Municipal News & Jobs

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.

Iola City Council members will discuss Monday whether to move to a five-member governing body. When Iolans go to the polls in November, only those living in the southwest quadrant of town will have a choice to make, at least when it pertains to local governance. That’s because of Iola’s voting ward makeup, which has been in place since since the eight-member city council was established in 2011. Councilwoman Kim Peterson would like to change that. At Peterson’s request, City Council members will consider Monday whether to implement changes in how Iolans choose their elected leaders, and how many would be seated. Peterson has asked the city to reduce its size to five members, from the current eight, and to do away entirely with voting wards, making all of the elected officials at-large representatives.
Read more: The Iola Register

Locals eager to share their thoughts and concerns about Savonburg will gather for a community conversation at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The annual get-together is once again hosted by Thrive Allen County, and will be held in the Savonburg Community Building, where they’ll discuss the city’s strengths and immediate and long-term challenges.
Read more: The Iola Register

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

The Neodesha Promise Scholarship Program, which provides an opportunity for Neodesha High School graduates to afford college, has reached quite a milestone. With 36 NHS students receiving promise scholarships in 2025, the program has awarded more than 550 scholarships to 184 graduates since its inception in 2019. The program provides scholarships to eligible Neodesha High graduates covering tuition and mandatory fees at Pell Grant-approved institutions. Neodesha students receiving Promise Scholarships have attended more than 40 different institutions across seven states.
Read more: The Iola Register

It was a full house on Friday at the county commission meeting as Josh Albins presented the results of the comprehensive survey to the county commissioners. Of 30,199 residents aged 18-and-over, only 2,303 responded to the survey despite mailers, newspaper ads and billboards encouraging people to participate. According to Albins, 96% of the respondents were permanent residents of the county; 86% have lived in Crawford for 10-plus years. The majority were property owners from the rural parts of the county. The two big issues that drew the crowd were zoning and windmills.
Read more: – Morning Sun

Approved agreements on Wednesday night will now allow the development process for the recently purchased 40 acres to begin. The two agreements include a development agreement with Lange Real Estate and a services agreement with Professional Engineering Consultants, P.A. (PEC). The agreement was to contract with PEC for the survey, concept planning, and platting services for the residential development located at the corner of NW 96th and Hoover. City Administrator Kyle Nordick stated that PEC will commence work within 14 days and anticipates completing an application for a preliminary plat within 60 days.
Read more: Harvey County Now

Wall Street thinks interest rates are poised to come down faster than the Federal Reserve does—a wager that is already boosting the economy and markets by making it cheaper for Americans to borrow. Bets in the futures market show investors expect that the Fed’s benchmark short-term rate will fall just below 3% by the end of next year, from slightly above 4% now, according to LSEG data. That marks a sizable shift from May, when investors thought that rates would fall only to around 3.5% at the end of 2026. It is also below what most Fed officials are forecasting. Their latest “dot plot” showed a median expectation that rates end next year at 3.4%—the equivalent of two fewer quarter-point rate cuts than investors are anticipating.
Read more: WSJ.com: Markets

According to the Ark Valley news, in response to a new state law — and on the advice of its attorney — the Valley Center school board recently took action to stop livestreaming its meetings on YouTube and delete all previous recordings. Per the new law, if a school board fails to stream the entirety of a meeting (except for executive sessions), it could be subject to a Kansas Open Meetings Act violation. A board member misspeaking or failing to be heard clearly could also constitute a violation. Given the gray areas and to avoid potential risks, the school board followed counsel’s recommendation to end livestreaming practices. The Valley Center school board has been livestreaming meetings since 2020.
Read more: www.derbyinformer.com

The Fort Scott City Commission on Tuesday debated proposed changes to an ordinance that would require food trucks to obtain a license. Commissioners agreed to have the city manager and city attorney draft an addendum to the city’s solicitors, canvassers and peddler’s ordinance to address food trucks, then discuss the issue again in October.
Read more: Fort Scott Tribune Headlines

After its meeting on Wednesday evening, the Sedgwick city council held a workshop to discuss creating a quiet zone in the City to remove train horns. City administrative assistant Izaiah Chapman said that in years past, the topic had been discussed but never brought to a conclusion. In short, a quiet zone means trains coming through town could no longer blow their horns. The project would require the city to put medians at the two intersections in town to alert motorists of the train crossing, which will cost between $21,878.64 and $97,252.73, depending on whether they use plastic or concrete. The city would also have to pay up to $30,000 for a quiet zone calculator.
Read more: Harvey County Now

