Municipal News & Jobs

Children all across southeast Kansas are learning the ins and outs of dairy thanks to a mobile class. The Southeast Kansas Community Action Program Mobile Dairy Classroom came to Galena early Wednesday to show kids how their milk gets from the farm to their kitchen table. Children from Galena Head Start got hands on experiences with dairy farming, animal care and more. The 30-minute demonstration included a portion featuring Hazel Grace the milk cow getting milked.
Read more: KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com

The Topeka Fire Department is inviting the public to visit various fire stations around the Capital City as they host open houses. Starting on Oct. 3, the TFD will start holding open houses at different fire stations around the city. The city is inviting the public to visit the 12 different stations around Topeka on various dates through to September 2026. “Everyone is invited to come and take a tour, as well as meet some of the fire staff in their area,” City of Topeka spokesman Dan Garrett said.
Read more: KSNT 27 News

One of the companies leading the charge to deploy safer, smaller, faster-to-build nuclear reactors is hoping to find a site for one in Kansas. TerraPower, cofounded by former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates, began construction last month on its first power plant of this kind in southwest Wyoming as a $4 billion demonstration project cofunded by the U.S. Department of Energy. Now it is interested in building one in Kansas to generate power in utility company Evergy’s service area.
Read more: The Lawrence Times

Another mixed-use development is on its way to Andover. Kentucky-based housing developer Winterwood Inc. has proposed a new development featuring a mix of commercial uses to be built out in phases, according to documents submitted to the city of Andover. It’ll be located across a 19-acre parcel called the Thoroughbred at the southwest corner of Kellogg and Allen, just across from the Buffalo Ridge Apartments.
Read more: Wichita Business Journal – Local Wichita News

An officer with the Hays Police Department was killed in the line of duty over the weekend. Just before midnight on Saturday, police received a 911 call from a woman who said she had escaped a domestic violence incident at a home in the 2000 block of E. 21st St. She told officers her significant other had rammed her vehicle with his truck as she tried to flee. She ran to a nearby home for help. Around 1:55 a.m., while officers and a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper were setting up a perimeter near the suspect’s backyard in the 2200 block of Downing St., a single shot was fired from inside the home, striking one of the Hays officers. The officer was flown to a regional hospital, where he died from his injuries just after 4 a.m.
Read more: KSN-TV

Police didn’t provide an age for the threat maker but described the caller who left a voicemail indicating that there was a bomb attached to an airplane at the airport as “a juvenile male.”
Read more: KWCH

Downtown Liberal was once the economic center of the community when the traffic was calm and the parking allowed the district to be pedestrian friendly. Later the avenue was changed to two lanes with the State of Kansas designated the road as Highway 83. But that was changed when the highway was diverted to the east side of Liberal, but the roadway was never returned form four lanes to two lanes.
Read more: Leader & Times

Vehicle owners in Barton County may only face the hassle of paying for new or renewed tags once a year, but for Barton County Treasurer Jim Jordan and his team, the financial strain of providing that underfunded state-mandated service is year-round. “County treasurers across Kansas are mandated to provide vehicle tag and title services,” Jordan said. “But the monies provided by the state to the county for this work do not match the cost of providing that service.”
Read more: Great Bend Post

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.

Many Kansas hospitals, especially in rural parts of the state, are in trouble. Hospitals are sounding the alarm as long-term sustainability approaches crisis levels with challenges stemming from a shortage of nurses and doctors, rising operational costs, and declining payments from Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance programs.
Read more: Wichita Business Journal

Attendees at a Savonbrug community conversation were greeted with good news Tuesday — the community will receive a $700,000 grant to upgrade its electric infrastructure.
Read more: The Iola Register

Overland Park officials worry the thousands of saplings planted to replace ash trees along city streets in the past couple of years might not be getting the care they need. That could threaten the long-term health and longevity of the tree canopy, City Forester Bailey Patterson warns.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Many folks who don’t call Maize home don’t know where Wichita ends and the suburb begins. Maybe it’s because of different school district boundaries, or the long expanse of retail making its way north. Or simply the street’s name. As Maize experiences a population boom, the city’s top official reveals strategies for attracting retail development and addressing increasing traffic.
Read more: Wichita Business Journal

Synopsis: A limited liability partnership is not a "limited partnership" that must obtain approval under K.S.A. 17-5908 in order to establish a swine production facility in a county. Cited herein: K.S.A. 17-5903; 17-5904; 17-5908; 56-1a101; 56a-101; 56a-1001.
Read more: Kansas Attorney General Opinions

Patrick Herd, Executive Director of Garden City Downtown Vision, headed up the project, and said the idea behind it was to turn it into a destination for visitors. To interact with the mural, visitors can scan the QR code to the side of the mural where they can choose between Snapchat or a web link to view the AR.
Read more: Garden City Telegram

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.

