Library roof. The existing roof is nearing 40 years old and leaking, threatening damage to the entire facility and its contents. This project will allow the library to continue to provide an essential public service to the nearly 900 local residents. This community partnership is made possible by the additional contribution by the applicant of $26,384.

Virtual McPherson County Hiring Day on Friday

McPherson County is hosting its first-ever McPherson County Hiring Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, and it’s free to attend. The virtual format offers students and professional job seekers a chance to explore industries and jobs throughout the county, network with 17 local businesses, and learn more about McPherson County lifestyle, housing, and residence, from afar. “McPherson County is an industrial hub of the great plains,” said Kasi Morales, Go McPherson Executive Director.
Source: Local – The Hutchinson News

Edgerton swears in their new city clerk

During the Oct. 8 Edgerton City Council meeting, Alexandria Clower was sworn in as the new city clerk. She replaces Chris Clinton, who had been serving as interim city clerk since February. Clower has served the City of Edgerton as the customer service representative and municipal court clerk for the last two years. Prior to her work in local government, Clower served as a bank teller at Central Bank of the Midwest in Edgerton for five years. She has extensive knowledge about the community and excellent communication and organizational skills. Donald Roberts, Edgerton mayor, and city council members commended Clower on her new position, adding that she would be a tremendous addition to council meetings.
Source: Gardner News

Inflation comeback may force Fed to abandon easy money policy much sooner than intended, Wall Street forecaster Jim Bianco warns

The Federal Reserve’s intention to leave interest rates alone may get sidetracked. According to Wall Street forecaster James Bianco, the backdrop is conducive for an inflation comeback that would force the Fed’s hand to tighten and upset the stock market. He sees two major factors sparking inflation: A smaller economy than last year due to the coronavirus lockdowns and the impact of massive monetary and fiscal stimulus.
Source: CNBC – Bonds

How Topeka, Kansas, Used Data Modeling to Pave a Stronger Future for Public Works and Residents

Using data modeling powered by current pavement inventory and condition data, the city of Topeka could better understand its long-range pavement condition and funding needs. The public works department for the city of Topeka, Kansas, was in a position where they needed to reevaluate the effectiveness of their half-cent retail sales tax to fund pavement renewal projects. To add to that, the city also tasked public works with improving their average pavement condition index (or PCI) from 55 to 60 in the next 10 years. They were given a $31 million budget.
Source: ICMA.

USDA Invests $791,638 in Distance Learning in Osborne County, Kansas

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development State Director for Kansas Lynne Hinrichsen today announced that USDA is investing $791,638 to provide interactive video conferencing equipment to allow access to students in rural Kansas…. This Rural Development investment will help Osborne County purchase monitors, video and audio conferencing equipment, wiring and software licenses for distance learning upgrades for Paradise Unified School District Number 399. The project will expand educational opportunities for rural residents within the district.

Liquor sales increase as pandemic continues

Business is booming for one segment of the economy in Kansas during the coronavirus pandemic: liquor stores. At the same time, the increased use of the products found in those stores has not necessarily benefitted people. The Wichita Eagle reported that tax collections on liquor sales at stores are up 17.9 percent from July to September compared to last year, according to data from the Kansas Department of Revenue.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler

Incentive considered to lure home builders to Ark City

Arkansas City Commissioners will consider a resolution Tuesday allowing increased tax rebates for homes built in a housing development in north Ark City. If approved, property owners who build in the Compass Point Addition will be eligible for a 90 percent tax rebate of the first $150,000 of the property value for 10 years. Current city practice allows a 75 percent rebate for seven years.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler

Hoisington offers incentive to curb weekend EMT shortage

In an effort to offset a shortage of weekend emergency medical staff, the Hoisington City Council recently approved a financial incentive to recruit and retain volunteer technicians. Adequate weekend emergency staffing has been an issue for the city. State law mandates all ambulance services providing emergency care (as defined by the rules and regulations adopted by the Kansas Board of EMS) will offer emergency service 24 hours a day, every day of the year. “The problem of being able to provide weekend technician staff has evolved overtime,” said City Manager Jonathan Mitchell. “Trying to develop a solution to get volunteers to work weekends has been challenging. Volunteers are important but they’re also hard to find, especially good volunteers.”
Source: Great Bend Tribune

