Municipal News & Jobs

Scooter safety was on the minds of both county and city commissioners last week. Ellis County Commission Chair Neal Younger commented during his personal time on June 9 that more training may be called for because “kiddos are just flying” and driving down highways. He suggested that the city and the county may need to work together regarding scooter safety. Hays City commissioners Sandy Jacobs and Shaun Musil also used their personal comment time on June 11 to state their scooter use concerns. “I’m just going to say it — somebody’s going to get killed. So I’m going to say it as loud as I can. I don’t know what we’re going to do about it,” Jacobs said. She reported that, prior to the commission meeting last Thursday, she saw two serious incidents on Hays streets involving unsafe scooter use. One was a little boy she believed to be around age 7 who had his 2-year-old sister sitting in front of him as they “were just barreling down Hall Street.” Jacobs said she understands scooter safety is a parenting issue and pleaded with parents to know how their children are behaving on scooters.
Read more: Hays Daily News

The Edgerton City Council has denied a temporary ban on data centers, making it the second community in Johnson County to consider and deny a moratorium this month. Next door in Gardner, the city council considered but ultimately denied a similar proposed six-month ban on June 1. The Edgerton City Council on Thursday voted 3-2 to deny a six-month moratorium, which would have temporarily prevented applications for facilities where the primary use was a data center. After City Attorney Todd Luckman provided a brief clarification on the measure’s language, Councilmember Josh Lewis immediately made a motion to deny the six-month ban. Edgerton resident Kim Twente said she’s disappointed in the decision, adding that the community’s worked hard to get a moratorium passed.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Overland Park could become the latest Johnson County city to require kids on electronic bikes and scooters to wear helmets or else face a fine. It’s the latest step in a long line of discussions among residents and local officials in Johnson County about how to keep kids safe when they ride the increasingly popular devices. Just last month, Overland Park established a new set of city codes prohibiting anyone under the age of 16 from riding class 3 e-bikes, which are throttle-assisted bikes capable of reaching higher speeds. On Wednesday, the Overland Park City Council Public Safety Committee voted unanimously to recommend adoption of a helmet ordinance, as well. The new ordinance, if ultimately approved by the full city council, would take effect Jan. 1, 2027. The city and police department plan to conduct a public education campaign in advance of enforcement.
Read more: Johnson County Post

After a month of deliberation, Edgerton made the move to deny an application Tuesday night for an $860 million data center in Logistics Park Kansas City. The Edgerton Planning Commission voted 3-2 to deny the data center application from Dubai-based DAMAC Digital on Tuesday night. Commissioners Adam Draskovich, Jeremy Little and Jordyn Mueller voted to deny the application, while Commission Chair Tina Mathos and Commissioner Ray Soemer voted against denial. “I feel like it’s a short-term victory,” said Kellie Wakefield, an Edgerton resident. “It’s not completely denied. We’re just going to have to continue voicing our preference for the direction of our city and just protect our resources.”
Read more: Johnson County Post

Yates Center city officials are asking residents to conserve water after Saturday night’s storms. According to a Facebook post by the city, some pumps are not working properly after an electricity outage. While city water crews are working to fix the problem, residents are asked to conserve water as much as possible for now.
Read more: www.koamnewsnow.com

The lines were long but the people were happy Tuesday afternoon on the north side of Oak Park Mall. Sometimes a car or truck driver tapped hello on the horn. Sometimes a small group would spontaneously break out into applause. Who could complain? It was, after all, the line for the buses that would take these ticket holders to the first match in the first World Cup Kansas City has ever hosted. What’s more, Argentinian star Lionel Messi would be playing in what is likely his last World Cup. The vibe was, as they say, chill. Some of the riders had driven hours to see Argentina. Others were in line to support Algeria, a country whose team has been adopted by the people of Lawrence since arriving here earlier this month. Still others just wanted in on the good times and a chance to do something different.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Finney County Economic Development Corporation President/CEO Lona DuVall spoke about data centers during her FCEDC update at the Finney County Commission meeting on Monday. DuVall said she hoped to give a quick timeline of where the county is at right now with data centers looking to come to the area. The FCEDC first contact regarding data centers was in November 2024, when the Lone Bison project and TED Renewables reached out and said they were looking at doing a project, but had not secured leases or anything else yet. They came out and met with Finney County Commissioners in January 2025, DuVall said. It was just preliminary information, giving them a general idea of the area they’re looking at, what size they hoped to be able to build but no other specifics. “They didn’t apply for a permit; they weren’t in a position to do that,” she said. “We didn’t get into any further discussion with them until the new process documents had been designed for those energy systems.”
Read more: Garden City Telegram

Sedgwick County commissioners unanimously approved a six-month moratorium on new applications for large-scale solar projects at their meeting on Wednesday. The temporary red light comes as the county considers two applications for massive solar energy developments, though the pause won’t affect those projects. Commissioners supporting the moratorium said the current applications can be used as a case study to test the county’s regulations and application process. Commissioner Jeff Blubaugh said the public brought several concerns to his attention, which he felt called for more questions and prompted his support of the half-year break.
Read more: KSN-TV

The Salina Police Department is investigating a crash that left an e-bike rider in critical condition. Shortly before 5 a.m. on Wednesday, police and fire crews were dispatched to the area of South Centennial Road and Sunflower Lane for a report of a cyclist struck by a car. Upon arrival, crews found a 66-year-old man with critical injuries. Police said the man was riding an e-bike south on Centennial Road when he was struck from behind by a vehicle.
Read more: KSN-TV

