Kansas Municipal News
New Lawrence Police Chief Making Policy Changes
The Police Chief in Lawrence since January, Rich Lockhart, has made a couple of policy changes for the department. Lockhart says that he met with several community members and groups with concerns related to the police department. He says that national news coverage brought many questions and comments surrounding the department’s approach to chokeholds and no-knock warrants. Lockhart says no-knock search warrants do not place the value of human life as a priority, and are dangerous to all involved. Even though chokeholds and no-knock warrants were not a practice of the Lawrence Police Department, these tactics are now banned.
Source: WIBW News Now
Exceeded expectations: Wichita hosts electric NCAA women’s tournament weekend
Wichita was on display for one final women’s basketball match-up Monday night at Intrust Bank Arena, with Louisville clinching the Final Four spot in a 62-50 win over Michigan. The evening capped off an electric weekend in Wichita. An estimated 8,540 tickets were sold for the two Saturday games — including a huge showing from the underdog University of South Dakota — followed by 4,596 in attendance Monday. “I was pleasantly surprised on Saturday,” said Brad Pittman, who is associate athletic director for facilities and operations at Wichita State and serves as tournament director for NCAA games in Wichita. “My goal all along was between 10 to 12,000 total tickets sold, and I think Saturday kind of exceeded those expectations. I think it was an awesome environment. Monday, obviously, you can’t control who wins, so that’s kind of the bummer because South Dakota probably would have brought another 1,000 people with them.
Source: Wichita Business Journal
Passenger numbers at Eisenhower Airport increased 76% in February
A total of 87,545 passengers flew in and out of Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport in February, marking a 76% increase year over year and furthering the airport’s recovery from the impact of Covid-19. According to new data from the Wichita Airport Authority, a total of 43,695 people flew out of Wichita in February, itself good for a 73% increase compared to last February. The airport said on its website that capacity also increased in February with 99 more flights and more than 19,000 more seats than the same period of 2021.
Source: Wichita Business Journal
Bonner Springs, Edwardsville could apply for UG’s ARPA funds
Bonner Springs and Edwardsville may be interested in applying for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. At a Unified Government ARPA subcommittee meeting on March 22, representatives of the two cities indicated interest in receiving some of the ARPA funding that the UG has not yet spent. Another ARPA subcommittee event, a community workshop, is scheduled from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. tonight, March 29, both virtually and in person at City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas. At the workshop the public may discuss how COVID has affected them and the community, and discuss how they would prioritize recovery funds. The workshop will be on Zoom.
Source: Wyandotte Daily
Lawrence police prepared for busy Final Four weekend to bring 100K to town
As we inch closer to Kansas’ Final Four game on Saturday, preparations have already started in Lawrence, but they didn’t just begin this week. The Lawrence police chief said Final Four weekend preps started nearly 3 months ago. Lawrence expects to top the 80,000 visitors from 2008, the last time the Jayhawks won the title. The city estimates the weekend will bring in more than 100,000 people to the city – a number that doubles the city’s population. “Our community is really excited because this is really the largest sporting event we have in the state of Kansas,” Chief Rich Lockhart said. With all the extra people, there will be a significant amount of the law enforcement on the ground in Lawrence, and not just from the Lawrence Police Department.
Source: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF
Chiefs consider move to Kansas, Mark Donovan says
KThe Chiefs have recently considered crossing the state line to become the Kansas City, Kansas, Chiefs. That’s according to a report from Kevin Clark of the Ringer after he spoke to Chiefs President Mark Donovan at the NFL Owners Meetings in Palm Beach, Florida Tuesday morning. Chiefs fans are watching, including Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas. “We look forward to working with the Chiefs, our state of Missouri partners, and local officials to ensure the Chiefs remain home in Kansas City and Missouri for generations to come,” Lucas wrote on Twitter.
