Municipal News & Jobs

Carl Slaugh, who served for five years as Iola’s city administrator and another five years as a city councilman, died last week at the age of 77. Funeral services are Friday. The Utah native embarked on a 20-year military service, a stint that put him in Germany when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. He retired from the Air Force in 1993, and eventually began a career in city administration. He served four years as city administrator in Hiawatha and three more in Basehor, before coming to Iola in 2011.
Source: The Iola Register

Iola City Council members are looking at presenting a distinguished citizen award each year, giving recipients an honorary key to the city. The proposal will be discussed further. Iola has an abundance of folks who go above and beyond, helping make the community a better place to live. Mayor Steve French would like to see some of that benevolence formally recognized.
Source: The Iola Register

Several factors are taken into account for a safe and controlled burning, Riley County fire officials said Monday. After a prescribed burn went out of control on Harmony Road April 7, Riley County’s emergency management department reminded the public of why certain regulations exist for burning in the Flint Hills. The fire jumped to the south to the Big Blue riverbed. Russel said there were 66 people, 40 apparatus and two planes from different counties involved in fighting the fire. An estimated 650 acres burned.
Source: themercury.com – RSS Results in news of type article

“Welcome to the theater.” As the smell of popcorn wafts in the air, movie-goers come in and take their seats – in a theater building that is more than a century old. Today we’ll learn about a group of volunteers who have restored their historic movie theater building and are operating it for their rural community.  Dan Brooks and his wife Kelsey Mai are volunteer managers of the Strand Theater in Sharon Springs. Dan grew up in Colorado Springs. He does carpentry and residential remodeling. Ten years ago, they moved back to Sharon Springs where Kelsey grew up.
Source: KCLY Radio

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.

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.

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.

Nearly a year after the tornado, JT and Ashley VanGilder said they are pleased with how well the Westmoreland community has bounced back….. Westmoreland’s city government has chipped in by not requiring people whose homes were destroyed to pay for their building permit, Ashley VanGilder said.
Source: CJonline

The city of Prairie Village is once again thinking of sending funds to help its war-ravaged Ukrainian sister city, but the politics of the moment in the U.S. are creating local concerns that didn’t exist the first time Prairie Village tried to help three years ago.
Source: Johnson County Post

A public pet microchip scanning station, believed to be the first of its kind in Johnson County, is now up and running in Gardner. The Gardner Police Department installed the scanning device inside a portable station last week in the parking lot at the head of the popular Gardner Greenway trail off East Madison Street.
Source: Johnson County Post

Governor Laura Kelly has signed Senate Substitute for House Bill 2172, officially creating a water program task force aimed at developing a long-term investment strategy for Kansas’ water needs. Modeled after the state’s 10-year transportation programs, the initiative will focus on securing a dedicated funding source for water infrastructure and planning.
Source: KCLY Radio

Governor Laura Kelly announced Thursday 11 rural roadway projects will receive a total of $8.1 million in federal funds through the Kansas Department of Transportation’s High Risk Rural Roads (HRRR) Program.
Source: KCLY Radio

Governor Kelly signed a bill into law this week that allows for the year-round sale of fireworks in Kansas. While the law expands the sale of fireworks, it does not alter the times when fireworks can be discharged or how those times are determined.
Source: KWCH

Wichita is heading into spring still in stage two drought conditions, meaning water restrictions from the city have not been lifted.
Source: KWCH

The Wichita Police Department (WPD) has been testing gunshot detectors in some areas of the city since 2022. Now, the department is preparing to make them a permanent part of detecting gun violence. The new detectors use artificial intelligence to alert dispatch and officers when gunshots are detected.
Source: KWCH

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.

The state is finalizing potentially more than $150 million in Sales Tax and Revenue, or STAR, bonds to bolster the development, which it and developers predict will bring in more than two million visitors annually.
Source: Wichita Eagle

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.

After months of construction, the community was able to see some of the more high visibility aspects of the Halstead Bond Project on April 3. Both Halstead High School baseball and softball officially opened their respective facilities in action when hosting Pratt in a game that was moved thanks to weather concerns. School board members from Halstead were on hand to throw the ceremonial first pitch at each field.
Source: Harvey County Now

A group of Lawrence landlords have taken their argument against the city’s ordinance meant to ensure voucher recipients can find housing to a higher court. The Lawrence City Commission in February 2023 approved an ordinance change that creates a protected class based on renters’ source of income, as well as their status as a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking or stalking. It also disallows discrimination based on prospective tenants’ immigration status. The ordinance went into effect June 1, 2023. The Landlords of Lawrence — an association of 30-plus local landlords — filed a lawsuit against the city, arguing the language of the ordinance is unconstitutionally vague and that it infringes on their discretion as businesspeople. But Douglas County District Judge Mark Simpson ruled in May 2024 that the ordinance could stand, ruling that the “prohibited conduct is simple and clear: a landlord shall not consider the source of a prospective tenant’s rent payments in determining whether to rent to that person.” 
Source: The Lawrence Times