Stops in Claflin and Hoisington were on the itinerary Tuesday afternoon as the Barton County commissioners continued their Travel 389 initiative. The program, aimed at giving the commission the chance to get out and meet face to face with residents and businesses across the county’s 389 miles of roadways, started last week in Hoisington.
Read more: Great Bend Tribune

The Norton Police Department is showing off its new police K9. K9 Kilo has officially joined the department. He is partnered with his handler, Officer Cody Land. Norton police posted the announcement to its Facebook page Monday, and included two photos of Kilo with Officer Land, posing in front of their police vehicle, and pose he did.
Read more: KSN-TV

Comanche County law enforcement officials Monday asked for the public’s help investigating an incident in which 10 bullets were fired into the unoccupied, parked vehicle of the local school board president. President Kelly Herd, and other members of the school board in southwest Kansas, have been embroiled in controversy that led to the suspension of superintendent Ty Theurer pending an inquiry into allegations he sexually harassed and inappropriately touched a student.
Read more: Wichita Eagle

Wichita City Council members sparred over the enforcement of the city’s homeless encampment ordinance Tuesday. The conversation came after Wichita Mayor Lily Wu questioned whether the ordinance could be more strictly enforced downtown. The ordinance allows for rapid removal of homeless encampments by eliminating the need to post notices to vacate. However, a homeless person can not be charged under the ordinance unless a shelter bed is available. Numerous council members pushed back against stronger enforcement of the ordinance in the city’s core area, citing the limited number of beds at Second Light, formerly known as the Multi Agency Center.
Read more: Wichita Eagle

Popular home improvement network HGTV recently released its picks for the 40 most charming small downtowns in the U.S., and one city in Kansas made the list. “In creating this list of the best small downtowns in America (and it was tough to narrow this list to 40), we looked for vibrant towns that invite you in and encourage you to stay and explore,” the Sept. 17 article reads. Abilene — a Kansas city with a population just over 6,400 and located about an hour and a half from Wichita — gained a spot on HGTV’s list. The city is most known as the hometown of former President Dwight Eisenhower, and also attracts visitors to the historic Seelye Mansion and the Abilene & Smokey Mountain Railroad.
Read more: Wichita Eagle

The city of Wichita is considering a city license for hotels and motels that would also prohibit them from charging by the hour. It’s the city’s latest effort to crack down on what it deems are nuisance properties, especially along South Broadway. “Not only do we have questions or complaints about issues of violence at some of the hotel/motels, or crimes or prostitution, we also have complaints about trash,” Assistant City Attorney Jan Jarman said. Hotel and motel owners would have to pay a $200 fee for the city license.
Read more: Wichita Eagle

After several meetings that included revisions and input, the Girard City Council approved changes to its burn ordinance. Monday’s regular meeting featured a lengthy discussion on which burn ordinance to pursue and what needed to be included. Following several killed motions, the council approved allowing recreational burning from one hour after sunrise to midnight along with allowing open burning from one hour after sunrise to one hour before sunset.
Read more: – Morning Sun

In an update to the Manhattan city commission on Tuesday, Riley County Police Department director Brian Peete said the jail population remains above recommended capacity. Peete said while the facility has 143 beds, not all of those spots should be filled.
Read more: News Radio KMAN

The city of Haysville, in partnership with the Red Cross and local agencies, will offer free smoke alarm installation from noon to 4 p.m on Oct. 4. The event is part of the Sound the Alarm: Save a Life initiative put on by the Red Cross. Smoke alarms are provided by the Red Cross, with installation by volunteers and event partners, which include the city of Haysville, USD 261, Haysville Chamber of Commerce, Sedgwick County Fire District 1 and Wichita Fire Department.
Read more: www.derbyinformer.com

