Kansas Municipal News
Municipal Bonds Increasingly Held by Funds Instead of Individuals
One factor aggravating volatility in munis this year: Asset managers’ increasing share of a $4 trillion market once dominated by buy-and-hold individual investors. The share of outstanding municipal bonds held by U.S. households fell to 40% in the first three months of the year from 46% in 2020, according to a Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board report scheduled for release Wednesday. The board, a self-regulatory body overseeing the muni market, analyzed Federal Reserve data and determined that the market is shifting from direct ownership of bonds to investment through funds. The true amount held outright by buy-and-hold retail investors through individual brokerage accounts is likely closer to 20%, because the Fed includes some Wall Street-managed accounts in its household category. So-called separately managed accounts are run by an asset manager on behalf of a single investor. Those hold about 18% of munis, according to Citigroup.
Source: WSJ.com: Markets
Hutchinson faces shortage of doctors, healthcare spending leaving Reno County
Ken Johnson, President and CEO at Hutchinson Regional Medical Center, said there were “significant discussions” over several years encouraging the Clinic to recruit more primary care physicians. Recruiting doctors whose families want to live in Hutchinson has always been challenging. “There has been a significant shortage”, said Johnson, who termed the need as “overwhelming.” Johnson said the hospital remains focused on both “community and organizational needs” with local experience and outside studies showing the public could be better served with more primary care doctors. Millions of health care dollars are being “leaked” to outside providers in Wichita, Newton, Salina and elsewhere according to Johnson who says “at the end of the day we’re competing with other local providers on every service except the cath lab.”
Source: Hutch News
Florence preserving its hometown heritage
When Bob Gayle moved away from Florence in 1978, he never thought he’d return. He came back 33 years later, to make things in his hometown better. Over the years he was away working as a diesel mechanic, returning to Florence made him sad. Ultimately, someone needed to make things better. That’s why he decided to return. “We’ve got a lot of history in this little burg, and if we don’t preserve the history, we’re not going to have it,” he said.
Source: HILLSBORO Star-Journal
Carlyle community builds shelter for resident
Kenny Arbuckle had a plan for what he would do if a tornado was headed toward his home. He’d roll his wheelchair into the garage, where he had a chain connected to a pipe which was secured in cement. “I’ll just chain myself to that and ride it out,” he thought. His neighbors had other ideas. A group of Good Samaritans, including area businesses, joined forces to build a tornado shelter on Arbuckle’s property. Arbuckle is disabled because of a muscle wasting disease and spends all of his time in a wheelchair. The shelter was intended not only to make sure Arbuckle stays safe, but also to thank him for his generous offer to serve as a host site for a community storm shelter.
Source: The Iola Register
Family proposes turning the former Iola water tower into a high-rise Airbnb
Iola’s old Elm Street water tower hasn’t been used for years, aside from being home to a couple of antennas and an occasional gathering spot for turkey vultures. Max and Candice Grundy want to change that. The Iola artists — transplants from Utah, by way of Los Angeles — have proposed turning the old piece of city infrastructure into a one-of-a-kind tourist destination. The Grundys want to convert the tower into a high-rise Airbnb, complete with an observation deck to provide a 360-degree panoramic view of Iola and surrounding countryside. “There’s so much natural beauty here,” Max Grundy said. ‘The sky is so radiantly blue and the grass is so vividly green. The landscape can be so amazing, and you’d be able to see it from a high perspective.”
Source: The Iola Register
Flags to be Flown Half-Staff June 29th for Fallen Linn County Firefighter
In accordance with Executive Order 20-30, Governor Kelly directs flags be flown at half-staff at all state grounds, buildings, and facilities on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, in honor of Linn County volunteer firefighter Joshua Haynes of Rural District 1 Fire Department, who suffered fatal injuries while battling a fire in Pleasanton, Kansas. “I am directing flags statewide be flown at half-staff to honor Joshua Haynes, a volunteer firefighter from Linn County,” Kelly said. “My deepest condolences are with Joshua’s loved ones and the Linn County community during their time of loss. His bravery and service to our state will never be forgotten.”
