Kansas Municipal News
Concerns of feral hog activity abating in Lyon County
Concerns about feral hog activity in Lyon County seem to be easing. Lyon County Game Warden Aaron Scheve says there haven’t been any feral hog sightings for weeks, indicating any feral hog or hogs in Lyon County early this year may well have departed. At least one hog was spotted between Emporia and John Redmond Reservoir as well as southwest of Olpe, although the initial concern was a possible herd was dumped. Feral hogs are considered a problem animal because of the health issues they pose, including pseudorabies, tuberculosis and parasites, and because of the damage they can cause to agriculture and public infrastructure systems.
Source: KVOE Emporia Radio
Cities – the foundation of society
Before there were counties, states, or nations, there were cities. Though the topic is still debated, most scholars agree the first city appeared around six thousand years ago in 4500 B.C. Established in the fertile crescent in Mesopotamia, more commonly known as the middle east, the first true city was known as Uruk. … Over the centuries, city/states and the territories they encompassed rose and fell according to economic, political, social, and military conditions. Regardless of who was in power, the city continued to be the center of people’s lives. … all cities reflect the characteristics and demands of their populations, and they continue to be the level of government most directly accountable to the people.
Source: Morning Sun
Opening day for Wichita pools is a few weeks away. Will city have enough life guards?
Although it might not feel like it yet, pool season is just a few weeks away. All six Wichita pools will open on Memorial Day, May 29, and Joe Master, the aquatics recreation supervisor, said there could be some early surprise openings for the splash pads. Keeping an eye on the Wichita Park and Recreation social media is the best way to find out when these will be open. The city is still looking to hire 40 more lifeguards to ensure all the pools can be open during regular business hours. The goal is to have 12 to 15 lifeguards at each pool. If that number isn’t met, open swim hours may be shortened. There could also be rolling closures, with some pools closed during regular hours to ensure there are enough lifeguards on duty at the open facilities.
Source: Wichita Eagle
Art connects to conservation in Johnson County Parks & Recreation District effort
The art being created this spring by Cydney Ross and Alix Daniel in Kill Creek Park will disappear one day — exactly as planned. Ross and Daniel are this year’s resident artists in a Johnson County Parks Department public art program that pairs the eye of artists with the department’s work in natural resources. The public will have an opportunity Saturday to be a part of the ephemeral temporary art piece and contribute to the restoration effort by creating their own sculpture work with clay seed. The Art and Natural Resources Residency is a short-term program where local artists are embedded with the recreation district’s natural resources team to learn, respond artistically and amplify the work. The program was started because the community wanted park spaces and public art used in a new way, said Susan Mong, superintendent of culture for the Johnson County Parks & Recreation District.
Source: KC Star Local News
Sedgwick County, Butler County crews rescue horse stuck in the mud
A horse on a property near McConnell Air Force Base on Woodlawn Blvd. was rescued after finding himself nearly fully submerged in mud. Sedgwick County emergency crews and Butler County rescue were quick to respond and found the horse, named Chrome, still breathing but struggling. “He was pretty fatigued and definitely in need of assistance getting out,” said co-coordinator of Butler County Animal Rescue Janell Jessup. “So we deployed our rescue trailer and equipment and Sedgwick County assisted in getting the horse glides and getting him up out of the ravine.”
Source: KAKE – News
Municipal Bond Trends for May 2, 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, Beth Warren or Henry Schmidt.
Great Bend gets new city administrator
Concluding a process that started this past December, Great Bend Mayor Cody Schmidt Monday night appointed Brandon Anderson as the next city administrator. This was the culmination of a series of executive sessions and discussions spanning five months. Anderson will begin his duties in Great Bend June 30. A Caney, Kan., native, Anderson is a 1995 Kansas State University graduate who has served as the city manager in Levelland, Texas, since 2006. Levelland is a town of 12,652 residents west of Lubbock.
Source: Great Bend Tribune
If signed, bill could give state chance to buy Walton Rural Life Center
What’s the plan for the Walton Rural Life Center building? Recent changes added to the state’s education funding bill would give the Kansas Legislature a seat at the planning table. During Friday’s legislative veto session, the Kansas Legislature approved an education funding package that included a provision to give the State of Kansas the right of first refusal to purchase a recently closed school. Sen. Molly Baumgardner chairs the Senate Education Committee and served on the conference committee. She explained the reasoning behind adding the provision.
Source: Harvey County Now
Tonganoxie will add a pet food nutrition manufacturing plant
Netherlands-based multinational corporation DSM plans to build a plant in Tonganoxie to produce nutritional premix for pet food. It plans to break ground in July and be operational by early 2025, according to a release. The plant will create 28 jobs. Nutritional premix includes vitamins and minerals that are assembled and later added to food to improve its nutritional value. The mix made in Tonganoxie will be used in branded pet food throughout the world. Tonganoxie was chosen strategically to be included in Kansas City’s Animal Health Corridor.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal
UG questions reuse concept for ex-Cerner Continuous Campus as developers seek rezoning
Officials with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, want more questions answered before they agree to allow former Cerner Corp. offices to become a mixed-use development. UG commissioners on Thursday agreed to a one-month hold on measures that would rezone the 63.5-acre former Cerner campus at 10200 Abilities Way. The rezoning would permit different commercial uses within the campus’ two nine-story towers, as desired by developers David Block, of Block & Co. Inc. Realtors, and Philip Goforth, of Genesis Realty & Development LLC.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal
Pittsburg book store celebrates its newest mural
A small, indigenous owned book store in Pittsburg, Kansas yesterday celebrated the unveiling of downtown Pittsburg’s newest murals. Books and Burrow officials say “this collaborative project titled Lenaswa Waayaahtanonki or Bison of the Whirlpool/ from the place of the Wea/Wea Homelands is an interpretation of the emergence of our ancestors from the waters of Saakiiweesiipiwi (St. Joseph River near present-day South Bend, Indiana), their homeland journey, and displacement to Kansas and finally northeast Oklahoma where our tribe is located today”. Officials say this mural was made possible by a grant from the KCAIC (Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission) and with support/assistance from the City of Pittsburg.
