Municipal News & Jobs

It looks like the Royals won’t be joining the Chiefs in moving to the Kansas side of the metro, at least not with the help of special state incentives designed to entice the professional sports teams to the state. Earlier this week, Topeka-based news stations KSNT and WIBW both reported Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins affirmed that the opportunity for the Royals to use the special stadium incentive package offered in Kansas had passed. Hawkins chairs the Legislative Coordinating Council, the bipartisan group of Kansas legislative leaders from both chambers tasked with approving state stadium incentives. Though the stadium incentive law passed in 2024 is active through June 2026, the LCC voted to impose a deadline of Dec. 31, 2025, for teams to submit plans. That date passed without a formal request from the Royals, Hawkins said.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Garden City’s newest mayor is just 22 years old, and he says his appointment shows the confidence the community has in its young people. The city commission appoints one of its elected commissioners to the role each year, and this week, members selected Tom Nguyen. Despite his age, Nguyen is no stranger to local politics. He was elected to the commission in 2023 and says he is honored that Garden City residents value his ideas more than his age.
Read more: KSN-TV

Derby’s Rock Regional Hospital is permanently closed. The hospital on social media posted that there is “NO emergency care available at this location.” The post went on to add that “if you are experiencing a medical emergency, please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.” Court records show that a bankruptcy judge lifted a stay that had delayed the hospital from being evicted. According to documents, the landlord gave the hospital notice back on Nov. 5 that it would enforce the eviction no later than Dec. 10.
Read more: KSN-TV

People in Hays will need to keep an eye on their plumbing over the next month. This week, a city contractor is starting to inspect and clean sewer lines in the southern part of the city. The Water Resources Department said work will begin on the north side of the area and continue south. It should be finished within a month, depending on the weather.
Read more: KSN-TV

Galena City Council discussed proposals for dealing with the city’s growing landfill issue, including constructing a new cell with a gas burn-off system, and has adjusted its approach to focus on air monitoring and data collection.
Read more: KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com

Marion residents wanting to own pit bulls or a Rottweiler may soon be able to. Current policy states that dogs are not allowed in the city if they have 51% of one of the breeds. Such dogs running at large cannot be returned to the owner.
Read more: Marion County RECORD

The $574 million project was originally scheduled to be complete in September 2024. The Wichita Water Works plant, near the Sedgwick County Zoo, doesn’t work because of a design flaw related to the water treatment facility’s clarifiers, Gary Janzen, director of public works and utilities, told the council. Multiple contractors have been hired to identify the root cause, he said, and the city’s waiting for their findings to provide further details on the new plant.
Read more: Wichita Eagle

The city — taking its cue from state law — has a policy that allows any city employee to legally carry a concealed weapon while on duty for the city, as long as the employee follows a host of regulations. Such employees would be carrying a weapon in their individual capacity, and not as part of their city job duties.
Read more: LJWorld

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.

Zook will continue to serve in her current role as community development director while assuming these additional responsibilities. The deputy city manager position was created to strengthen organizational continuity and leadership depth.
Read more: Abilene RC

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.

Residents said they felt a sense of victory over snatching an NFL team and had concerns about game day traffic and noise.
Read more: KC Star

After two years of negotiations under a nondisclosure agreement, Olathe residents are learning about the Kansas City Chiefs’ move to town.
Read more: KC Star

An armed city employee shot and killed an alleged intruder Monday at Lawrence City Hall, according to police. Details provided were vague, but Lawrence Police Chief Rich Lockhart said the man had gone up a stairwell to the fourth floor and broken a window. City employees “encountered” the man, a fight ensued, and an armed city employee shot and killed the man.
Read more: The Lawrence Times

It’s the biggest Kansas City professional sports franchise move in more than five decades. The Chiefs are moving to Kansas. The team and state made the major announcement Monday in Topeka, and on SportsBeat KC, the sports podcast of The Star and KCUR, columnist Sam McDowell breaks down why the decision to relocate was made and what it means to the team and metropolitan area.
Read more: Kansas City Star

Groundwater in western Kansas is a precious commodity. Hays and Russell are back in court to defend a plan to transfer water from a ranch in another county. Western Kansas towns see the writing on the walls. Water is growing more scarce in the region, and for some of the people who live and work there, it’s a problem that needs to be addressed today. Communities are already pouring resources into it, like water transfer projects, water recycling and aquifer recharge attempts. But, as some towns have learned, water is a hard thing to share in the semi-arid area, and courts are struggling to balance precedents and statues.
Read more: The Iola Register

When Matt Rehder arrived in Iola in 2021, he inherited a daunting to-do list and nearly five years later, the city administrator is steadily checking it off. Matt Rehder likely doesn’t need a crystal ball when it comes to 2026. That’s because when Rehder began as Iola city administrator in 2021, the position came with a to-do list. Develop more housing. Rebuild U.S. 54. Replace aging infrastructure. Bring in more business. Rehder laughs. Kind of. After all, that’s a pretty tall order. But in his almost five years in the position, he’s earned some notches in his belt.
Read more: The Iola Register

Governor Laura Kelly today announced that $6.7 million has been awarded to five Internet Service Providers through the latest round of the Broadband Acceleration Grant program. These awards will be matched with an additional $6.7 million in private and local investment, resulting in $13.4 million to expand high-speed internet access across eight rural Kansas counties. Together, these projects will deliver reliable service to approximately 1,068 households and businesses, many located in some of the state’s most underserved and hardest-to-reach areas.  
Read more: Press Releases Archives – Kansas Department of Commerce

Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland today announced the Office of Rural Prosperity at the Department of Commerce has awarded $337,833 in Strategic Economic Expansion and Development (SEED) grants, supporting 15 quality-of-life projects across Kansas. The awards leveraged more than $744,186 in local contributions, bringing the total investment available for the projects to almost $1.1 million. “Our small towns in Kansas are the heart of this state — they have character, history and most importantly, they have passion for growth,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “Investing in these projects provides opportunities for smaller, rural communities to make themselves more appealing to their current and future residents as well as attract potential new businesses.”
Read more: Kansas Department of Commerce

Gov. Laura Kelly and the Kansas City Chiefs today announced that an agreement has been reached to build a domed stadium and a mixed-use entertainment district, as well as a new team headquarters, training facility and mixed-use development in Kansas. The project will be a massive economic win for the state, with the construction phase alone creating over 20,000 jobs and $4.4 billion in economic impact for Kansas. From there, the stadium will bring over $1 billion in annual impact. The agreement includes two distinct parts: (1) a $3 billion stadium in Wyandotte County, which will open at the start of the 2031 NFL season; and (2) a new Chiefs headquarters and training facility in the City of Olathe in Johnson County. Both sites will have mixed-use developments that could include sports, entertainment, dining, shopping, office, hotel and residential properties.
Read more: Press Releases Archives – Kansas Department of Commerce