Municipal News & Jobs

Agreeing with concerns that led Marion police to seize 130 THC-infused drinks last month, Kansas Bureau of Investigation is giving retailers an unspecified amount of time to remove all such beverages, which the agency contends are illegal.
Read more: Marion County RECORD

To enhance broadband access across Kansas, Gov. Laura Kelly announced $10.4 million in grants through the Advancing Digital Opportunities to Connect Kansans (ADOPT) program Monday, including $48,989 for the Emporia Public Library (EPL) to install five solar-powered Wi-Fi benches in key locations, expanding free public Wi-Fi.
Read more: www.emporiagazette.com – RSS Results in news,government/*

Efforts to reduce the speed limit along U.S. 24 Highway in Basehor, Kansas, have ramped up following the death of 16-year-old Cody Lamping in June. Previous reporting states that on Tuesday, June 17, Lamping was driving southbound on 155th Street when he drove through a red light at State Avenue and 24 Highway and was hit by a truck. In the years leading up to the crash, and in the months following Lamping’s death, residents have expressed concerns about the stretch of road – calling it dangerous and requesting that the city change its 65 mph speed limit.
Read more: FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports

The City of Great Bend is doubling its mosquito spraying. City Administrator Logan Burns announced Monday that, going forward, foggers will be working from 8 p.m. to midnight on Mondays and Thursdays. In the past, spraying was only on Thursdays.
Read more: Homepage

During the 1800s, train travel was the fastest way to travel coast-to-coast. Now, a private sector wants to bring railroad travel back to the mainstream with a proposed line spanning from New York to Los Angeles. AmeriStarRail has proposed using existing track for its Transcontinental Chief line, a diesel-engine powered railroad system that would allow people to travel from one side of the country to the other in 72 hours. Newton would be a stop on this travel line, slated for opening in 2026.
Read more: Harvey County Now

The Jackson County Commission revisited a resolution they recently approved that gives county employees and contractors the authority to inspect the outside of private homes and buildings in certain instances. At a recent commission meeting, Commissioner Keith Kelly said that, after speaking with members of the public about the “right of entry” resolution, he questioned if the county really needed the resolution.
Read more: The Holton Recorder

After a two-year legal fight that began with disagreements over housing and zoning in Prairie Village, a citizen petition question asking whether to “abandon” the city’s form of government will officially go before voters this November. On Monday, the city council voted 11-0 to approve placing the question, “Shall the City of Prairie Village, Kansas abandon the mayor-council form of government?” on this November’s ballot. Councilmember Ian Graves was absent. That question was the thrust of one of three petitions put forward by a resident-led group in 2023 that opposed the city’s efforts at addressing housing affordability and tweaking zoning codes.
Read more: Johnson County Post

The city of Lenexa is expanding its property tax rebate program after launching it last year as a pilot. Last last week, the city announced it was now accepting applications for the second year of the program, which offers homeowners who are older or disabled veterans a rebate worth up to 75% of the city’s portion of their property tax bill, which for a typical homeowner could range from $500 to $1,000 annually. Originally launched in 2024 as a pilot program, the rebate initiative began after the Lenexa City Council approved $100,000 for it to provide eligible older homeowners and lessen the tax burden resulting from rising home values.
Read more: Johnson County Post

A new public art project by A Mural Movement is planned for the north wall of the Common Ground building (709 5th St.) in downtown Clay Center.  Beginning in September, artist Moses Park will transform nearly 900 sq. feet of blank wall space into a vibrant mural, directly across from the iconic Coca-Cola mural.
Read more: KCLY Radio

On May 18, an EF-3 tornado swept into the small town of just over 240 people around 6:30 p.m., leveling a west-side neighborhood with more than 28 houses and outbuildings. The elementary school and a city-owned golf course were damaged, along with a Frontier Ag grain facility.  Rubble from the May tornado could still be seen on July 9, 2025, in Grinnell. The town has continued cleaning up and making repairs but it will take months to recover. Under tarps in the background, Frontier Ag is storing grain after after its Grinnell facility sustained $5.5 million in damage.
Read more: Kansas Reflector

Rita Bennett remembers the day a twister ripped through Topeka, Kansas, like it was yesterday. The 1966 Topeka tornado killed 17 people, injured more than 500 people and caused $2.3 billion in damage, adjusted for 2023 inflation, making it one of the nation’s costliest tornadoes. The twister tested the longstanding urban legend, based on an oral story passed down by Potawatomi tribe spiritual leaders, that Burnett’s Mound could deflect tornadoes and spare Topeka from incoming storms.
Read more: News

