Kansas Municipal News
Hundreds of volunteers flock to Andover, Kansas, to help clean up after tornado
Hopeful volunteers filled Andover United Methodist Church on Tuesday to help clean up after a tornado shook the town over the weekend. Organizers estimate more than 500 people signed up to volunteer. Some volunteered on behalf of groups like churches or McConnell Air Force Base, while others showed up to help on their own accord. Rev. Hollie Tapley is a disaster response coordinator for the Great Plains United Methodist Conference. She came into town from Topeka over the weekend to help organize the volunteer efforts.
Source: KCUR News
JoCo police departments creating online feedback forms in response to local group’s petition
It may soon be easier for some Johnson County citizens to give feedback to their local police department. Following the release of a local civil rights group’s proposed 5-point plan for improving police transparency, the group’s leaders say some Johnson County police departments have begun establishing new online methods for residents to give their feedback, including filing complaints. According to an update posted to Facebook by the Advocacy and Awareness Group of Johnson County, multiple local police departments are working to create online feedback forms since the group issued its call for greater transparency and accessibility in March.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Why Rural Communities Struggle to Bring in Much-needed Federal Grants
Researchers examined 10 factors that influenced how well-equipped communities were to apply for grant funding, and then used those factors to calculate each county and community’s “rural capacity” score. For instance, Missoula County, Montana, home to the state’s second-largest city and flagship university campus, scored 94 out of 100, while Carter County, Montana, where there is no county head of planning and just 20 percent of adult residents have attended college, scored just 45, the lowest in the state. Within the West, Montana stands out: More than three-quarters of its communities have index scores below the national median. The state’s low capacity exemplifies the challenges rural communities across the West face, including a reliance on boom-and-bust industries that create financial instability, and a lack of grant writers, land-use planners, and emergency planners that would be helpful in applying for federal funds. “You go to a rural community, and typically the mayor is almost always part-time,” said Don Albrecht, director of the Western Rural Development Center at Utah State University. “They don’t have the resources or the experience or the expertise to even write grants to get the money in the first place.”
Source: Route Fifty – All Content
For assistance with grants and federal funds for your community, contact our grant specialists at Ranson Financial Group!
Douglas County commissioners discuss First Amendment rights in regards to public comment
Douglas County commissioners on Wednesday had their own comments following a public comment about public comment. Michael Eravi, of Lawrence, raised concerns during the general public comment portion of the meeting about the commission’s admonition at the beginning of meetings regarding public comments. Eravi noted this line, which Commission Chair Shannon Reid read at the start of the meeting: “The county reserves the right to mute or remove any speaker who is vulgar, rude or inappropriate.”
Source: The Lawrence Times
15th anniversary of Greensburg Tornado
On May 4, 2007, Greensburg was hit by an EF-5 tornado that devastated the town, killing 11 people in the town and injuring 63 others. On the 13th anniversary of the Greensburg Tornado, KSN’s meteorologist Ronelle Williams spoke with a survivor, former mayor of Greensburg, Bob Dixson: That evening, supercell thunderstorms formed across the Midwest, spawning tornadoes in several states. The intense supercell that developed southwest of Greensburg formed 12 tornadoes. One formed in northwest Comanche County at around 9 p.m. and moved northeast through Kiowa County. The tornado stayed on the ground for 65 minutes, hitting Greensburg at around 9:45 p.m. The tornado was 1.7 miles wide when it hit the town of 1,400.
Source: KSN-TV
10-year Treasury yield hovers under 3% as investors anticipate aggressive Fed rate hike
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield were calm on Wednesday morning with investors anticipating a big Federal Reserve interest rate decision later in the day…. The 10-year rate crossed the 3% mark on Monday, its highest point since late 2018. The benchmark yield has since eased back, though it remains high. Respondents to the May CNBC Fed Survey expect the U.S. central bank to announce on Wednesday that it will be hiking interest rates by half a percentage point. Nearly three-fifths of respondents also believed that the Fed’s aggressive tightening of monetary policy would end in a recession. The Federal Open Market Committee is due to release its policy decision statement at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell then scheduled to hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET. Sunil Krishnan, head of multi-asset funds at Aviva Investors, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday that there’s a possibility of four 50-basis-point interest rate hikes over the next four central bank meetings. While the size of these hikes might not seem that small in the context of recent history, Krishnan said “by the standards of longer history, we think it is something the U.S. can manage.”
