Kansas Municipal News
Concerts, conventions bring visitors to Topeka
Concerts, conventions, drag races and demolition derbies regularly draw large numbers of visitors to Topeka, said Mike Bell. A list of some of the most popular of those gatherings was shared with The Capital-Journal by Bell, who is vice president of sports sales and marketing for Visit Topeka Inc., the city’s official destination marketing organization. Bell added that Topeka will break new ground in terms of encouraging tourism next month by doing something it’s never done before — hosting a travel conference.
Source: CJonline
Wrongfully convicted man sues Kansas county for $93 million
A Kansas man who served 23 years in prison for a double murder he did not commit is seeking $93 million in damages from the county where he was convicted and a former detective he says framed him. Lamonte McIntyre, 45, and his mother allege in a lawsuit filed in 2018 that the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, is responsible for the actions of former Kansas City, Kansas, police detective Roger Golubski and other officers involved in his prosecution. A federal judge on Thursday set a Nov. 7 trial for the civil case. The Unified Government wants to have the trial moved to Wichita because of extensive publicity in the Kansas City area, KCUR reported.
Source: Andover American
Kansas lawmakers ask for help to keep SkyWest longer
Kansas lawmakers in Washington have asked Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to step in to help Kansas towns that are losing SkyWest service… SkyWest Airlines is terminating United Express service at Salina, Hays, Dodge City and Liberal. It notified the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) that it intends to terminate service at 29 locations in nine states…. U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall and U.S. Representative Tracey Mann (Kansas 1st District) are urging Buttigieg to require SkyWest to continue its contracted level of service until a new carrier is secured.
Source: KSN-TV
Municipal Bond Trends for March 18, 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.
St. Louis Fed’s Bullard says the central bank should raise rates above 3% this year
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said Friday he thinks the central bank should raise interest rates the equivalent of 12 times this year to convince the public it is serious about fighting inflation. As the lone dissenter at this week’s Fed meeting, Bullard said in a statement that he would like to see the central bank’s benchmark interest rate boosted above 3% from the near-0% level where it had stood. Following its two-day meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday said it would raise overnight rates for banks 0.25 percentage points.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Summers says Fed will need to hike to 4%-5% to beat inflation
The U.S. Federal Reserve will need to raise interest rates higher than officials are currently projecting if it is to wrestle inflation back under control, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said. While the central bank this week increased its benchmark rate by 25 basis points for the first time since 2018 and saw the potential for six more such hikes this year, Summers said central bankers still seem to underestimate the stubbornness of price pressures and will likely need to eventually push borrowing costs higher than inflation.“Ultimately we’re going to need 4%-5% interest rates, levels they’re not even thinking of as conceivable,” Summers told Bloomberg. “They’re recognizing that they’re behind the curve. They’ve still got a long way to go.”
Source: The Bond Buyer
Fed Governor Waller says half-point rate hikes could be needed as ‘inflation is raging’
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller told CNBC on Friday that the central bank may need to enact one or more 50 basis point interest rate hikes this year to tame inflation. Though he voted this week for just a 25 basis point move due to uncertainty from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Waller said he thinks the Fed may need to be more aggressive soon. “I really favor front-loading our rate hikes, that we need to do more withdrawal of accommodation now if we want to have an impact on inflation later this year and next year,” he told CNBC’s Steve Liesman during a “Squawk Box” interview. “So in that sense, the way to front-load it is to pull some rate hikes forward, which would imply 50 basis points at one or multiple meetings in the near future.”
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Frontier Airlines ending service in Wichita
Frontier Airlines announced that it will be discontinuing service at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport. The City of Wichita said in a release Friday that the airline intended to resume flights to Las Vegas from Wichita on April 1, but has canceled those plans. Frontier said the decision follows a shortage of aircraft. Frontier hopes to bring service back to Wichita. “We certainly are disappointed that Frontier is leaving, especially now that passenger demand is increasing and more seats are needed. There are opportunities for Frontier in this market and we hope to bring them back,” said Valerie Wise, ICT air service and marketing manager. Frontier began service to Denver in August 2018, causing fares to drop 29%, the release said During the pandemic, Southwest began flying to Denver in September 2020. United also flies nonstop to Denver, causing an abundance of capacity. Frontier began Las Vegas service in March 2021 and eventually ended the Denver service in September 2021.