It’s not your average parade — it’s a splash-filled showdown. The annual “Water Wars” parade in Humboldt lived up to its name once again, turning the town’s streets into a giant water fight between floats and spectators.
Read more: www.koamnewsnow.com – RSS Results in news/local-news of type article

The Emporia Police Department has transformed an unused space at its station into a new “soft interview room”— a quiet, trauma-informed space designed to make crime victims and witnesses feel safe, supported, and heard. “Having to come to the police station can be a scary thing for anybody,” Captain Lisa Hayes of the Emporia Police Department said. “We want them to feel more comfortable, and we don’t want to put them in a room where we would normally put a suspect.” The room, designed in partnership with the national nonprofit Project Beloved, features thoughtful touches meant to ease stress and anxiety. That includes warm lighting, soft furnishings, and identical swivel chairs to give individuals freedom to choose where they sit.
Read more: KSN-TV

Wichita Police say new technology is helping them reach shooting scenes quicker — and it’s already making a difference. The Raven gunshot detection system uses sensors to pinpoint the location of gunfire. Deputy Chief of Investigations Paul Duff said it recently reduced officers’ response time by three minutes.
Read more: KSN-TV

A memorial scholarship has been established in honor of a Kansas sheriff’s deputy who died in the line of duty. The Colby Community College Endowment Foundation and the family of Brandon Gaede have established the Brandon Gaede Memorial Scholarship. Gaede died in late June following an exchange of gunfire with a suspect he was taking into custody during an investigation into the illegal discharge of explosives.
Read more: KSN-TV

In just three days, the Hutchinson Fire Department raised $55,757.43 during its annual School Supply Drive to help students in Reno County. Now in its seventh year, the drive teams firefighters with local teachers to identify school supply needs. Firefighters collect donations outside local stores, then sort and deliver supplies to schools. This year, 34 schools — including public, private, and alternative — will receive supplies on August 6 and 7.
Read more: KSN-TV

Iolans came together Tuesday evening to share ideas on how to overcome barriers and promote growth in the community. The Iola High School cafeteria was buzzing with ideas and optimism at Thrive Allen County’s “Community Conversation” Tuesday evening. Iolans pulled up chairs, rolled up their sleeves, and got down to business discussing opportunities for growth and how to overcome obstacles.
Read more: The Iola Register

More than 20 public commenters railed against Lawrence city commissioners Tuesday night for approving a camera integration program the city rolled out last month without public input. The police department announced the Axon Fusus program last month. It has two components, including an option for residents to register their security cameras with the police and an integration option allowing businesses to purchase a custom device and subscription enabling the police department live access to camera feeds. Experts have said the program constitutes a violation of community privacy. Commenters brought up a host of concerns Tuesday, including data security, environmental impacts, AI errors and privacy protections.
Read more: The Lawrence Times

The Pottawatomie County Commission’s decision to approve a conditional use permit for a rock quarry in the north-central part of the county was affirmed Friday by the Kansas Court of Appeals.
The quarry sits on a portion of an 853-acre plot, just over one and a half miles south of Wheaton. Mid-States Materials is requesting a permit for a rock quarry on six tracts of land approximately a half mile west of Wheaton Road. The tract sits inside a boundary created by Reves Road, Belleville Road and Clear Creek Road.
Read more: themercury.com – RSS Results in news of type article

The Finney County Commission approved a resolution for a half-cent sales tax election at its regular meeting on Monday, Aug. 4. Gary Meagher, Interim County Administrator, said the resolution calls for a special election to submit a question to the county’s electors about imposing a half-cent sales tax to finance the construction, furnishing and equipping of a new jail and remodeling of the Finney County Law Enforcement Center, authorizing bonds to finance the costs and giving notice of the election, which will be on Nov. 4.
Read more: Garden City Telegram

The City of Sedgwick could soon be posting most of its legal notices, ordinances, and other official city documents on its website instead of the newspaper. The suggestion came from City Administrator Kyle Nordick, who introduced the idea during a city council workshop on Wednesday evening as a way to reduce the budget. Nordick said that from 2018 to 2025, Sedgwick has spent approximately $10,187 in publishing fees. He said the fees fluctuate based on the length of the notice and the requirements of publishing.
Read more: Harvey County Now

In less than a year, the eyes of the world will be on Arrowhead Stadium for the World Cup soccer tournament. A total of six games will be played at Arrowhead, bringing thousands of soccer fans from across the globe to Kansas City. But outlying areas are also trying to get in on the action.
Read more: News

