Kansas Municipal News
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
Municipals sell off hard, 30-year muni nears 4%
Municipals sold off Friday with losses of up to 18 basis points, with the damage felt across the curve, and the 30-year triple-A yield closed just shy of 4%. U.S. Treasuries ended mixed after the 10-year rose to levels not seen since 2007 earlier in the session, and the reversal led to an equity rally to close out a tumultuous day and week. Triple-A yields rose 10 to 18 basis points, moving the entire curve above 3%. Short UST made gains while the long bond saw losses of up to 11 basis points.
Source: The Bond Buyer
Andover Breaks Ground on New Fire Department
The Andover Fire Department along with mayor Ronnie Price, Crossland Construction and the Andover Area Chamber of Commerce held a ground breaking ceremony to commemorate the construction of a new fire department and remodel of the current house on October 11. The new building will be located south of US 54 at the corner of Andover road and Minneha road. ‘They have made the best out of this fire department for many many years,’ said Mayor Price. ‘We realized just how much we need a prompt response, and that’s what this is about, getting our citizens in the south a response time that will save lives.’
Source: Andover American
Betting on downtown buildings
Two vacant buildings in the heart of downtown Arkansas City will soon be back in business. Andrew Iverson and his partner, John Schamahorn of I.S. Investments LLC, have purchased 206 S. Summit St., the former home of Flawed Perfection, and 208 S. Summit St., which housed the Cowley Antique Mall and Used Book Cafe. Iverson said the 208 S. Summit St., location is undergoing an aggressive renovation. The main floor will become a public venue.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
Emporia Fire Department going red this week
The Emporia Fire Department is going red to honor the U.S. Armed Forces. According to city communications manager Christine Johnson, EFD personnel will participate in R.E.D. Fridays beginning this week. “R.E.D. stands for ‘Remember Everyone Deployed,’ created to remind communities of our heroes overseas and to show support for those deployed and their families,” Johnson said in a written release. Firefighters will wear red shirts on Fridays as part of the campaign. Many Emporia firefighters have served or have family members who served in the military. “As an agency representing the founding city of Veteran’s Day, this campaign became even more important to show support for those community members that are deployed,” Johnson said.
Source: Emporia Gazette
State of the City address gives overview of projects
Garden City mayor and city staff presented at the 2022 State of the City Address Wednesday. The annual presentation was part of the Garden City Area Chamber of Commerce’s October Chamber Membership Breakfast.
Source: Garden City Telegram
Lawrence library’s Civic Engagement 101 series to wrap with talk on city and county governments
The Civic Engagement 101 lecture series at the Lawrence Public Library with wrap with a talk on the roles of city and county governments in Kansas and how they’re financed. Hannes Zacharias, professor of practice in public administration at the University of Kansas, will lead the discussion — “a timely topic, as ballot measures this November may reshape the governmental structures of both the City of Lawrence and Douglas County,” according to the library. “This presentation will explore how Kansas counties are different from cities, what each does, and how they are financed,” according to the event page. “Attendees will learn about the history of these local governments and reflect on their own city and county. This presentation will cover issues like budgets, taxation, planning, zoning, economic development, and public health. Come hear about the often-unknown inner workings of the most impactful government in daily life … local city and county governments.”
Source: The Lawrence Times