Reno County commissioners spent nearly two hours at Monday’s meeting discussing whether to ban battery energy storage systems and data centers in certain parts of the county. After an intense debate, two proposed motions to impose the bans were ultimately rejected. Community members showed up and spoke from the audience, generating a back-and-forth between them and commissioners.
Read more: KSN-TV

It’s been over a year since half of a Kansas town was wiped out by a powerful EF3 tornado, and now it’s receiving federal funds to help its recovery. On Wednesday, the federal Emergency Management Agency announced that Grinnell is receiving $300,000 for repairs or replacement of roads, curbs and road signs damaged by the May 18, 2025 tornado. The $300,000 was part of $77 million in federal funding approved by FEMA in Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri. Jewel Maier, Grinnell’s city treasurer and administrator, told KSN in April that the funding had been held up by staffing shortages at FEMA.
Read more: KSN-TV

At the end of a relatively short meeting early this week, the Girard City Council applauded the efforts of a former city councilman to help the city look its best. Mayor Nick Cheney noted former councilman Dennis Everett’s work to repair the fountain at City Hall. “I want to thank Dennis Everett for buying the pump for the water feature up front and installing it,” said Cheney. “He also fixed the broken light for the flagpole out front.” Summer officially arrives this weekend, which means more activities and more visitors in town.
Read more: Morning Sun

The Topeka City Council discussed recommendations regarding the Affordable Housing Trust Fund that could help create 229 affordable housing units across the city Tuesday night. The Affordable Housing Trust Fund Committee received six applications. Of those, three projects were recommended to receive funding. The three projects include:
SENT, Inc.
Wible Property Development LLC
Highland Park REO LLC
“We have three projects that we are recommending funding, just under a million dollars, that will roughly create around 229 additional affordable housing units in our community,” Carrie Higgins, Housing Services Division director.
Read more: KSNT 27 News

Beginning Thursday, June 25, the Southeast Kansas Community Action Program (SEK-CAP) is to start accepting applications for the Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) program. The TBRA program, funded through the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation, provides rental subsidies, security deposits, and utility deposits to eligible people and families, who may receive up to two years of assistance in Allen, Bourbon, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Crawford, Elk, Labette, Linn, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson, and Woodson Counties.
Read more: Morning Sun

Hutchinson City Council Member Steve Garza said he changed his mind on data center development in the city and discussed the council considering a 10-year moratorium on data center development Tuesday evening, during the council comments portion of the meeting. After attending a special Reno County Commission meeting Monday evening, Garza said he learned new information and what residents thought concerning data center and battery energy storage system (BESS) development. He added that he considered proposing an election to decide the fate of data center development, as well as outright banning it. However, banning development could lead to potential legal issues for the council.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

Opponents of data centers and battery energy storage systems (BESS) will have a town hall meeting Monday evening, June 22, just outside Haven. The meeting, organized by the “No BESS or Data Centers in Reno County” group on Facebook, is scheduled for 7 p.m. at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church’s Lighthouse building, 8513 E. Arlington Road. A flyer for the meeting says information about hazards of those industries will be presented, along with how people can be involved in opposing them in the county.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

Panasonic’s Kansas electric vehicle battery plant will convert part of its operations to build batteries for data centers, company officials announced. Panasonic leaders announced the company’s shift to focus on developing devices and infrastructure equipment for artificial intelligence uses and data centers at a June 8 investors day presentation.  Yuki Kusumi, CEO of Panasonic Holdings, said the company will invest about $3 billion between fiscal years 2027 and 2029 to advance its work on devices and systems that support AI, including enhancing production capacity.  Panasonic opened its 4.7 million-square foot plant in De Soto in July, but ramping to full capacity was delayed by Trump administration changes in support for green energy and electric vehicles.  The project received nearly $830 million in tax credits from the state of Kansas.
Read more: The Lawrence Times

At the risk of sounding cliché, Majed Al-Ghafry wants Lawrence to know that he is a public servant through and through. The “smile of the entire community” keeps his fire lit. The Lawrence City Commission selected Al-Ghafry as the new city manager Tuesday, and he flew to town this weekend to meet with his new team and house hunt. He’s enjoyed patronizing local restaurants, like Aladdin Cafe and Merchants, and he’s already delighted in Sylas and Maddy’s ice cream — twice. Al-Ghafry said the city manager job in Lawrence is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He wants to bring his values of ethics and compassion to the role, and to address the trust gap between the city and its residents with transparency and no side deals. Being a city manager, he said, is a privilege, not a right.
Read more: The Lawrence Times

Topeka will soon take legal action against AT&T. On June 16, the Topeka City Council unanimously approved initiating litigation. The council didn’t discuss the litigation as the line item was within the consent agenda. City communications director Daniel Garrett said the city is suing due to a breach of contract. “Under the franchise utility agreement with AT&T, they are required to relocate infrastructure within 180 days, if notified of a conflict with public infrastructure,” Garrett said in a statement. “AT&T failed to relocate certain infrastructure within the contracted time. The delay caused additional costs on a City construction project on SW Fairlawn, and the City is seeking compensation for those costs.”
Read more: Topeka Capital-Journal

Rural Kansans could see longer drives to access healthcare or fewer health services because of hospital closures. A report found that Kansas has 28 rural hospitals at immediate risk of closure. More rural Kansas hospitals are at risk of immediate closure than in any other state. That’s according to a recent report by the non-profit policy organization Centers for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. It found that out of the about 100 rural Kansas hospitals analyzed, 69 are at risk of closure and 28 are at immediate risk.
Read more: The Lawrence Times