Source: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF
Good ideas flow from combined Great Bend / Barton County meeting
From budgeting woes to shortages in house, workforce and childcare, there are many daunting issues facing both the Great Bend City Council and the Barton County Commission. But, both bodies meeting in their second-annual joint meeting Monday night said cooperation will only make these challenges easier to overcome. “It’s up to everyone to make this county a good place,” said Ward 2 Councilwoman Jolene Biggs. “We have a lot of good things going.” “Your constituents are our constituents,” District 2 County Commissioner Barb Esfeld said, echoing Biggs’ sentiments. “We’ve just got to keep working together.”
Source: GB Tribune
Reno County resident forms fire watch group
Dr. Christine Sanders recalls seven or eight years ago experiencing a wildfire near her home for the first time after moving into the Spyglass subdivision northeast of Hutchinson. “I came home from work to get the dogs,” she said. “Ashes and embers were landing everywhere, I realized that I didn’t know how to turn on the sprinklers.” It ended up not being a problem be on the winds blew the fire north, but Sanders decided she needed to be better prepared…. She asked the fire department to assess her property and then hosted an educational session, which was attended by about two dozen people and put by the fire department, Kansas Forestry Service and Natural Resource Conservation Service…. Sanders also set up a text group with her neighbors, so they can communicate when there are fires in the county and look out for each other.
Source: Hutch News
Municipal Bond Trends for March 28, 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.
Wichita begins effort to remove sand from major streets
The City of Wichita is starting its annual program to remove sand that was put down on major streets during winter storms. Assistant public works director Ben Nelson said the city used about 16,000 tons of salt and sand mix during the past few months, and half of that is sand that remains on the streets. He said removing the sand will make the streets safer for pedestrians, motorcycles and bicycles, and it also keeps sand from getting into the storm drainage system. Nelson said the city will be running six street sweeper vehicles during the overnight hours, and some crews are being moved from first shift to second and third shifts to get the work done. He said the focus will be on the arterial streets, secondary snow routes and school access snow routes that were treated during winter storms. The goal is to finish the cleanup by June 15th, but the work could be finished in May.
Source: Country 101.3 KFDI
Houseless in Johnson County will have few options after shelter closes at end of March
Bob Winner has spent almost every night this winter on a plain cot inside the Lenexa church where the nonprofit Project 1020 hosts Johnson County’s only emergency shelter for single adults who find themselves without a place to stay. The building is warm, the food is good and the volunteers are kind. Yet Winner rarely sleeps. He is consumed with what will happen to him and hundreds of other unhoused people who have sought help from the shelter come April 1, when the winter-only facility closes its doors for the season, exposing a hole in the Kansas City area’s safety net for people experiencing homelessness.
Source: KC Star Local News
The bond market is flashing a warning sign a recession may be coming. Here’s why
The bond market is flashing a warning sign for the U.S. economy. That harbinger is called an “inverted yield curve.” These inversions in the bond market have been reliable predictors of past recessions. Part of the yield curve inverted on Monday. An economic downturn isn’t assured, though. Some economists think the warning is a false alarm. Here’s what to know.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
City of Wichita crews find three leaks at water treatment plant
Public works crews from the city found leaks at the water treatment plant. It’s now time to fix the problem. On Monday, KSN received an update from public works director, Alan King, who told us crews found not two leaks as the city originally reported, but a third leak was found at the site. This is something crews did not know about until divers went down on Friday and discovered the additional leak inside the pipe. Crews isolated the problems, closed off the line and sealed it off. Right now there are questions about how much this is going to cost to repair. “We’re starting to get closer to summer and we generally experience much higher demands on our water system because of irrigation so there was some concern with what we had would we be able to meet that great of demand,” said King.
