Kansas Municipal News
USD 258 passes bond issue in special election
A bond issue for USD 258 passed by a resounding margin Tuesday night. Unofficially, a total of 381 ballots were cast for the special election, with more than 67 percent of the vote in favor of the $17.45 million bond issue. … The construction phase will then take 18 to 24 months to fully complete. The state of Kansas will pick up some of the tab, contributing 11 percent — equaling $3 million of the bond’s total principal and interest. The bond’s blueprint is geared toward upgrades of the district’s buildings, while prominently addressing security and maintenance needs.
Source: www.chanute.com
Judge: Lawrence strip club violating city code
A judge has ruled that a longtime Lawrence strip club has been operating illegally under city code and has issued an order permanently prohibiting the club from doing business at its current location. In a lawsuit filed Feb. 2 in Douglas County District Court, the city alleged that Allstars has been operating without the license required for a sexually oriented entertainment business. The city also claimed Allstars is ineligible to receive such a license under city code due to its proximity to homes and a city park, and requested that the court permanently prohibit Allstars from operating at its current location at 913 N. Second St.
Source: LJWorld
State-ordered sales tax collection refunds cut into Hutchinson, Reno County May receipts
State Revenue officials say sales tax refunds authorized by the Kansas Department of Revenue’s Audit Division required all municipalities in Reno County to take a hit in sales tax receipts for May. Additional details on those refunds, including how much they amounted to, what period they were from and how many businesses were involved, were not available. It was also unclear if the refunds related specifically to compensating use taxes or if that’s just how the state decided to tap the funds. Either way, the result was a 91% drop in compensating use tax receipts going to the county compared to May of last year and an overall 96.4% drop for the city of Hutchinson.
Source: Hutch News
Municipal Bond Trends for May 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.
Fed’s George says inflation will guide moves after rates hit 2%
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George said she expects the central bank to raise interest rates to 2% by August, with the further course of tightening being guided by how surging inflation cools off. “Fed policymakers have emphasized a commitment to act expeditiously to restore price stability, and I expect that further rate increases could put the federal funds rate in the neighborhood of 2% by August,” George said Monday night in prepared remarks to the bank’s agriculture symposium. “Evidence that inflation is clearly decelerating will inform judgments about further tightening.” The Fed raised interest rates by 50 basis points earlier this month — to a target range of 0.75% to 1% — and Chair Jerome Powell has signaled it was on track to make similar-sized moves at its meetings in June and July. That’s a plan which both hawks and doves on the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee have since embraced to curb the hottest inflation since the 1980s.
Source: The Bond Buyer
Downtown Atchison to Welcome Purveyor this Summer
The City of Atchison’s E-Community Program is pleased to announce a new loan to Purveyor. Purveyor, a modern-day general store offering mindful goods made by responsible artisans from all over the globe, is to be located at 715 Commercial Street in downtown Atchison. The $40,000 in E-Community Loan proceeds will be coupled with financing from Exchange Bank and Trust to fund the new retail store. “Purveyor is a boutique for the mindful tastemaker,” said Ashley Gill, co-owner. “The curated store will have something for everyone and gifts for all occasions and ages. From home goods to apothecary, pet, gourmet foods, stationery, barware, clothing, and much more, Purveyor will be your one-stop shop for well…most everything.” Since January of 2017, the Atchison E-Community Program has been offering gap financing loans for small business startups, expansions, and acquisitions. Everyday businesses like hair salons, retail stores, and auto mechanics can use this locally controlled, revolving loan fund as gap financing to make their small business dreams come true.
Source: City of Atchison
Municipal bond rates dropped Tuesday as demand for safe-haven assets intensified
Municipals and U.S. Treasuries rallied hard Tuesday as demand for safe-haven assets intensified, while equities ended mixed. Triple-A benchmarks were bumped eight to 10 basis points, depending on the scale, while USTs saw double-digit bumps seven years and in.