When Lyons officer was shot, this couple rushed in to help 

Wyatt Johnson and his girlfriend were driving around Lyons on Friday while she reminisced about her hometown. They were wasting time before a wedding rehearsal. In southeast Lyons, near the home of one of her childhood friends, the couple saw an officer at a door and then heard shots ring out. Sgt. Cory Ryan was responding to a call from a man who was mowing the lawn when he was threatened by a neighboring man with a gun at around 3:40 p.m. The officer arrived at the home of the alleged shooter, 40-year-old Adam Hrabik.
Source: KC Star Local News

Did workers’ compensation changes go too far? Kansas Supreme Court to decide

Soon after Howard Johnson suffered a spinal cord injury in October 2015 while working as a delivery driver for U.S. Food Service, he suffered a financial one: His workers’ compensation award was nearly $47,000 less than what he would have received if the injury had occurred a year earlier. Johnson hurt himself while trying to dislodge a partially frozen trailer door and sought remedy through the Kansas Workers’ Compensation Act — the only option for employees hurt at work. The significant difference in his compensation was the result of a change in the guidelines doctors follow to assess impairment, attorneys said. A new state law adopted the Sixth Edition of American Medical Association Guides, rather than the previous Fourth Edition.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle

Voters to decide on individual drink sales

Voters can decide whether to allow liquor by the drink to be sold without requiring establishments to sell food at the Nov. 4 election. Prohibition was approved in Kansas in 1917 and lasted until 1948. In fact, three Kansas counties are still “dry,” and 67 require the 30 percent food sales. Wyandotte, Douglas and Shawnee do not have the food requirement.
Source: Gardner News

Kansas counties make their own rules on poll worker masks

Kansas counties are making their own rules about whether to require poll workers to wear masks as the public votes. Secretary of State Scott Schwab has not issued a mandate requiring masks for poll workers statewide, even though the state spent $1.28 million to buy personal protective equipment for every polling location. Schwab’s spokeswoman says every county election office works with its local health department to determine COVID-19 protocols. That’s created a patchwork of masking practices around the state. While the state’s more urban counties generally require poll workers to mask up, rural counties often don’t.
Source: KSN-TV

City of Manhattan adds outdoor patios to restaurants for social distanced dining

To help local restaurants, the city of Manhattan installed 7 outdoor patio areas to the downtown. It costs the city around $300 thousand for the spaced but they hope to get the money back from the CARES act. The patios have outdoor space heaters to keep customers warm at night. The idea is to give restaurants some extra space to keep customers socially distanced.
Source: KSNT News

Hopes of ‘a bubble’ gone, COVID-19 expands its footprint in unprepared rural Kansas

Until two weeks ago, Meade District Hospital had never admitted a COVID-19 patient. Then, it admitted three in one weekend. For the southwest Kansas town of roughly 1,700, three hospitalizations is the equivalent of several thousand in metropolitan Kansas City, said Gary Morsch, founder of an organization that helps staff rural critical access hospitals. Morsch was working in the Meade hospital’s emergency room that weekend. He said the hospital had two beds set aside for coronavirus patients, and needed to stretch only to accommodate the third. However, he said, it’s a sign of what’s to come in small towns and rural areas that, until recently, were able to avoid the biggest impacts of the deadly virus.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle

COVID-19 dims recession-inspired draw of Kansas community colleges as retraining crucibles

Neosho Community College president Brian Inbody relied on precedent to make assumptions about how the pandemic of COVID-19 could influence enrollment at the southeastern Kansas college during a period of massive unemployment and business realignment. In wake of the brutal U.S. recession from 2007 to 2009, he said, enrollment at Neosho Community College increased 21% per year over a three-year period. Early in the pandemic of 2020, higher education institutions were thrown into an online instructional format as COVID-19 spread into the heartland. Unemployment in Kansas surged from 3.1% in February to 11.9% in April. The stage appeared set for community colleges to answer the bell of another recession.
Source: Kansas Reflector

