Kansas Municipal News
Up to 600 acres burned in Garden City fire
Officials report Sunday’s wildfire in Garden City burned between 500 and 600 acres of land. The fire was reported just after 2 p.m. along Highway 50 and Towns Road. Responding crews found a large grass fire that had spread from the south side of the highway to the north. Multiple agencies responded and had the fire mostly contained by 7 p.m. During the fire, the highway was closed for several hours and seven homes were evacuated. Two firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation and a Ford F-350 firetruck was destroyed.
Source: 101.3 KFDI
Help Fort Scott In Documenting Infrastructure Issues
Fort Scott Assistant Manager Brad Matkin would like to try something new in dealing with infrastructure issues. “If you see a problem… a street issue, pothole, sign damage, water leak, general question, or whatever else please send me an email …” he said. Like all public entities, they do not have enough staff to drive around looking for problems and need help from citizens to let them know issues seen. “It is better to work together with good communication, he said. “We really feel this is a proactive and positive way to handle business.”
Source: Fort Scott Biz
Wind farm proposal denied in Osage County
Osage County Commissioners decided to deny Auburn Harvest Wind from constructing a wind farm in Osage County on Monday. Up to 30,000 acres of land would have been turned into a wind farm if the proposal was accepted. It was not the wind farm itself that caused the denial, but the confusing way of business, according to Commissioner Vernon Bailey. After weeks of consideration, they decided developers could not provide confirmation that the wind farm would ever make the profit it promised, pay the county the $56 million it promised or positively impact Osage County at all.
Source: KSNT 27 News
Madison City Council considering annexing portion of city lake
Preliminary conversations are underway within the city of Madison for the possibility of annexing a portion of the city’s swimming lake. According to Mayor Paul Dean, the conversations have been ongoing over the past several weeks as part of a strong push to “reinvigorate” the town. Dean says the city is looking at the north end of the lake as the area that could be annexed to allow for a housing development. He says the Madison City Council has received some early input from local residents with the majority being overwhelmingly receptive to the initial idea.
Source: KVOE Emporia Radio
New Reno County diversion program to help first-time drug offenders
Drug convictions could soon change for people in Reno County. Thanks to recent legislation, smaller counties now have a chance to implement new drug diversion programs. For about 20 years, state funding has been available through Senate Bill 123. This funding helps people get the treatment they need for substance abuse, but this comes after a conviction making it difficult for people to get back on their feet when recovering. “The purpose of us prosecuting possession crimes, in my opinion, is not to obtain convictions, but it is to get that person the help that they need,” said Reno County District Attorney Thomas Stanton.
Source: KSN-TV
Coloring book produced in Pittsburg wins award
Something designed in Pittsburg has earned statewide recognition; a coloring book. It’s called, “Gus the Gorilla Explores Southeast Kansas”, and recently won first place in this year’s “Travel Industry Association of Kansas” marketing awards. The book was produced by “Explore Crawford County” in partnership with Pitt State University’s “Department of Art” and its “Marketing and Communication” office. … Copies of the coloring book are available … from the “Explore Crawford County” website, here.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Treasury yields decline as markets ponder future Fed policy
Treasury yields fell on Tuesday as uncertainty over future Federal Reserve policy weighed on markets and investors assessed earnings reports. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was last down by around five basis points to 4.1837%. It has had a volatile start to the week, falling early during Monday’s trading day before recovering the decline. … Uncertainty about the Federal Reserve’s policy path has been spreading, raising questions about how long the central bank will continue hiking interest rates and by how much they will be increased. After weeks of hawkish comments from Federal Reserve speakers, which indicated that rates would be hiked until inflation declined, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that some central bank officials were starting to feel uneasy about the speed of the hikes.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Salina Area Chamber, county look into incubator space for new businesses
Saline County is in the process of creating an incubator space for retail and specialty food businesses in downtown Salina. Incubator spaces are known as best practice for helping start-ups create an idea or innovative market without the high risk of immediately taking on costly overhead and administrative expenses. With these goals in mind, the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce provided the Saline County Commission a proposal to use American Rescue Plan Act funding to support a project that would allow for an incubator space downtown.
Source: Salina Journal
Municipal Bond Trends for October 24, 2022
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.
Housing Coalition recognized
The McPherson Housing Coalition (MHC) has contributed significantly to assisting citizens in McPherson with their housing needs. The group was honored for its dedication during the 2022 To the Stars: Kansas Business Awards ceremony on October 20 at the Top of the Tower in Topeka. For this year’s To the Stars: Kansas Business Awards, an all-time high of 237 businesses, organizations, and individuals were nominated in 10 categories. Various factors, including corporate growth, staff recruiting and retention strategies, training and educational programs, capital investments, and support for local community programs, were evaluated and rated for nominees. At the event, a total of 181 Merit Awards and 56 Regional Awards were presented.