Source: The Bond Buyer
Threats made against Wichita mayor, city council member
Wichita police are investigating a threat that was made to Mayor Brandon Whipple, City Council member Brandon Johnson and Interim Police Chief Lem Moore. The threat was received Monday morning through an anonymous internet platform, and a Wichita police officer was made aware of the threat. Police said the message threatened Mayor Whipple and Council Member Johnson if they appoint a new police chief. A similar message was received the previous week, directed at Interim Police Chief Lem Moore, telling him to leave Wichita. Police said Whipple, Johnson and Chief Moore were made aware of the threats immediately. Detectives are looking for the person or persons responsible for the threat.
Source: 101.3 KFDI
Unified Government warns investors of possible financial risk from upcoming McIntyre trial
Officials with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, have acknowledged that an ongoing federal grand jury investigation and a related civil lawsuit against it alleging widespread police corruption could result in significant financial problems. In a prospectus to prospective municipal bond investors, the Unified Government said that an unfavorable outcome in a lawsuit filed by a former Kansas City, Kansas, resident who was wrongfully convicted of a double-homicide in 1994 could have a “material adverse effect” on the Unified Government’s finances and operations. The trial of the lawsuit brought by Lamonte McIntyre, who was exonerated and freed from prison in 2017 after serving 23 years in prison, is scheduled to begin in October.
Source: KCUR News
Wichita youth can ride city buses for free this summer
As part of the City of Wichita’s RIDE summer program, anyone 18 and younger are being offered free and unlimited transit rides on all regular bus routes and paratransit services from May 26 through August 31. All they have to do is show their 2021-2022 school year student ID. Any youth in Wichita without a student ID can get one for free by going to the downtown Transit Center, 214 S. Topeka. … Age or student verification is required to obtain a youth ID.
Source: KSN-TV
Rural broadband getting $10 million boost in Kansas
A broadband boost has been a long time coming for many in rural Kansas. “We temper our internet usage. We don’t need all our kids streaming at the same time,” said rural Harper resident Leslie Gerber. “But I think in the rural communities, we struggle with getting good internet service and being able to connect with people. We also learn to just manage with what we have.” Gerber is intrigued by the possibility of faster internet for her website. Years ago, she and her husband put in a berry patch. Now they own and operate Sweet Berries & Brambles outside their home. It’s a “you pick it” farm.
Source: KSN-TV
Abilene has been named a best historic small town finalist
The Kansas town of Abilene is a finalist for a nationwide poll to determine the best historic small town in the U.S. The poll, hosted by USA Today’s 2022 Readers’ Choice, will be open until Monday, June 6 at 10:59 a.m. Abilene has been in the running for being named best historic small town for four years in a row according to Abilene’s Convention and Visitors Bureau Director, Julie Roller-Weeks. “Thank you to the tourism attractions, businesses, residents, employees, volunteers, and leaders who help make Abilene the best historic small town,” Roller-Weeks said. “Receiving this recognition four years in a row is extra special and recognizes our efforts to market Abilene as a destination.” Abilene stands in the top spot for the contest and is currently the only town in Kansas and the Midwest to be featured in USA Today’s poll.
Source: KSNT 27 News
Overland Park police officers rescue ducklings from sewer drain near Interstate 435
Another duck rescue has happened in Overland Park. The Overland Park Police Department says officers saved seven ducklings Saturday evening after they slipped through a sewer drain near Interstate 435 and Roe Avenue. According to OPPD Public Information Officer John Lacy, the ducklings’ mother was struck and killed by a vehicle on the Roe exit ramp heading east.