No smoking in public parks. That’s the message that Halstead City Council approved Monday night after a presentation from STAND of Harvey County. Senior Piper Morgan of Halstead High School said they want to introduce tobacco-free parks in Halstead to make sure the youth don’t see that tobacco is something that is normalized and that a lot of people use. “And it makes sure that it’s setting a clear standard that smoking and using tobacco products is not OK,” Morgan said.
Read more: Harvey County Now

Shawnee is looking at ways to eliminate or reduce noise from passing trains near a subdivision in the northern part of the city after residents complained. In a committee meeting Monday, the Shawnee City Council discussed options to control noises created by trains at a crossing in the 4400 block of Lakecrest Drive. Residents in the nearby Riverview subdivision requested the city look into creating a quiet zone at the crossing because noises from the train and crossing bells are negatively affecting them.
Read more: Johnson County Post

The city of Merriam is turning 75 years old next month. Like other northeast Johnson County cities that have reached 75 years of incorporation, Merriam is making a big to do of it. The city plans to celebrate its 75th anniversary with a four-hour party on Oct. 23 at the Merriam Marketplace, 5740 Merriam Drive.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Spring Hill’s new police chief, James “Jim” Sutterby, wants to build on the legacy of the last chief — and long-term, he’s looking to add a new accreditation, bring on new officers and update the department’s technology. Sutterby began his tenure as chief on June 23, after 34 years with the Overland Park Police Department. He took over for former chief Cindy Henson, who became the first woman to serve as undersheriff in Johnson County.
Read more: Johnson County Post

With nearly 40 years of local government experience, Mike Scanlon has spent much of his career working to connect people in the Kansas City metro area via trail systems. Scanlon, who was the city administrator in Mission for nearly 10 years and a chief financial officer in Merriam for another seven, helped connect Johnson Countians with his work on the Streamway Park trail systems. He went on to connect communities in Colorado before coming back and continuing that work in Osawatomie, Kansas. He’s now an executive director for Kansas Trails Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to connecting trails across the state. Less than a year after retiring from local government, in March 2024, Scanlon was diagnosed with Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. Scanlon is a lifetime non-smoker, and he is currently taking a cancer therapy drug called Tagrisso — though he knows his cancer will eventually mutate. Now, through a month-long journey to bike 700 miles of trails across Kansas, Scanlon is showcasing what he believes is a commonality between trails and cancer: Resilience.
Read more: Johnson County Post

For Kayla Elam, providing in-home child care is something of a family business. Her mother offered the service in their family home when she was growing up, and still has an in-home child care business in Shawnee to this day, which her younger sister also works at. Her twin sister offers in-home child care in Gardner, too. It was hard work, complicated by a number of factors. For one thing, parents didn’t always want to pay her or couldn’t pay on time, and it’s expensive to offer the service to begin with. There were also behavioral issues that parents didn’t want to hear about or didn’t believe Elam if she raised them. Beyond the challenges of the child care business itself, Elam also says it can be hard to balance some of the licensing requirements, specifically the classes and training hours a provider needs to log while already working long hours. Elam isn’t the only in-home child care provider who feels the challenges mounting. She said she knows several people who have stepped away. Data from Childcare Aware Kansas’ Johnson County Point-In-Time count shows that there are fewer licensed in-home providers than just a couple of years ago.
Read more: Johnson County Post

The City of Galena provides an update in regards to an odor that arose last fall. The city says landfill operators have begun applying layers of lime to the area of the landfill where the odor was detected. Galena city officials say using lime amendment as a treatment for it mitigation of hydrogen sulfide gas emissions has been successful, according to studies and trials.
Read more: www.koamnewsnow.com –

Zach Daniel will serve as the next city manager after the City Commission voted Monday night to offer him the job following an executive session. Daniel, who was previously assistant manager, has been serving as the interim city manager the past few months. “I’m very grateful for the opportunity, super excited to continue to work with the commission, the department heads,” Daniel said. “We’ve got a lot of really exciting things on the horizon, and I feel grateful to be a part of that.”
Read more: The Eudora Times