Source: KOAM News
Coyotes are on the move to more Kansas cities
Coyote numbers are on the rise in Kansas with some getting increasingly more comfortable living next to humans in residential and other urban areas. KSNT News spoke with Matt Peek, a wildlife research biologist with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP), about how coyotes are adapting to life in Kansas towns and cities. “They’ve [coyotes] adapted and are learning to live in the most urban of areas,” Peek said. “The green space of some of our cities now harbor not only coyotes but deer and other wild animals as well.”
Source: KSN-TV
Sedgwick County expands free public alert system
Sedgwick County Emergency Management (SCEM) is expanding the use of Civic Ready Alerts to include 17 more towns in addition to the initial test sites of Wichita and Mt. Hope. The free alert system notifies residents by phone or email of emergencies or important news in their area. As of Monday, May 1, citizens can opt-in to receive messages regarding public safety, health, weather or other community bulletins from these cities: Andale, Bel Aire, Bentley, Cheney, Clearwater, Colwich, Derby, Eastborough, Garden Plain, Goddard, Haysville, Kechi, Maize, Mt. Hope, Mulvane, Park City, Valley Center, Viola, Wichita. “Civil Ready Alerts allows each city to customize what kinds of notifications it sends out and when,” Julie Stimson, director of SCEM, said. “It’s an easy way to keep people informed of what’s happening in their own hometown, especially during times of danger.”
Source: KSN-TV
Hungry residents and disc golfers alike flood downtown Emporia for return of Glass Blown Open block party and Main Street Food Truck Festival Saturday
Local residents took to Commerical Street Saturday afternoon and evening to celebrate the return of the Glass Blown Open with good food, music and community. The Glass Blown Open Block Party took over the 800 and 900 blocks of Commercial with hundreds of hungry residents mingling with some of the best amateur disc golfers in the nation. GBO Tournament Director Jackie Morris says Dynamic Discs, and the local community, were ecstatic to have the GBO back after the 2019 event had to be canceled and the event was later named the Dynamic Discs Open. Unlike the DDO, the GBO this year was open only to amateur players. She tells KVOE News it is important to have an event that puts the amateurs back in the spotlight.
Source: KVOE Emporia Radio
Wichita officials seek dismissal in $2.4M lawsuit brought by deputy police chiefs
The city of Wichita, multiple city officials and the Fraternal Order of Police are asking a federal court to dismiss a $2.4 million lawsuit filed by former Police Chief Gordon Ramsay’s leadership team. In recent court filings, the city’s lawyers called the civil complaint filed by Deputy Chief Jose Salcido and former deputy chiefs Wanda Parker-Givens and Chester Pinkston “a press release in the guise of a pleading” that fails to state “who did what to whom.” City officials have declined to comment on the lawsuit since it was filed in February. The motion to dismiss is the city’s first official response to the lawsuit, which accuses the city manager, a former human resources director and the police union of undermining their attempts to clean up the department.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
After a tiny home is stolen in Colorado, deputies find it at a Kansas grain elevator
Three people were arrested after authorities recovered a stolen tiny home Sunday in western Kansas. Around 8 p.m., the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office was alerted by Colorado authorities that a stolen tiny home was possibly heading to Kansas, a social media post from the sheriff’s office said. The tiny home along with a stolen trailer and Bobcat skid steer loader were found at the Scoular grain elevator in Coolidge, Kansas, according to the post.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Roeland Park pushes to fill empty storefronts
On Monday, the city and chamber announced the launch of a new small business initiative called Project RISE. The vision for the economic development project is to support small businesses in Roeland Park by serving as a “one-stop shop” for local entrepreneurs looking to open in the city, according to a press release. “We want to see every store front, every office occupied,” said Mayor Michael Poppa. “It comes back to all of us. Those who live, work, play and shop here. We want to have a synergy across our City where businesses thrive.”
Source: Prairie Village Post
Fed Set to Raise Rates to 16-Year High and Debate a Pause
Federal Reserve officials are on track to increase interest rates again at their meeting this week while deliberating whether that will be enough to then pause the fastest rate-raising cycle in 40 years. “We are much closer to the end of the tightening journey than the beginning,” Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said April 20. Just how much closer the Fed is to that endgame will be a focus of internal debate because officials think their communications around future policy actions can be as significant as individual rate changes. Officials are likely to keep their options open as they finesse carefully calibrated signals in their postmeeting statement and remarks by Fed Chair Jerome Powell at a news conference after the meeting ends Wednesday.
Source: WSJ.com: US Business
Yellen Says U.S. Risks Default as Soon as June 1 Without Debt Ceiling Increase
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. government could become unable to pay all of its bills on time as soon as June 1 if Congress doesn’t first raise the debt limit. President Biden on Monday invited the top Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill to meet next week to discuss raising the country’s roughly $31.4 trillion borrowing limit, the White House said soon after Ms. Yellen’s warning.
Source: WSJ.com: US Business
Municipal Bond Trends for May 1, 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, Beth Warren or Henry Schmidt.