Source: McPherson Weekly News
Johnson County allocates COVID-19 funding for small businesses, housing, food insecurity and community programs
On Thursday, Oct. 20, the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners approved the allocation of Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds received from the United States Department of the Treasury for several community investment programs. “Many residents and small businesses in our community continue to struggle from the effects of COVID-19,” said Deputy County Manager Maury Thompson. “Using federal COVID funds granted to Johnson County for various community programs will only help to strengthen our community as we continue to recover from the pandemic,” said Thompson.
Source: Johnson County Kansas
Parsons Police Department steps up its nighttime patrols
The Parsons Police Department has recently seen an increase in overnight calls for suspicious activity. Despite being short-staffed — The Parsons PD is being proactive and adding more officers on the night shift. KOAM’s Janna Hautala talked to not only the chief of police in Parsons but an officer who works there as well. The chief of police in Parsons says that this has turned in some real benefits such as a drug arrest of a well-known felon. The police in Parsons hopes that increasing their nighttime patrols it helps make their citizens feel safer in the community.
Source: KOAMKOAM
Altamont hosts 9th Annual Boo Bash
Altamont’s Recreation Commission today hosted its 9th Annual Boo Bash. Free drinks, food, and games were provided to those in attendance. A costume contest and pumpkin contest were also held and the top 3 participants in each category won a prize. Local businesses sponsored the event with toys for the door prizes and officials say every kid took home a bag of goodies. After the Boo Bash, a Trunk or Treat was held.
Source: KOAMKOAM
Ellis County estimates fire burned about 8,500 acres
Ellis County fire crews spent Sunday afternoon and evening battling a wildfire that started in Ness County. Crews were dispatched to the large fire approaching the county around 3:20 p.m. Darin Myers, the fire chief and county administrator for Ellis County, said over 20 fire apparatus and 52 firefighters helped fight the blaze. Estimates show the fire burned about 8,500 acres in the county. Myers said that no homes were lost in the fire and that it was difficult to access because of open range and limited county roads. One firefighter was treated by Ellis County EMS and transported to Hays Medical Center for smoke inhalation.
Source: KSN-TV
Only one Kansas county doesn’t have a Sheriff, here’s why
As Kansas voters decide whether counties can choose to have a sheriff at all, there’s one county in the state that hasn’t had one for years. Riley county is the only county in the state that doesn’t have a sheriff’s office, and has been operating that way for nearly five decades. Captain Josh Kyle, who’s been with the Riley County Police Department since 1991, said it’s perhaps one of the most unique law enforcement structures in the country. “In most consolidation across the country, what you see is partial consolidation…We are completely consolidated from the top-down,” Kyle told Kansas Capitol Bureau in an interview on Friday. “The communications center, the records section, patrol, the jail… all of us are the Riley County Police Department.”
Source: KSN-TV
City looking for suggestions for old Wichita Public Library
The City of Wichita has put out a request for reuse for the former downtown Wichita Public Library. The building is located a 223 S. Main next to Century II. The location operated from 1967 to 2018 before the library was moved to its new location near McLean and 2nd Street. It also served as the county’s COVID-19 vaccine clinic in 2021. “It is a beautiful building. It is one of those buildings that we know is still quite functional and in a great location,” said Mayor Brandon Whipple on Thursday at his weekly media briefing.
Source: KSN-TV
Crawford County program impacting neighborhood safety
A program started by the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office is becoming more popular throughout many neighborhoods. The program is called S.T.O.P. (Shared Technology on Patrol) and is a partnership between law enforcement and citizens living in Crawford County. The focus of this partnership is on crime prevention and solving. The S.T.O.P. initiative is aimed at deterring, apprehending and convicting criminals by utilizing key video evidence captured by residential and/or business security cameras during the process of a crime.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Baxter Springs PD issuing free vouchers instead of citations
Instead of giving out citations, the Baxter Springs Police Department wants to help drivers fix their broken headlights, taillights or turn signals. It’s all part of a community-driven program called Lights On! The mission is to heal relationships between communities and law enforcement agencies. Friday, the Baxter Springs Police Department announced that Lights On! is expanding to their city, making them the second agency in Kansas to participate in this program.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Kansas Water Office announces water warning for residents using Burlington water
Ongoing drought conditions have prompted Chase County officials to ask a lot of county residents to conserve water. It’s not the only entity asking residents to cut back on their water use. The Kansas Water Office has issued a water warning for all residents using Burlington water, including those in Gridley, LeRoy and New Strawn and those served by Coffey Rural Water Districts 2 and 3. The city says Coffey County’s ongoing emergency drought declaration, the lack of inflow from the Cottonwood and Neosho Rivers and predicted levels at John Redmond Reservoir if the drought persists, has triggered the warning.
Source: KVOE Emporia Radio
30-foot tower and sensory tunnel, anyone? Inclusive playground opens up in JoCo
Strang Park officially reopened in mid-October with Overland Park’s first inclusive playground, designed for children to play together regardless of their abilities and challenges. Among other things, the playground features a 30-foot tower and slide, a sensory tunnel, climbing cargo nets and in-ground trampolines. A separate toddler playground includes Farmers’ Market-themed play structures and a nature play area.
Source: Joco 913 News