Source: KSN-TV
Strang Park set to reopen this summer with Overland Park’s first all-inclusive playground
A new and improved St rang Park in Overland Park is on track to reopen this summer for the first time in more than two years with several new features aimed at making the park more inclusive and accessible. Efforts to remake the 11-acre park at West 88th and Farley Street have been ongoing since last August, and the city gave an update on its Facebook page last week, announcing that Strang Park should reopen this June. The improvements at Strang include a new all-inclusive playground with elevated climbing nets, a sensory tunnel, in-ground trampolines and a rock wall, all aimed at “promot[ing] tactile, motor and visual skills,” according to the city’s website.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Johnson County considers bolstering security at admin building in Olathe
The Johnson County administration building in downtown Olathe, where the county commission meets, has serious security deficiencies that need to be addressed by scanning people as they come and go, according to Sheriff Calvin Hayden. In light of sometimes “highly volatile” meetings in the building, Hayden has proposed adding six staffers for building security, plus improvements in certain lobby areas. The county already has working scanning equipment left over from the old courthouse, he said.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Local Governments Attractive Targets for Hackers and Are Ill-prepared
President Joe Biden on March 21 warned that Russian cyberattacks on U.S. targets are likely, though the government has not identified a specific threat. Biden urged the private sector: “Harden your cyber defenses immediately.” It is a costly fact of modern life that organizations from pipelines and shipping companies to hospitals and any number of private companies are vulnerable to cyberattacks, and the threat of cyberattacks from Russia and other nations makes a bad situation worse. Individuals, too, are at risk from the current threat. Local governments, like schools and hospitals, are particularly enticing “soft targets” – organizations that lack the resources to defend themselves against routine cyberattacks, let alone a lengthy cyber conflict.
Source: Route Fifty – All Content
Residents review Paola’s comprehensive plan draft
The potential future of Paola was on display Thursday, March 24, during a public open house that unveiled a draft of the city’s new comprehensive plan. Maps, charts and statistical information were displayed throughout the gymnasium at the Paola Fire Station for the event, and members of the public were encouraged to walk through, ask questions and provide feedback. The displays covered topics like existing and future land use maps, parks and recreation, natural resources and conservation, housing and neighborhoods, economic development, infrastructure and transportation. There also was a print version of the lengthy draft residents could flip through.
Source: Local News | republic-online.com
A legend is lost in Clearwater: Former city council member, city administrator Yvonne Coon dies March 12
Community legend Yvonne Coon died on March 12 at the age of 87.“Mom was a great mother of three, David, Donald and Belinda,” said Yvonne’s son, David. “She loved family, friends, singing in the choir and her favorite city – Clearwater, Kansas.” Yvonne served the City of Clearwater for 49 years before retiring in 2020. She began working for the city in 1971 as a part-time employee, eventually becoming the first female city administrator in the state…
Source: Times-Sentinel Newspapers
‘It takes a village’: Community walk in Kansas City, Kansas, draws police and residents
Karl Oakman looked out at a crowd of about 200 people gathered Saturday morning at Mt. Zion Church in Kansas City, Kansas, and felt proud that a “peace walk” hosted by the police department had drawn such a large gathering. The event was organized to bring residents of Wyandotte County together with members of the police department. Police Chief Oakman hoped the walk would inspire more collaboration and positive engagement. “I really wanted to let the community see that the police is here to work with them,” said Oakman, who was sworn in as the new leader in June. “Rather than just talking, I wanted to show it.”
Source: KC Star Local News
Geneseo says ‘space ships welcome’ with hopes of becoming the UFO capital of Kansas
In the Rice County town of Geneseo, population 200, there is a sign at the entrance of the city museum beckoning visitors. All kinds of visitors. “Space Ships Welcome.” Welcome to Geneseo, where a movement is underway to name the town the UFO Capital of Kansas and perhaps even host a special global event on July 2 — World UFO day. Evidence of otherworldly visitors is in a new permanent exhibit at the Geneseo City Museum. When it comes to viewing the exhibit, think of a mix of Orson Welles’ “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast of 1938, and episodes of “Lost in Space” and “My Favorite Martian” from the 1960s. The UFO collection was originally gathered by Elmer Janzen, a Geneseo chiropractor.
Source: KCUR News