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Officials announce Hutchinson’s 150th anniversary will be marked by a massive block party
Organizers of an event to mark the sesquicentennial of Hutchinson’s founding are planning a mile-long block party. Actually, they are hoping for a dozen individual block parties, but all on Main Street during the same time, extending the mile from Avenue C north to Ninth Avenue. “I’m very excited about it,” said Hutchinson Mayor Jade Piros de Carvalho. “I convened this little committee to start thinking about a community-wide celebration in August, and we started brainstorming what it would look like.” … The Aug. 18th anniversary date falls on a Third Thursday, so organizers of the event are hoping to draw a large crowd as they historically have with the annual back-to-school and “dog days of summer” events, Conkling said.
Source: Hutch News
Kansas to waive replacement fees for state documents lost in Friday’s severe weather
Kansas will waive replacement fees for the birth certificates, marriage certificates, and vehicle registrations of residents affected by Friday’s severe weather, Gov. Laura Kelly announced Monday. “Last Friday’s storm placed significant emotional and financial burdens on many Kansans. My administration is working to ensure those who lost everything get back on their feet,” Kelly said in a news release. The Kansas Department of Revenue will waive penalties associated with late vehicle registrations. KDOR will also waive fees associated with the reprint or replacement of vehicle registration documentation, printed vehicle certificate of titles, driver’s licenses, and/or identification cards.
Source: Wichita Eagle
Derby FD aids in Andover tornado response
After a tornado touched down in southeast Wichita and Andover on April 29, first responders were quick to action in the aftermath. … Given the massive scale of damage, multiple units from around the area responded – including staff from Derby Fire and Rescue. Chief John Turner noted a crew of six were among the initial response team from Derby, with two more helping in the second shift on April 30. Once Derby Fire personnel were alerted to the tornado April 29, they made their way to Andover, first stopping in eastern Sedgwick County to help clear roads for other emergency vehicles. The Derby crew arrived in Andover before 10 p.m. and helped with planning along with serving on the rescue squads tasked with helping individuals who were trapped, marking buildings as searched, controlling utilities, etc. Having responded to several regional severe weather events – including the 1991 Andover tornado – Turner posited that the early warning system may have helped prevent outcomes of a similar scale this time.
Source: Derby Informer | Area
Derby makes pay adjustments related to inflation
In an effort to address both inflation and attraction/retention of employees, City Manager Kiel Mangus brought a proposed general pay adjustment before the Derby City Council at its April 26 meeting, which the council approved 6-0. Mangus proposed a mid-year 3% general pay adjustment (GPA) given the increasing inflation trends that continue to shrink the true impact of employees’ take-home pay. Inflation-adjusted average hourly earning fell 2.7% from March 2021 to March 2022. Additionally, the Consumer Price Index increased 8.5% in that same 12-month span – the highest such increase since 1981. The pay adjustment was also recommended due to an increasing turnover rate within the city offices.
Source: Derby Informer | News
Olpe hopes post office ‘suspension’ really temporary
Olpe will be without a post office in two weeks, due to what the U.S. Postal Service calls a “change of ownership.” “We found out, probably two or three weeks ago, that there was a lease issue,” Mayor Keith Pimple said Monday. “We didn’t find out until last week that there was not an agreement made.” A letter sent to residents Friday by Emporia Postmaster Tess Weimar says the USPS had a “loss of lease” on its Olpe location at 118 Westphalia Street.
Source: Emporia Gazette
Municipal Bond Trends for May 3, 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.
How small Kansas companies bring fast internet to rural places that telecom giants ignore
With a family of five and a farming operation to run, Clay Scott’s home internet didn’t come close to cutting it. Pulling up a weather page in a browser could take so long it produced an error message rather than a forecast. … Like many rural Americans, Scott’s home in southwest Kansas connected to the internet over an old copper wire. A better-than-nothing update on century-old telephone technology that struggles to handle Zoom calling, video streaming or a myriad of other internet uses that people in big cities largely take for granted. … With fiber-optic cable installation costing tens of thousands of dollars per mile, it’s unlikely that big national providers will ever find a way to make money — or even avoid losses — by hooking up people like Scott in rural Kansas…. But local providers like Ulysses-based telecom cooperative Pioneer are finding ways to make the numbers work one mile at a time. Pioneer CEO Catherine Moyer said the co-op’s goal is to connect everyone within its roughly 5,000-square-mile footprint in southwest Kansas. To do that, the co-op needs to get creative, stretching the financial feasibility limits with business plans that the AT&Ts of the world might scoff at. But, she said, the fact that Pioneer isn’t AT&T is exactly what allows the co-op that flexibility.