Amazon confirms massive warehouse for Park City

Amazon, the online retail giant, now confirms what The Wichita Eagle reported this summer: It is building a one-million-square-foot fulfillment center at 7130 N. Broadway in Park City. The company confirmed that and a similar center at 9700 Leavenworth Road in Kansas City, Kan., during a virtual news conference with city and state leaders Friday. “It’s an exciting day for us at Amazon as we strive to offer faster delivery to customers across the state,” said Mark Marzano, Amazon director of operations.
Source: Wichita Breaking News, Sports & Crime |

Downtown stewards of Winfield expand history program

Historical plaques were recently installed on five buildings on Main Street in Winfield. The plaques are done by members of the Winfield Main Street Committee of the Winfield Area Chamber of Commerce. The project is a collaboration between the Main Street committee, the Cowley County Historical Society and downtown building owners. Putting historical plaques on Main Street buildings has been ongoing since about 1997, according to Dorothy Fisher, who has been part of the process since the beginning.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler

Topeka’s haunted trails aim at providing safe outdoor activity for community

Halloween will look a lot different in 2020 than in any previous year as many of the venues that provide an enjoyable amount of terror to patrons will be closed due to the lingering pandemic. But two outdoor venues are terrifying guests without putting them in jeopardy of real danger from COVID-19. Fear Zone, located at 3909 S.W. Burlingame Road, is open for its second year, having made some virus-protocol modifications. Owners Scott and Kelly Heston said they have had an increase in customers thus far in 2020 over a successful first year.
Source: Local News | Topeka Capital-Journal

Sedgwick County official extends bar and club curfew despite COVID-19 cases rising

Despite a growing number of COVID-19 cases, the Sedgwick County health officer approved an order on Friday that extends the time bars and clubs can stay open from midnight to 1 a.m. “Locally, our case numbers have started increasing but testing has not increased,” Dr. Garold Minns said in a news release. “I appreciate our community’s diligence in following the recommended healthy behaviors but we need to really stick to them during cold and flu season.” In a phone interview, Minns said he doesn’t have strong evidence that the case increase is attributable to businesses serving alcohol.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle

Officer-involved shooting in Lyons leads to large police response

A Lyons man is in custody on Friday after a few-hour standoff following the shooting of an officer and a man, officials said. It started at around 3:40 p.m. when a man mowing a lawn was threatened by a man with a gun at a neighboring home in southeast Lyons. The threatened man called 911. A responding officer was shot by 40-year-old Adam Hrabik, according to Kansas Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Melissa Underwood. The officer was shot multiple times and also shot back, according to KBI special agent in charge Cory Latham.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle

Renwick receives grant for ‘telerobots’

High schools in the Renwick School District will receive more than $450,000 in grants to support STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) education.Garden Plain High School and Andale High School, plus 18 other Kansas high schools, will receive funds through a telemedicine grant targeted to rural and underserved communities. The funding – $451,480 – will be used for 10 telepresence robots, five for each of the district’s two high schools.
Source: Times-Sentinel Newspapers » Feed

Maple Leaf Festival At Baldwin City Goes Virtual This Year

Like many events this year, the Maple Leaf Festival will be in an entirely different format. Officially, the traditional 63rd annual Maple Leaf Festival in historic downtown Baldwin City is cancelled. “Decision to cancel the 2020 Maple Leaf Festival is necessary,” said Mike Curran, committee president. “It is the right step for public health safety during the coronavirus pandemic.” The annual festival typically draws 30,000 people to Baldwin City fueled by 300 booths from across the country. “It supports the local nonprofit community through food booth proceeds,” Curran added.
Source: WIBW News Now

As 60% of Johnson County schools report COVID cases, guidance for returning is eased

The Johnson County health department has issued more lenient guidance on whether school districts should allow older students back into classrooms when there is high community spread of COVID-19. Unlike under the previous criteria, districts could now allow middle and high schoolers to return to in-person learning in a hybrid model — going to class part time and taking online classes for the rest of the week — as long as safety precautions are implemented. The guidance for elementary students has remained the same, as officials continue to recommend they can return to classrooms full time.
Source: Joco 913 News

