Kansas Municipal News
Wichita police officers now carrying Narcan, help stop overdose
“A car pulled in the driver flagged down the sergeant and said ‘help me, my friends dying’.” This was the scene Friday at the patrol west police substation in Wichita. Wichita Police Captain, Travis Rakestraw says a Sargent with the department immediately ran over to the car. He determined that the passenger was overdosing on a fake painkiller, potentially laced with Fentanyl. Rakestraw says that sergeant proceeded to use Narcan on the 20-year-old. “He applied two doses to this individual who within a very short amount of time started to come out of it became responsive and breathing better.” This moment was payoff for new policy WPD put into place last month, supplying some of its patrol officers and supervisors with Narcan.
Source: KAKE – News
Benefit concert held for Andover Tornado relief
Artists and vendors didn’t hesitate to pitch in. “There was no hesitation. We enjoy getting paid at times, but we believe in giving back. All of the bands that are here today are donating their services. We were honored to be asked to assist,” Mike Furches, a musician at the concert said Sunday. “Wichita is a blessed community. We are not the only band here. There are like 12 other bands here. Musicians generally are people that care. We care about the victims. Thankfully, there was no loss of life, but there was loss of property. We want those families in Andover to know that we love and we care for them and we are here to serve them and hopefully raise some money today to provide some for their needs.”
Source: KAKE – News
New Kansas law will let Walmart, Gatik put autonomous vehicles on the road
Autonomous vehicle company Gatik and its customers, including retail giant Walmart, now will be able to put medium-duty driverless delivery vehicles on the road in Kansas after Gov. Laura Kelly’s signing of a bill last week. The law allows fully autonomous trucks — meaning without a human safety driver in the cab — and makes Kansas the 25th state to pass such legislation, Gatik said in a release announcing the expansion of its operations into Kansas. An “autonomous vehicle advisory committee” the law created will launch to provide standards, education and training, Forbes reports. The new statute applies to more than simply Gatik, which is based in Mountain View, California. It covers driverless-capable vehicles less than 34,000 pounds and with just two axles. That means the legislation includes driverless taxis, Forbes reports. The provision limiting the weight and axles expires July 2, 2025.
Source: Kansas City Business News
How one airline leaving small Kansas airports could deal a blow to the state’s rural economy
The COVID-19 pandemic hit air travel hard. The number of canceled flights skyrocketed, airlines hemorrhaged billions in losses and a lack of passengers turned once-bustling airports into ghost towns. For rural airports like the one in Hays — not bustling, but critical in their own way — the shutdowns hurt that much more. At the height of 2020’s stay-at-home orders, just 29 people flew out of Hays Regional Airport in the entire month of April. Time and again, airport director Jamie Salter said, some planes would take off with no passengers at all. “There were some times they’d come and they’d have nobody on,” Salter said. “I hope that’s something we will never see again.”
Source: KCUR News
Public Works held final debris pick up day for tornado victims
It’s been more than three weeks since an EF-3 tornado touched down in Andover and parts of Sedgwick County, destroying many buildings and homes in it’s path. Since that day, it’s been a team effort as volunteers, crews, and city workers work to clean up the devastation. Monday marked the last day the City of Andover and Sedgwick County public works employees were in the areas to pick up debris. For some homeowners in Andover, all that remains is carpet, walls, mattresses, refrigerators, and toilets. Public works employees take what remains to the landfill. “It’s been a lot of work. I know the residents have had a ton of work on their end. There’s been a lot of volunteers,” said Rick Lanzrath, the director of public works for Andover.
Source: KSN-TV
Arma shows why it’s the ‘French Cookie Capital’
Southeast Kansas was keeping tradition alive Sunday with cookies. The Miner’s Hall Museum opened its doors for A Taste of Arma. It’s the second presentation part of the museum’s quarterly exhibit exploring the history of city. Today focused on the history of French cookies in Arma. The original Belgi Galette French cookie iron you see here was replicated in Arma and Pittsburg. It helped the cookie gain popularity within the community, especially during weddings and Christmas. According to today’s presenter Rachelle Mengarelli, this helped make Arma the French cookie capital of Kansas.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Wichita schools will see an increase in lunch prices, but help may be available
The price of school lunch will increase by 25 cents in the Wichita district this fall. USD 259 operations divisions director Fabián Armendáriz said the decision was not made by the district, but at the federal level by the United States Department of Agriculture. “USDA, which oversees school lunch programs, basically states that we need to analyze meal pricing every year in order to remain compliant … Because of increased cost of food, our average cost to produce meals has increased; so we are looking at a 25-cent increase on all levels in order to remain solid and compliant,” Armendáriz said.