Source: 101.3 KFDI
Building the disc golf capitol of the world
Let’s go to the disc golf capitol of the world. We could travel around the globe looking for such a designation, or we could go directly to… Emporia, Kansas. … What has caused the sport of disc golf to grow? “It really is inclusive,” [Doug Bjerkaas] said. “When I go to the course, I see families with elementary school kids up to a couple of ladies in their 80s,” he said. “Regardless of your skill level, you can play with other people and have fun.” … It is also less expensive for a community to install a disc golf course. This means there may be several courses in larger cities, but it has also made it possible for disc golf courses to be installed in rural places such as Olpe, population 519; Neosho Rapids, population 229; Admire, population 140; and Elmdale, population 40 people. Now, that’s rural.
Source: Andover American
Snow Cones with Gardner Police
Over 500 snow cones were served to local residents who came out to support the Gardner Police Department Thursday June 9 at the Dollar General on Moonlight Road. The family friendly event welcomed everyone with a patrol car to see and touch, a drone and patrol bicycle. K9 Handler Officer Anderson and K9 Zeus greeted attendees with Officer Weathers showing off the department’s drone and Patrol Bicycle. Community Policing Officer John Stimatze, Student Resource Officer Davidson and Patrol Officer Weathers also enjoyed snow cones with the public.
Source: Gardner News
Supply chain issues hit Hutchinson area fire departments
Nearly four months after a wildfire destroyed dozens of homes in Hutchinson, the Hutchinson Fire Department chief says the department will have to wait even longer to replace damaged equipment. One of the HFD’s brush trucks valued at $250,000 was destroyed in the Cottonwood Complex Fire in March 2022. The biggest difficulty in replacing that truck is purchasing the base frame or chassis. While the department currently has four base frames on order, what would normally take three to four months to replace now has an estimated wait time between six months to two years. “In my 34 years on the job, I’ve never seen this extent,” Chief Steve Beer said.
Source: KSN-TV
City of Lawrence sees dozens of vacant houses as potential way to create more affordable housing
As climbing prices intensify the City of Lawrence’s need for more affordable housing, city leaders are interested in looking to a new option: the dozens of houses sitting vacant in Lawrence neighborhoods. City staff recently recommended the creation of a vacant structure ordinance to the Lawrence City Commission, among several other potential policy changes, and a few commissioners indicated Tuesday they were interested in further exploring the idea. The local nonprofit Tenants to Homeowners recently began piloting a program that seeks to repair and rent out vacant homes, and representatives said such an ordinance would be significant for affordable housing. Housing Administrator Lea Roselyn later told the Journal-World that vacant structure ordinances are common tools that a lot of municipalities use, not only to benefit affordable housing but neighborhoods overall.
Source: LJWorld
Municipal Bond Trends for June 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.
Finney County continues researching bird mitigation options
The Finney County Commissioners had a follow-up discussion on nuisance bird mitigation Monday… The large bird population can cause damage to the area with feces accumulation from roosting, which causes a human health and safety hazard; damage to HVAC systems, electrical substations and power stations; damage to vegetation including trees and landscaping within city limits; lost crop yields; and economic loss for feedlots, dairies and granaries throughout the county. They are also noisy…. the purpose of the discussion Monday was to see if … commissioners are interested in continuing looking into funding sources, partnerships, acquiring information from the community members and businesses, etc.
Source: GC Telegram
Kansas towns anticipate strong tourism this summer
Kansas tourism is doing well but for a few hiccups due to high fuel prices, labor shortages and post COVID-19 jitters. … Topeka, Salina and Hutchinson have noticed tourists are making plans for a visit, and the towns are getting ready for their visitors. I’d say we’re we’re really good so far,” said Visit Topeka president Sean Dixon. “Obviously, starting the year with a dinosaur festival helps. The overall impact on the attendance numbers to our attractions have been fantastic. We just tallied everything on the T. Rex in Great Overland Station. We did 17,000 visitors for that.