Last of major Johnson County districts says older students can return to classrooms

Following the Johnson County health department relaxing coronavirus guidance for schools, the Olathe district announced it will allow older students to return to classrooms part time later this month. Superintendent John Allison said in an email that middle and high school students will start in-person learning on Oct. 19, in a hybrid model. Middle schoolers will go to school buildings for part of the week, then learn online the rest. High school students will attend school for half days, five days a week.
Source: Joco 913 News

LaHarpe starts talk on stop signs

LaHarpe City Council members will chew over a request by city employees to add as many as 26 stop signs around town. Code Enforcement Officer Penny Miller and City Superintendent Mike Hedmon have driven every block in town in search of potential trouble spots for motorists due to obstructed views at intersections or where unfettered traffic pose safety hazards. Miller provided the Council members with a color-coded map identifying intersections she thinks would be better served if motorists had to stop.
Source: The Iola Register

Pittsburg hospital limits procedures as virus cases climb

Pittsburg’s hospital is putting the brakes on some procedures as coronavirus cases continue to climb steadily statewide and the positivity rate tops 17%.<

Randy Cason, President of Ascension Via Christi Hospital in Pittsburg, said this week that the plan to pause elective and non-emergent procedures allows leaders to reallocate staff to help care for an influx of patients.
Source: The Iola Register

COVID-19 a challenge for Kansas schools

COVID-19 is threatening the way Kansas schools do their work.  Randy Watson, state education commissioner, told members of the Kansas Association of School Boards recently that the way schools deliver education currently is “not sustainable.” Although 1A to small 4A schools are returning to traditional five-day-a-week on-site classes because they can keep class sizes to fewer than 15 and require masks and social distancing, most larger schools are obliged to operate differently.  They are using all online, remote or hybrid models where students alternate attending on-site for part of the week and study remotely the remainder of the week.
Source: The Iola Register

Beef continues to rule economically in Kansas

Once again, beef leads the pack in sales and jobs for Kansas’ agricultural businesses.Contributing more than $8.7 billion to the Kansas economy, the beef cattle ranching and farming sector, which includes feedlots, is the state agricultural leader in jobs as well, with just shy of 39,000 employed in this market, according to the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s latest reports. Economic contributions of agriculture in Kansas totals more than $70 billion…
Source: Local – The Hutchinson News

Train noise on your nerves? Old Lenexa residents soon to catch a break

By the summer of 2021, people who live and work near Old Town Lenexa should be hearing less noise from passing trains. That’s when — thanks to an extra infusion of city money — wayside horns will be installed at two BNSF Railway crossings: Pflumm Road and Noland Road. “Noise from passing trains has long been an issue for the 1,200 residents and businesses who live within a half-mile of these crossings,” the city said in a news release.
Source: Joco 913 News

Topeka modernizes parking payments with launch of new app

The City of Topeka, Kansas will be introducing a new way to pay for parking with the Passport Parking mobile app. The app, which will be the first mobile pay solution for parking in the City, will offer drivers a contactless option for paying for and managing parking and can be used at over 1,200 metered spaces. With the Passport Parking app, users can pay to park quickly and remotely from their smartphones. Additionally, users can receive alerts when their parking sessions are ending, get email receipts and view their parking history from one place.
Source: Derby Informer | News

Parsons adds Pocket Park to Main Street

It’s a tiny park between pre-existing buildings — a new way towns and cities around the country are adding life to their communities. This started off as inspiration from a group of friends. Rod Landrum, SEK Point of Pride, said they would go out and they would travel, they would bring ideas back and implement them in our town. Then, that inspiration hit Rod Landrum and his wife as they were traveling to the East coast. “We thought, here’s an idea.” Once they returned to Parsons, they introduced the idea to Southeast Kansas Point of Pride. The city of Parsons is getting — what they call a Pocket Park — on Main Street. It all started with just one donation.
Source: KSNF/KODE

Public-private coalition financing $24 million KU bioscience, tech research expansion