Source: Wichita Eagle
Merriam needs 10 property owners’ OK to move forward on $2.6M 55th Street project
The city of Merriam is taking steps to move forward on a $2.6 million project along 55th Street but must first try to gain the approval of some property owners who have yet to sign off on temporary construction easements in the right-of-ways in front of their properties. Why it matters: The long sought after project to improve the 55th Street corridor can’t continue until the city gets all 35 impacted property owners to sign off on temporary construction easements to work in the right-of-ways. Currently, there are 10 property owners that have yet to give the city the green light. If they do not, then the city will have to petition Johnson County District Court to legally acquire the parts of the properties needed to accommodate road work and stage equipment.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Advisory board calls for transparency in Lawrence’s social services funding process
As the City of Lawrence formulates its 2023 budget, some social services leaders and members of an advisory board want more transparency, equity and public engagement in the priority-based budgeting process used to distribute funding for social service agencies. Members of the Special Alcohol Funding Advisory Board (SAFAB) are charged with reviewing requests and making funding recommendations for the special alcohol tax to the Lawrence City Commission. They submitted their annual report to Assistant City Manager Casey Toomay in late April demanding clarity in the process and their role in it. They also want city officials to acknowledge the power differential between the city and social service agencies within the current process.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Hutchinson plant hit with more layoffs, ‘hibernation’ as wind turbine industry faces challenges
An international wind turbine company’s struggles — and overall headwinds the onshore wind industry is facing — are having an impact on south-central Kansas. On Friday, Siemens Gamesa announced its nacelle assembly facility in Hutchison and its blade manufacturing plant in Fort Madison, Iowa, will be put into “temporary hibernation” in July and June, respectively, due to what the company called “production demand” issues in the U.S. onshore market. Ninety-two employees in Hutchinson and 171 in Forth Madison are being laid off. “The hibernation of our manufacturing and assembly facilities is an unfortunate but necessary measure to address the current challenges in the U.S. onshore wind market,” said Shannon Sturgil, the company’s CEO of Onshore North America, in a news release. “We continue to pursue new orders and remain fully committed to finding a path in support of our Fort Madison and Hutchinson manufacturing facilities.”
Source: Wichita Business Journal
Emergency units prepare for major earthquake
The U.S. Geological Survey recorded a 2.2-magnitude earthquake in South Hutchinson just before 9:24 p.m. Monday, with its epicenter just off West Sixth Avenue and North Broadacres Road. It was the first earthquake recorded in the county since July of last year. Then, at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, local emergency response officials reported another, much larger quake. This one resulted in more than two dozen injuries and was centered at the former Dillon Living Center on the Hutchinson Regional Medical Center campus. The second quake was a scenario created by local emergency response officials to conduct a mass casualty exercise involving more than 100 people from at least a half dozen agencies. It had been scheduled six months in advance.
Source: Hutch News
Salina is preparing to reach 50,000 people
Salina is in a unique place of growth, with employers finding it a great location to bring new industry, with new employees buying and renting houses to a point where the city is in a housing crisis. The population of this city has been close to the 50,000 mark for a while, with many people expecting Salina to reach that mark in the next few years. “For a long time, there’s been community discussion as if 50,000 is the threshold for certain retail and restaurants,” said Salina City Manager Mike Schrage. h Schrage said while that perception is somewhat true, there are other factors that businesses look at, and Salina, as a trade center for the region, can still bring in some of those businesses.
Source: Salina Journal
Municipal Bond Trends for May 20, 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.