Just about where a visitor first sets foot inside the Chase County Courthouse a letter was found in 1950, when workmen were replacing the hardwood floor in the main hallway. The message was slipped into a crack between the boards the last time the floor was replaced, in 1924. “This beautiful bright February day Mr. Levi Chandler, the county treasurer, and the janitor, Harry Hudson, are laying a hardwood floor in the courthouse hall,” the letter began. “Mr. Chandler is doing the work for nothing if the commissioners will let the county pay for the material.” The letter was written by the treasurer’s wife, Carrie Breese Chandler. I’ve written about Chase County back in 2021, when I questioned the morality of the county running a for-profit detention center. In May of this year I revisited the topic, as the 148-bed lockup was the last and largest ICE-contracted jail facility in Kansas. The detention center is separate from the courthouse, five or six blocks to the southeast on Kansas Highway 177. If there are tours of that facility, they aren’t advertised. But that is another matter. On Monday, I was in Chase County to observe government at its most fundamental level. Oh, I asked the questions most journalists would ask, the how manys and whens — and I was curious about Wilson, the treasurer who had resigned — but mostly I was looking for clues to an unasked question. Who are we in 2025?
Read more: Kansas Reflector

The Weir City Council has approved a new ordinance setting regulations for mobile homes, manufactured homes, modular homes, tiny houses, and other “live-in” dwellings within city limits. Ordinance No. 1670, adopted September 8, establishes requirements for the placement, utility connections, foundations, and spacing of these structures, which city officials say are needed to promote safety, orderly development, and good civic design. Under the new rules, all dwellings must have a minimum of 320 square feet of living area and be situated on a permanent concrete foundation or piers. Skirting approved by the mayor and council is required for trailers, tiny houses, or other nontraditional structures. Each dwelling must also have its own dedicated city water and sewer connection, activated within 30 days of installation.
Read more: www.koamnewsnow.com

Ellis County Communications is launching an alert program for at-risk residents. The Creating Awareness, Responding Effectively (CARE) alert program is a voluntary initiative that allows families, caregivers, and individuals with special care needs to share essential details with emergency services. The program is available to individuals with unique communication needs, medical conditions, or disabilities affecting their development, intellect, or physical abilities.
Read more: KSN-TV

A longtime postal substation inside Leeker’s Family Foods will stay open after the store and the U.S. Postal Service reached a last-minute deal. The Park City grocery store has operated a contract postal unit since 1985, but this summer, owner Chris Steindler said he received a 120-day notice that the location would be shut down. That sparked frustration among residents and concern from local leaders, since Park City has no brick-and-mortar post office of its own.
Read more: KSN-TV

First responders from across Southeast Kansas spent the day preparing for the next disaster. That training involved this scene, staged to re-create what they might find in the event of a tornado. Firefighters from St. Paul, Girard, Baker Township and Kansas Task Force 4 in Chanute used the scene to practice rescues, using only the tools they carry in their trucks. The training showed them how to rescue someone from inside a home through the roof, getting them on the ground safely, and how to build a foundation from wood and nails to hold the house up from the inside.
Read more: KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com

It has a number of murals and more are in the works, or at least, will be soon. “This is for artists and it’s also for businesses in the downtown district that may want to beautify a wall on their exterior,” said Sarah Runyon, Pittsburg Community Development Specialist. A grant that gives residents of Pittsburg the chance to showcase their art for all in the city to see, is back this year. Applicants can receive up to fifteen hundred dollars with clearance from the city, to create a mural promoting their business, or expressing themselves.
Read more: KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com

The City Commission will consider a proposal Monday that could eventually make the city’s own website the official newspaper. The Lawrence Journal-World has been the designated newspaper for public notices since 2010. If the proposal is approved, most public notices would only need to be posted on the city’s website and not in an independent newspaper. The site cityofeudoraks.gov would be designated to act as Eudora’s official newspaper for publishing city business. City staff argue the move would save money. Within the first eight months of 2025, the city has incurred over $7,900 in publication costs, according to the meeting agenda.
Read more: The Eudora Times

The city filed a lawsuit against Kaw Valley State Bank this past summer over several counterfeit checks drawn from a city account, raising allegations that the bank denies. According to the lawsuit, filed in June in Douglas County District Court, multiple counterfeit checks ranging from $2,500 to $50,000 were debited from the city’s account from late July to early September 2024, totalling more than $133,000. After some reimbursements from the bank, the city is still out $76,802 in fraudulently pulled funds.
Read more: The Eudora Times

The look and feel for new community spaces along the west bank of the Arkansas River downtown are moving closer to reality. Wichita City Council approved the early design concepts for three pieces of public art that will be located along the river just east of Equity Bank Park at its Tuesday meeting. The gathering spaces and public art will back up to the mixed-use development that’s under construction at Maple and McLean and will include a new hotel and apartment complex next to the ballpark.
Read more: Wichita Business Journal – Local Wichita News

This enormous jamboree is not only a national event with folks coming from every state, but also international with flags of many countries flying over the campsites. The festival started on the campus of Southwestern College back in 1972 but grew so much in popularity it had to be moved to the Cowley County Fairgrounds not long after.
Read more: Hays Daily News

On April 5, dispatcher Rachel Barnes answered a 911 call reporting a woman in labor in rural Ellis County. Barnes quickly instructed the caller to gather towels before giving further directions. Barnes said the most challenging part of the phone call was waiting for responders. The family was about 15 miles away from HaysMed.
Read more: Hays 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.

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.