Light shovel work and bipartisan speeches marked launch of a $24 million public and private partnership to significantly expand the bioscience and technology business innovation center at the University of Kansas that has been at maximum capacity for a couple years. The administrations of President Donald Trump and Gov. Laura Kelly celebrated awarding of a $7.8 million federal grant to reinforce city, county, state, university and private funding for the 66,000 square foot building that could eventually create 225 jobs and generate $140 million in private investment. The federal aid emerged from an economic development law adopted in 2019 in response to a series of natural disasters that included flooding, tornadoes, wildfires and hurricanes.
Source: Kansas Reflector

Douglas County stands behind health order that’s facing legal challenges

Douglas County issued a statement Thursday in support of an embattled health order that, among other things, limits the hours that bars can be open amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In addition, attorneys John Bullock and Bradley Finkeldei, of the law firm Stevens & Brand, filed a legal brief on the county’s behalf in response to one of two lawsuits that question the health order. The order mandates that any restaurants and bars that hold liquor licenses must stop serving at 11 p.m. and close at midnight; however, establishments that do not hold liquor licenses face no hour restrictions.
Source: LJWorld.com.

Lawrence seeks input from residents regarding how pandemic affects long-term plan for downtown

Though obviously not planned when the process first began two years ago, the city’s master plan for the downtown will now account for how the COVID-19 pandemic and related changes affect the future of downtown. … So far, the consultants are on the sixth of seven steps in the process, which have included community input, a market and demographic analysis, and creation of goals and a vision for downtown. Consultants began the process of drafting the plan at the beginning of this year, but will now reopen community input due to the pandemic.
Source: LJWorld.com.

Emporia renews contract with FEMA, discusses library reopening plan

City of Emporia Commissioners renewed a long-standing agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency during a combined study/action session Wednesday morning. Board members reviewed their obligations included as part of FEMA’s Regional Multi-Hazard Mitigation plan, which is traditionally completed every five years, incorporating each community in Lyon County along with the county itself. The plan includes a Threat Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment, or THIRA, which examines the likelihood of severe weather, flooding and wildfire events, identifying potential area projects and mitigation strategies to manage such threats.
Source: Emporia Gazette

Reno County Planning Commission loosens regs on commercial wind in latest draft

The Reno County Planning Commission made more changes this week to proposed zoning regulations for commercial wind developments. While the new draft creates greater minimum distances that turbines must be from a home, they loosen restrictions on noise and shadow flicker that may be generated by the machines. The changes did not sit well with a group of residents who opposed the Pretty Prairie Wind development and have sought much stricter zoning regulations.
Source: Local – The Hutchinson News

After years of dispute, OP committee recommends removing — and not replacing Westlinks golf course fence

The long-running dispute over the wrought iron Westlinks golf course fence may end with no fence at all, much to the chagrin of Overland Park neighbors whose homes abut the course. The city council’s Community Development Committee took up the controversy — which has been brewing since 2013 – once again Wednesday night and ended with a recommendation that the fence be torn out. Neighbors have been pushing to have the deteriorating fence replaced with a similar-looking, 5-foot black powder-coated steel fence. They have said that type of fence would maintain their property value and the looks of the course.
Source: Prairie Village Post

Gov. Kelly awards Yoder Meats, other Kansas businesses through grant program

Gov. Laura Kelly announced more than $9 million in grants for projects to strengthen the state’s food supply system. Kelly, along with Kansas Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Beam and Kansas Department of Commerce Secretary David Toland visited Yoder Meats in Yoder on Oct. 14 to make the announcement. Yoder Meats is one of 183 Kansas agriculture and food-related businesses in more than 70 counties that was awarded grants as part of the Securing Local Food Systems.
Source: Community – Cherokee County News Advocate

Olathe school board votes to let students in ‘high-risk’ activities return to in-person class

Olathe will allow students in “high-risk activities” back into the classroom next week. The school board had a special meeting Wednesday morning where members voted to let students in activities like football go to in-person classes when the district starts its hybrid schedule Monday. The district had originally opted to require students in high-risk activities to attend classes online for the entire season. But after the Johnson County health department changed its gating criteria on high-risk activities, Olathe updated its decision to reflect that.
Source: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF

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