Adopt a siren in Sedgwick County
Sedgwick County is looking for people to adopt a siren. The person would be a siren observer for one of 152 outdoor warning sirens in the county. The sirens are tested every Monday at noon, barring holidays, and inclement weather. The county said even with all the technology and two-way communication they still rely on human observation. The county encourages anyone within an eye-shot of a siren to sign up here.
Source: KSN-TV
Muni bonds still have role amid federal infrastructure dollars
Municipal bonds still have a role to play in financing infrastructure despite the billions unleashed by the new federal law and state and local governments that are brimming with cash. “There is of course the need to leverage this money in order to get projects done,” said Patrick Brett, managing director of municipal debt capital markets at Citigroup, during an online briefing on the deployment of the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act hosted by the Volcker Alliance and Penn Institute for Urban Research. The $1.2 trillion IIJA includes about $550 billion in new money, which will be spent over the next five years, roughly $100 billion a year, Brett said. Brett is also chair of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, but was not acting in that capacity.
Source: The Bond Buyer
Governor Laura Kelly Announces Recipients of $10 Million Investment Expanding Broadband Access Across Rural Kansas
Governor Laura Kelly today announced the 11 recipients of the Broadband Acceleration Grant program resulting in more than $10 million of investment in high-speed broadband access across 10 rural Kansas counties. “We’re continuing to deliver on our bold and ambitious goal to make Kansas a top 10 state for broadband access by 2030,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Affordable broadband is necessary for our communities to remain viable and competitive, and every Kansan deserves a reliable connection to the world. These grants accelerate our efforts to make that a reality.”
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
Municipal yields fall, following a UST flight-to-safety bid
Municipals were better Friday after catching a bid in the secondary, finally following U.S. Treasuries in a flight-to-quality, while still underperforming, keeping valuations above 100% on the 10- and 30-year. Equities pared back earlier losses to end mixed after the S&P 500 dipped into bear market territory earlier in the session. “The correlation between stocks and U.S. Treasuries is finally starting to normalize,” noted Barclays PLC in a weekly report. “Whereas the two were selling off or rebounding in sync amid higher inflation expectations and a hawkish Fed, over the past several weeks, the relationship has reverted to historical averages, with equities selling off in a risk-off environment while Treasuries rallied.”
Source: The Bond Buyer
Kansas ordered to pay $63 million to former pizza magnate after long dispute on taxes
The state of Kansas must pay former pizza executive Gene Bicknell more than $63 million to settle a long-running dispute over his tax bill. The court ruled on Friday that Bicknell was a Florida resident in 2005 and 2006 when he sold NPC International, which owned more than 800 Pizza Hut locations around the world. The Kansas Department of Revenue argued the Bicknell, a longtime resident of Pittsburg, set up a residence in Florida to avoid paying taxes on the sale to Kansas. In 2010, it ordered him to pay $42 million to the state. The case wound through several courts over the years before being taken up by the state Supreme Court, which sided with Bicknell, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported. “These findings support its legal conclusion that Gene was domiciled in Florida in 2005 and 2006,” Justice K.J. Wall Jr., wrote in the opinion.
Source: KAKE – News
The art of community: How creative contributions can transform a Kansas town
Dear Cindy Crandall, I wanted to congratulate you and your newlywed husband, Doug, on your wedding. It is 1983, The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross just debuted on PBS, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” has taken over your radio, and I’m sure that Doug’s hunting for teaching jobs. Be on the lookout for a town called Deerfield. Sure, it’s hours away from your life and family in Salina. The smell … isn’t great. You may think, “Sure, but only for two, maybe three years, tops.” Trust me when I say that in this humble town just west of Garden City, you will be a source of the most enriching “thrills” you can find this side of the Sunflower state.
Source: Kansas Reflector
Golfers tee off to help promote growth in Girard
The rain cleared up just in time for some charity work in Southeast Kansas. The Girard Area Community Foundation’s second annual charity golf tournament teed off at Crawford Hills Golf Course this morning. The event is meant to help offset the cost of operations for the foundation, and in turn provide more grants to local non-profits to help promote long term growth in the area. According to foundation president Zach Adams, the tournament raised five thousand dollars its first year.
Source: KSNF/KODE