Source: Shawnee Mission Post
High jumpers bring Beloit, Kansas connection to WSU
Beloit, Kansas only has a population of 3,000 citizens, which makes the connection between WSU high jumpers Brady Palen and Davis Dubbert even more special. Both Palen and Dubbert ended up at WSU following four years at St. John’s High School in northern Kansas. The pair’s paths crossed for one season in 2017 with Dubbert, a senior at the time, and Palen, a freshman, placing in first and second place at the KSHSAA State Championships. “It’s been fun for me because I find that sort of thing to be a really wonderful part of college athletics,” Director of Track and Field Steve Rainbolt said. “For two guys to be teammates like that in high school and to be first and second in state track at the same tiny little high school, then to go to college at the same NCAA Division-I school and to be first and second last year at the conference championship—I just think it’s a wonderful story, and I love it.”
Source: The Sunflower
Humboldt voters OK school bond issue
By a 2-to-1 margin, USD 258 voters approved a $17.45 million school bond issue in a special election held Tuesday. With fewer than 20% of voters taking advantage of the opportunity to weigh in, the vote was 255 in favor of the measure to 124 opposed. The district has 1,917 registered voters.
Source: The Iola Register
KU Leading Project To Test New Business Model For Rural, Weekly Newspapers
Business has changed since 1833. One would be hard-pressed to find businesses operating with the same model that was in place when Andrew Jackson was in the White House. But in the case of newspapers, many are still operating with the same business model established when Benjamin Day opened the first penny press nearly 200 years ago. A University of Kansas professor of journalism is leading a project to test a new model based on research with publishers and readers to help rural newspapers adapt, survive and thrive. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Teri Finneman, associate professor of journalism at KU, took part in an oral history project to help document the experiences of rural, weekly newspapers. … This summer, the project will implement and test a model that moves away from heavy reliance on advertising and cheap subscriptions. After a year of testing, if the new model is successful in use of memberships, e-newsletters, events and new content direction, plans call to distribute a new model available for rural weeklies across the country.
Source: KU News
Lawrence Public Schools cut 72 teaching jobs; will add third Montessori classroom
The Lawrence school district has cut six dozen education positions, 11.5 classified staff positions and 6.5 district-level administrator positions, according to a staff presentation Monday evening. The school board made about $6.41 million in budget cuts this spring. The board gave staff guidance on where to make cuts but allowed staff to make decisions about which specific positions would be cut, and from which buildings. “Reductions were made through retirements and exits,” Kristen Ryan, executive director of human resources, told the board. “We did not have to use our reduction in force policy, and teachers whose positions were reduced were given the opportunity to transfer to open positions before those positions were open to external candidates.”
Source: The Lawrence Times
Municipal Bond Trends for May 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.
Fed rate-hike pause in September may ‘make sense,’ Bostic says
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said policy makers could potentially pause interest-rate increases in September after hiking by a half point at each of their next two meetings. “I have got a baseline view where for me I think a pause in September might make sense,” Bostic told reporters Monday following a speech to the Rotary Club of Atlanta. “After we get through the summer and we think about where we are in terms of policy, I think a lot of it will depend on the on-the-ground dynamics that we are starting to see. My motto is observe and adapt.” Bostic repeated that he supports Chair Jerome Powell’s plan to raise rates by a half point at the Federal Open Market Committee meetings in June and July, adding the caveat that an upside surprise on prices could call for more aggressive action. Inflation has been running close to a four-decade high and at rates more than triple the central bank’s 2% target.
Source: The Bond Buyer
Johnson County to vote on $1 million loan for Shawnee affordable housing project this week
The Johnson County Board of County Commissioners will vote Thursday on whether to invest $1 million in affordable housing in Shawnee. At last week’s regular meeting, the board was asked by developers for $1 million of community support funds to help construct the Hedge Lane Apartments in Shawnee. The project is a joint venture between Sunflower Development Group and Consolidated Housing Solutions. The apartment complex would have 144 units and be located on Hedge Lane Terrace in Shawnee. If the board approves the loan, units would likely be available to tenants by next spring or summer, Jay Leipzig, director of Planning, Housing and Community Development for Johnson County told The Star.
Source: Joco 913 News