Source: KCUR News
“Tornadoes are not respecters of codes,” Andover EF-3 Tornado damage sheds light on building codes
After surveying the damage from Friday’s twister, [Lead National Weather Service Forecaster in Wichita, Bradley] Ketcham tweeted concerns. “New construction (2 years old) was shoddy at best. Subfloors were bolted, but walls were just nailed straight into the top of the subfloor. Causing the whole house to lift off like a rocket,” the tweet reads. Butler County Building Inspector Jay Cook says the exterior walls of a home have to be bolted down into the concrete and interior walls just need to be nailed. “The codes become more strict as time goes. However, the material that is used is not necessarily as good quality-wise as it may have been 50-60 years ago,” Cook added. “Tornadoes are not respecters of codes. They are just going to take what they take.” He says the homes he’s seen destroyed by this tornado, were all up to code.
Source: KAKE – News
Nearly half of Shawnee tenants are ‘rent-burdened’ with limited housing options, study shows
The city of Shawnee suffers from a lack of affordable housing, according to a study by United Community Services of Johnson County. Nearly half of its tenants are rent-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. Last week, Shawnee’s city council made a change that critics say disadvantage low-income renters further. It voted unanimously to ban “co-living,” which it defines as four or more unrelated adults living together. “Households making under $50,000 who rent have more difficulty finding attainable options than those that can purchase, because of fewer options and rents increasing faster than incomes,” the study found.
Source: KC Star Local News
Did Shawnee really ban roommates? Here’s what the new ‘co-living’ restrictions mean
Last week, the Shawnee City Council voted unanimously to ban co-living in all of its residential districts. The decision came as a surprise to some, but the city council had been discussing the role of co-living in the city for some time. Some renters concerned about affordable housing have expressed frustration at the council’s move to eliminate an option that allows people to share rent costs. But Shawnee 4th Ward City Councilmember Jill Chalfie said the ordinance is primarily in response to arrangements that treat co-living more as a business and less of a communal space.
Source: KC Star Local News
Pittsburg reminds residents about it tornado siren policy
The City of Pittsburg would like to remind residents about its policy for activating tornado sirens. The first step towards sounding the sirens requires a tornado warning issued by the National Weather Service. From there, the city may activate the sirens if officials believe the danger is imminent.
Source: KOAMKOAM
Haven to remove “In God We Trust” from police vehicles
The City of Haven in Reno County will remove “In God We Trust” decals from its police vehicles. During the Haven City Council meeting Monday evening, Council Member Sandra Williams voiced concern over the decals and about the Haven Police Department Facebook page having quotes from Scriptures. Williams said she did not think the police department was the proper forum to be talking about God. According to a draft of the meeting minutes, a “brief exchange occurred” between Williams and Police Chief Stephen Schaffer.
Source: KSN-TV
Galena Police recognized and awarded
A Southeast Kansas community is giving back to its local law enforcement. While many law enforcement agencies across the country have seen difficulties in recruiting and retaining officers — the city wants to show it’s behind the police department. “It’s a tough job and they know what they’re getting into, but it’s nice to have that extra recognition to know that they’re supported, and encouraged, and backed by the community,” said Ashley Groves, Mayor of Galena. The officers at the Galena Police Department were recognized for their hard work at Monday’s City Council meeting. “They’re each going to receive a certificate of appreciation that was on behalf of the city, the Council and the Police Chief Billy Charles and then they’re each receiving a monetary fund,” said Groves.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Kansas fire departments facing volunteer shortage
Many organizations throughout the U.S. are getting used to staffing issues, but here in Kansas, there’s one in particular that can’t afford shortages – the fire department. Specifically, volunteer firefighters are hard to find. Russel Stuckey, the Riley County Emergency Management Director, spoke with County Commissioners to let them know the situation is rough on Monday. He says that the department currently has around 110 volunteers, but the goal is to have between 160 to 170. With the intense fire season, volunteers are seeing burnout with a high level of fatigue. This becomes a major problem when forces are low, especially due to how quickly fires need to be responded to.
Source: KSNT 27 News