Municipal News & Jobs

Explore Crawford County is introducing new coloring books focusing on various local attractions, not just in Crawford, but surrounding counties as well. The first issue of the books will debut at the upcoming Big Kansas Road Trip the first weekend of May. The idea for the coloring books is the brainchild of Chris Wilson, communications manager for Explore Crawford County (formerly the Crawford County Convention & Visitors Bureau). He has been developing the idea since before the pandemic. “The idea came when I saw coloring sheets at the Miners [Hall] Museum,” says Wilson. “They had these mining coloring books for the kids. The kids could sit at a table and color while Mom and Dad toured the museum. They were a distraction.”
Source: Morning Sun

Despite not being born or raised in Salina, Dr. Trent Davis has done as much as he can to make the city better for the people and citizens he calls neighbors in this place he’s made home for the past 23 years. … Even before being appointed to the Salina City Commission in 2014, to fill a vacancy at that time, Davis was already getting involved in making changes in the city that was relatively new to him “The organization I’ve probably worked the most with over the years (in Salina) has been the NAACP,” Davis said. … Being involved in the Salina community, Davis learned early on that the only way to make positive change was by working together for a common goal. Getting involved in politics and stepping up to join and then be elected to the City Commission, Davis found another way to reach that common goal. …
Davis realized early on as a commissioner that it takes more than just a willingness and a passion to do the work well. The ability to look beyond his own personal opinions and understand what might be best for the community at large is crucial. “The toughest part is when something comes up, where my personal preference would clearly be choice A, but I realize for the greater good of the city or for our budget, (it’s) not going to fly,” Davis said.
Source: Salina Journal

A recycling center that’s operated in South Hutchinson for a quarter-century, helping the environment by diverting trash from the county landfill into markets for reuse, has managed to keep up with the times. Earlier this year Stutzman Refuse Disposal (Stutzman Recycling) added robotics to part of its sorting line in response to industry demands for higher sorting purity. Another local recycling plant with an even longer history in Hutchinson also continues expanding, taking in more paper and cardboard waste every year and turning out dozens of products. But while plant upgrades have made it easier in many ways for residents to do their part in reducing trash and waste, continuous changes in packaging and some major shifts in recycling markets are offering their own challenges to consumers and suppliers alike in figuring out how to effectively recycle.
Source: Hutch News

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled the central bank was likely to raise interest rates by a half percentage point at its meeting next month and indicated similar rate rises could be warranted after that to lower inflation. A rate increase in May, following the Fed’s decision to lift rates from near zero by a quarter percentage point last month, would mark the first time since 2006 that the central bank increased its policy rate at back-to-back meetings. A half-point increase would be the first such move since 2000.
Source: Wall Street Journal

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a city ordinance that treats signs differently depending on whether they have a connection to the site where they are located is content-neutral – that is, it does not regulate speech based on content – and therefore not subject to strict scrutiny, the most stringent constitutional test. By a vote of 6-3, the justices sent the challenge to the ordinance in Austin, Texas, back to the lower courts for them to consider whether the sign code can survive under a less rigorous test. The decision was a victory not only for Austin but also for the tens of thousands of other municipalities with similar sign ordinances. The dispute before the court in City of Austin v. Reagan National Advertising began when Reagan National, an outdoor advertising company, applied for permits to convert existing billboards to digital displays, which allow them to change the images that are shown every few seconds.
Source: ScotusBlog

The South Hutchinson City Council heard a brief presentation Monday night on a new “workforce” rental housing development proposed for the city. Austin Parker … offered a PowerPoint of a similar project proposed for Benton, Missouri, that included 25 buildings composed of one- and two-bedroom units, with 99 apartments … The South Hutchinson development would start with 20 units, he said, offering one, two and possibly three-bedroom apartments “depending on what the market wants.” “The numbers are tentative, but a one-bedroom would probably lease for around $1,100 and a two-bedroom for $1,200 to $1,300,” he said. The group will seek city-issued low-interest, non-taxable Industrial Revenue Bonds for the development.
Source: Hutch News

About 2 1/2 years after the question failed at the polls by 34 votes, the South Hutchinson City Council agreed Monday to consider allowing Sunday alcohol sales in the city. Councilman Brian Garretson, who said a resident approached him to ask the city to consider it, raised the issue Monday during council comments. The council can simply authorize Sunday sales by ordinance, which residents would then force onto the ballot by petition if enough objected. The reverse happened in 2019 when an individual in town gathered enough signatures to require a vote. The issue failed 319-to-353.
Source: Hutch News

After hearing more than an hour and a half of public comments on Wednesday evening, Douglas County commissioners gave preliminary approval to a set of rules for future solar farms in the county. The rules outline a number of limits for solar farms in the county, from how large they can be — up to 1,000 acres — to how far they must be set back from roads, homes and other structures. Commissioners voted Wednesday night to approve those standards, pending a minor technical change about grading at solar farm sites. The commission will still need to officially adopt the regulations via a resolution at a future meeting.
Source: LJWorld.com