Voters in Maize overwhelmingly approved a one-cent sales tax Tuesday. The unofficial vote was 241 to 124. The sales tax is to take effect Jan. 1 and last until 2036. It will add to existing state and county sales taxes — 6.5% from Kansas and 1% from Sedgwick County — for a total tax of 8.5% on purchases of goods or services in the city of Maize.
Read more: Homepage

Governor Laura Kelly today announced that $10.4 million will be invested in critical broadband initiatives through the Advancing Digital Opportunities to Connect Kansans (ADOPT) program. The Kansas Office of Broadband Development will partner with 18 organizations across the state to connect Kansans to high-speed internet by making public Wi-Fi accessible and distributing devices in underserved areas.
Read more: Kansas Department of Commerce

According to a news release, the finalists are Darrin Tangeman, of Orleans, Massachusetts; Michael Tremblay, of Fort George G. Meade, Maryland; and Jacob Wood, of Salina.
Read more: City of Salina.

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.

As summer winds down and school looms around the corner, a quick little jaunt into Cherokee County may be the perfect daytrip, especially for area history buffs. Baxter Springs is a quiet little town today, but it has played a significant role in Kansas history for more than two centuries. After the Osage were driven from the Ohio River Valley by the Iroquois in the mid-1600s, they moved west into Kansas. Adopting traditions common to Plains tribes, by the 1750s, the Osage became the dominant nation in eastern Kansas, Oklahoma, and western Missouri.
Read more: – Latest Stories

USD 246 is in rare company for a district that serves approximately 500 students, recognized alongside much larger school districts such as Hesston USD 460, Hutchinson USD 308, Piper USD 203, Shawnee Mission School District and Wichita Public Schools for its efforts in providing pathways for students beyond high school. The Northeast School District recently received recognition for its efforts with its Individual Plans of Study (IPS), offering kids a roadmap to explore potential pathways post-secondary.
Read more: – Latest Stories

Nine current and former students have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Lawrence Public Schools, alleging the district’s use of a controversial AI surveillance tool violates student privacy. The AI tool, called Gaggle, sifts through anything connected to the district’s Google Workspace — which includes Gmail, Drive and other products — and flags content it deems a safety risk, such as allusions to self-harm, depression, drug use and violence. But Gaggle also censors “messages containing innocuous phrases such as ‘called me a,’ ‘called her a,’ ‘very uncomfortable,’ and ‘my mental health’,” the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit, filed Friday, alleges Gaggle violates students’ Fourth Amendment rights protecting against unreasonable searches and seizures and First Amendment rights protecting free expression and a free press. 
Read more: The Lawrence Times

New trails and other nature experiences are among the possible plans for a 3,000-acre park near Panasonic. Johnson County Park and Recreation is asking for the public’s opinion during an open house Saturday as it works on plans for the park – the biggest in the county’s history. The county wants to bring both new recreation activities and outdoor experiences to residents in the area while also preserving green space in a rapidly developing part of the county, spokesman Kellen Jenkins said.
Read more: The Eudora Times

Jenny and Chris Garmons’ house caught on fire last year when construction workers rebuilding a home on the lot next door used a backhoe to knock down a tree, ripping the electrical wires off the couple’s home. Their house aflame was a more extreme aftermath, but the Garmons said that on a more regular basis their home shakes when construction next door is happening, with the noise carrying over into their house easily. As homes in their neighborhood continue to be torn down and rebuilt, the near-constant construction is starting to take a heavier toll on their quality of life, the Garmons said. Garmon said she wants to see the city try to limit the number of teardown-rebuilds that could happen at the same time in the same neighborhood.
Read more: Homepage

A bobcat was spotted in a Johnson County neighborhood Wednesday, July 30, a few weeks after a baby bobcat was rescued and returned to its mother in the same area. The bobcat was found at 7 a.m. Wednesday at the southeast corner of 95th Street and Santa Fe Drive Trail in Lenexa, according to a report from local television news station WDAF.
Read more: Homepage

Wichita police officers now have access to the gunshot detection technology the department has been testing since February 2022. Police said that they found that 83% of gunshots in testing areas were never reported. The hope is that Flock Safety’s Raven gunshot sensors will catch those gunshots, ensuring police respond to any shots that are fired in the areas where the sensors are up.
Read more: Homepage

For years, I’d been hearing about a little Italian restaurant in a little Kansas town that might be worth checking out. Recently, a close friend who loves both restaurants and road trips was having a birthday, and I was trying to think of a fun way to celebrate with a group of 10 people. That little restaurant came to mind. It’s called Renaissance Cafe, and it’s the only restaurant in tiny Assaria, population 425, which sits roughly midway between McPherson and Salina. In fact, says chef and general manager Adrienne Lynn, it’s the only restaurant in about a 20 mile radius.
Read more: Homepage