Source: CJonline
Frontenac Mining Days set for July
The Frontenac community is inviting the public to celebrate its heritage in Southeast Kansas during the 2nd Annual Frontenac Mining Days, in downtown Frontenac, beginning Thursday, July 7, and continuing through Sunday, July 10. A variety of activities are planned for Frontenac Mining Days, including the Pride Amusements carnival, contests, games, historic presentations, live bands, and street dances. The live bands and street dances will feature the Paul Holt Band on Friday, June 8, and the band Members Only on Saturday, June 9. This year the Frontenac Mining Days also added a new event for community members to participate in during the week of the Homecoming Festival: the inaugural Frontenac Mining Days Medallion Hunt.
Source: Morning Sun
SEK counties top list of best value in Kansas for property taxes
A new study ranks Kansas counties by the value that residents get relative to what they pay in property taxes, and the majority of the top ten are located in the southeastern region of the state. According to the study by financial technology company SmartAsset, the best value county in Kansas for property taxes is Coffey County, followed by Greenwood, Labette, and Crawford counties. The next three counties on the list — Doniphan, Brown, and Rice — are not in the southeastern quarter of the state, but Neosho and Cherokee County also made the list in 8th and 9th place respectively. The final qualifier for the top ten list was Leavenworth County.
Source: Morning Sun
Vibrant. Bustling. Wait, did you say this is a story about Topeka?
With the help of new life downtown and collaboration across the community, Topeka appears to be hitting its stride after years of false starts. But challenges remain and it could take time to fully win over a populace that had significant concerns about the community’s quality of life, image and safety as recently as three years ago. On any given day or night, Topeka’s rejuvenated downtown can be bustling. Entrepreneurs selling high-end jewelry and art. The Pennant serving up gourmet burgers, arcade games and themed celebrations for the cocktail crowd, with The Tee Box beckoning golfers…
Source: KLC Journal
The new voice shaping Reno County aid priorities? The public.
Thanks to an effort organized by civic groups, Reno County residents could weigh in about community priorities for spending about $18 million in federal pandemic relief funds. Improving the affordability and accessibility of child care overwhelmingly ranked as the highest priority. What happens next lies in the hands of elected officials, who have the last word. The people came together by twos and threes, unsure what to expect as they chatted with their neighbors and re-lived two long years of experiences battling COVID-19. In 90-minute facilitated discussions from August through October of last year, residents shared their thoughts …
Source: KLC Journal
Municipal Bond Trends for June 23, 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.
State has $56 million for homeowners struggling to pay mortgages
In the first quarter of 2022, the state of Kansas had nearly 10,000 past-due mortgages. Six of 10 of those mortgages were at least three months late and considered seriously delinquent, according to Marilyn Stanley, the program director for the Kansas Homeowner Assistance Fund. A new $56.6 million statewide program funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act aims to help homeowners who are struggling financially due to the pandemic. The program offers up to $45,000 to homeowners for past-due mortgage payments, property tax payments, utility payments and more.
Source: Derby Informer | News
Bike program helps at-risk youth in Wyandotte County
High-risk youth in Wyandotte County are being helped through a program that focuses on working on bicycles and attitudes. Martin Cervantes Sr. said the program started about three months ago, and about 10 students are involved in it currently. Some of the students in the program are involved with the court system, on probation or house arrest, he said. The Lowrider and Leadership Club is the project of Cervantes, with assistance from the Olathe Lowrider Bicycle Chapter, and space provided through the KCK PAL (Police Athletic League) Program. The bike program is allowed to use space at the PAL location at the former St. Mary’s Church on 5th Street.
Source: Wyandotte Daily