South Hutchinson City Council rezoned three parcels outside of the city for an Evergy natural gas-powered electricity generation plant Monday. Evergy Director of External Affairs Chase Blasi told the City Council that demand for electricity is increasing at a rate not seen since the 1950s, when electric appliances like refrigerators were becoming commonplace. The current increase in demand is being driven by artificial intelligence and data centers, he said.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

Is the size of the Iola City Council a problem? Is there a better way to ensure competitive elections, such as abandoning the city’s voting wards? Or are there other solutions to finding folks willing to run for elective office? Case in point: the upcoming Nov. 4 election has five seats up for grabs, but only one race is contested.  Two seats, plus the mayor’s, have candidates running unopposed. Another seat will have to be filled by a write-in candidate because nobody filed. Council members tackled the subject head-on Monday with an hourlong discussion that ended with the consensus that perhaps the biggest issue is getting the public more involved.
Read more: The Iola Register

A global event geared at reclaiming urban, developed environments will invite the people of downtown Lawrence into temporarily reimagined parking stalls while provoking conversation about the land we dedicate to vehicles. Park(ing) Day originated in 2005 as a single installation from Rebar Art and Design Studio in San Francisco and has since evolved into a global phenomenon. Creative installations act as interventions in public parking spaces, as the project “highlights issues like climate change, road safety, and mobility equity, offering a platform for reimagining streets as greener, safer, and more equitable spaces for people,” according to the international Park(ing) Day website. The event will take a local bent in downtown Lawrence from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26 with four parallel parking stall installations embodying the theme of “The Third Place.” The stalls are a product of close collaboration between numerous downtown businesses, Multistudio and KU Master of Urban Planning and Master of Architecture students.
Read more: The Lawrence Times

A new statewide bipartisan water program task force established over the summer aims to create a long-term sustainable strategy for Kansas’ water challenges. State Sen. Kenny Titus, R-Manhattan, is co-chairing the task force with State Rep. Jim Minnix, R-Scott City. The task force is in the early stages of its multi-year effort. “We basically have three phases laid out in the task force,” Titus said in an interview Monday on KMAN. “We need to identify the problems we have, how we want to solve those problems, and then how we pay for the solution.”
Read more: themercury.com –

Big name retailers such as Freddy’s, Chipotle and QuikTrip are all eyeing expansions in Andover, the fastest growing city in Butler County. That’s because the suburb east of Wichita has grown to an estimated population of more than 16,000, which can bring in more amenities like restaurants and shops, said Lori Cullum, the president and CEO of Andover Area Chamber of Commerce.
Read more: Wichita Business Journal – Local Wichita News

The U.S. Department of Justice is backing CoreCivic in its legal battle with the city of Leavenworth as the company seeks to reopen a shuttered prison it owns there as an immigrant detention center over the objection of local officials. The DOJ filed a statement of interest in federal court on Tuesday, characterizing the city’s resistance as an illegal effort to undermine the federal government’s immigration enforcement.

Read more: Wichita Eagle

A law enforcement tool for tracking suspect vehicles has been quietly put to use in Reno County. Flock is a system that reads license plates and notifies law enforcement when someone drives by with a plate associated with a crime or missing person. Law enforcement can also search for footage of vehicles by looking up their license plate information, as the Flock system keeps a comprehensive, but short-term record of all vehicles that pass by. The default amount of time that license plate data is stored in the system is 30 days. According to a presentation Flock gave to Cowley County in June 2025, these automatic license plate readers are being used in Hutchinson.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

Fiscal Shocker is an interactive tool designed to compare the fiscal health, revenue structure, and spending priorities of local governments across Kansas. By standardizing and visualizing key financial indicators—such as property tax reliance, revenue structure, and expenditure patterns—it helps users identify similarities and differences among jurisdictions. The tool supports more informed decision-making for policymakers, researchers, and engaged citizens by making local government finances clearer and more comparable.
Learn more: Fiscal Shocker

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.

HB 2304 requires local governments to report certain local economic development incentive program information to the Secretary of Commerce. The Kansas Department of Commerce recently hosted a webinar related to the implementation and compliance with the law. Some helpful links:
Webinar Powerpoint
Template to submit information

Browse the Kansas Transparency Database Explorer

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.