U.S. Treasury yields tumbled Friday after investors considered a far weaker-than-expected July nonfarm payroll report and weighed the effect of President Donald Trump’s raft of new tariffs on economic growth. The 2-year yield note yield plunged more than 24 basis points to 3.702% as traders reassessed the likelihood for a Federal Reserve interest rate reduction at the central bank’s next meeting in September. The 10-year Treasury note yield fell 14 basis points to 4.222% while the 30-year bond yield pulled back 7.6 basis points to 4.809%.
Read more: Bonds

With a snip of scissors, a vibrant splash of color was officially unveiled to help enliven the popular pocket park. Recent Sedgwick High School graduate Austin Thieme spent over 200 hours painting his “Postcard from Home,” mural which was displayed on Aug. 1. Thieme’s studio name, BThieme Studios has given the University of Arkansas bound student a chance to leave a lasting mark and legacy. The mural was painted in regular outdoor, latex paint with his goal to diversify in all mediums.
Read more: Harvey County Now

Two Federal Reserve officials who voted this week against holding a key interest rate in place explained their decisions Friday, both indicating that the central bank is making a mistake by waiting to ease policy amid rising threats to the labor market. Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman both said they wanted a quarter percentage point reduction, as they see tariffs having only a temporary impact on inflation. They said staying on hold, as the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee has done since December, poses risks to the economy.
Read more: Finance

Wyandotte County is expected to serve as a base camp for one of 48 nations participating in World Cup 2026 at Compass Minerals and also welcome teams who hold practices at Children’s Mercy Park before heading to Arrowhead Stadium for six matches in June and July next year. Thursday night, the Mayor’s Wyandotte County World Cup Readiness Task Force convened to brief Unified Government commissioners on progress so far in getting ready for the event and other ways it can welcome fans to the community and engage residents.
Read more: FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports

A proposal to extend Johnson County’s public safety sales tax is headed for the voters four months later than originally planned, so the county can prepare for legal opposition likely to come from Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach. County commissioners voted Thursday to withdraw the item from this November’s general election ballot and instead schedule it for a special mail-in election on March 3, 2026. The change will come with about a $950,000 price tag for the election expenses, but commissioners said the delay will give them time to ask a judge whether county commissioners can ask for the election under home rule or whether doing so would exceed their authority, as Kobach has said.
Read more: Johnson County Post

The city of Prairie Village could soon become the next Johnson County city to deploy drones as front-line emergency responders. Last week, the Prairie Village City Council discussed entering a contract with Houston-based Paladin Drones during a committee of the whole meeting for its own “Drone as First Responder” program. This is the same program that the city of Lenexa has been using since March and expanded in June, also under contract with Paladin. Lenexa Police now have a total of seven drones docked on various city properties that can be operated remotely, lifting off and flying to the scene of a 911 call within minutes.
Read more: Johnson County Post

The Abilene Kansas History GeoTour, launched by Visit Abilene Kansas at the end of March, is quickly becoming one of the most talked-about geocaching destinations in the Midwest. In just three months, nearly 300 geocachers from 24 states have completed the GeoTour, which leads visitors on a GPS-guided treasure hunt through Abilene’s most iconic historical sites and attractions.
Read more: KCLY Radio

Based on where you’re standing, Wichita’s first 24/7, year-round homeless shelter, now located in a sprawling red-brick, former school building, can look very different. From the chair of an organizer, the emerging one-stop shop, known as Second Light, is the next chapter in the story of Wichita’s efforts to address homelessness. Almost everybody agrees it can be a lifesaver, a haven not just from the cold of the winter but also from late spring thunderstorms and oppressive summer heat. The people who sleep there would like more of the services they’ve been assured would be offered and better conditions inside the shelter. Their perspectives vary; they are disabled, able-bodied, white, Black, young and senior citizens. 
Read more: KLC Journal

Kechi Police, with assistance from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, have conducted a raid of a warehouse of a local business selling CBD products. Kechi Police say on Tuesday, they received a tip about the “illicit sale and distribution of illegal substances” in their community. The department says a three-day investigation began involving assistance from Bentley Police, the KBI, and the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office. A search warrant was executed on Thursday at a small warehouse located in the 1300 block of East Kechi Road, belonging to CBD Plus USA, which Kechi Police says also serves as the company’s corporate warehouse.
Read more: KSN-TV

A coordinated community effort in Grinnell is helping people recover from the tornado that hit back in May. A mission group from Dighton, along with other Kansas churches, spent a week rebuilding a family’s home. KSN News talked to the pastor who was compelled to do it.
Read more: KSN-TV