Source: KAKE – News
Teenage boy, 14, killed in shooting at Wichita’s Towne East Square
A 14-year-old boy died and two teenagers were arrested after a shooting sent waves of panic through Wichita’s largest shopping center. Towne East Square was closed and systematically evacuated Friday evening after the shooting and resulting chaos as shoppers and employees ran for their lives. Police said the shooting, which followed a fistfight near the food court, is believed to have been gang-related.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Winfield to consider fee hike for ambulance rides
Ambulance fees for the City of Winfield could possibly be increased to keep up with increased supply and fuel costs, according to Winfield City Manager Taggart Wall. The city charges a transport fee and mileage fee for patients who use ambulance services, Wall said. Those fees have been the same since the City of Winfield took control of the ambulance service from William Newton Hospital in 2014. “As other costs increase, we need to make sure we’re looking at that and covering our costs appropriately,” Wall said.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
Fire chief seeks assistance on burn policy
Chase County’s fire chief issued an urgent plea during Monday’s meeting of the board of commissioners. Steve Fillmore told the commission that landowners needed to start calling in their controlled burns or big changes to the county burn policy would be needed. “If we keep going the way we’re going, we’re going to have to change our burn policies,” Fillmore said, his frustration apparent. “Four of the five calls we’ve been on this year could have been prevented very easily.” He said there have been several calls where those burning were not adequately prepared in the event their burns got out of bounds. That included not calling in their burns so that dispatch and fire crews would have approximate locations and not having water available on site.
Source: Emporia Gazette
Wichita Mayor reacts to Towne East shooting, calls for community input
Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple said he hopes the shooting Friday at Towne East square can push the Wichita community to come together for change. “If there is a silver lining, let that be us coming together and really paying attention to problems in our communities so we can address them before they wind up to the level in which kids are shooting at each other,” Whipple said. Wichita police identified the 14-year-old killed in the shooting as Trenjvious Hutton on Saturday. Police also arrested a 16-year-old on a charge of second degree murder. Whipple said this shooting hits harder, because he first came to Wichita to help at-risk youth. “Frankly, Wichita is too good of a community to allow teenagers to die over stupid conflicts,” he said. “So what can we do to get in and make actual change that’s long lasting and not just throwing money at it or not just some type of politically motivated tagline?”
Source: KAKE – News
A community effort underway to help solve Salina’s housing issue
The housing situation in Salina is at a critical stage as more companies are moving into and expanding in Saline County. The community, through different people, organizations and industries, is tackling the issue together. Not a situation unique to Salina right now, the need for housing has picked up across the country for the past few years. This unity of the community in Salina is something that many people see as a positive practice going forward. “We’re coming at this from a unified perspective,” said Lauren Driscoll, director of community and development services for the City of Salina. “The projects that put forward have the support of our taxing entities (like the airport authority), the school district and the county support from major employers. That really weighs in very well for us.”
Source: Salina Journal
Pittsburg PD 50 years ago: Local newspaper begins series on old-time PPD
There seems to be a high level of interest (and memory) when it comes to the old-time Pittsburg Police Department (PPD), so hopefully readers will appreciate a broader view of policing as it existed 50 years ago. Therefore, I decided to write about this topic in several installments, each with a different focus. As you read over this series bear in mind that: (1) there were no computers or specialized units at PPD except for its two investigators — no units dedicated to SWAT, drugs, K-9, traffic, DARE, crime analysis, or juvenile crimes; officers were generalists; (2) “curbside policing” has probably changed very little over these past 50 years, even though the technologies and laws then were very different from today’s; (3) risk management, police liability, and the fear of being sued were never considerations in what we did or how we were hired or trained.
Source: morningsun.net
Haven looks to expand new commerce but faces small-town challenges
Reno County mom-and-pop shops are staples for its rural towns, but supporting them in places like Haven or Yoder sometimes takes more than local residents walking through their doors. Mom-and-pop shops sometimes define a small-town, with local restaurants, manufacturers or farms creating jobs, commerce and community. But according to the Haven Chamber of Commerce, keeping the doors open and the lights on requires more than just the community’s locals. Downtown Haven continues to grow, with three new businesses, including two in Haven, opening in the past nine months. The Haven Chamber of Commerce president Kaya Wells said the community welcomes the change.
Source: Hutch News
Governor declares drought emergency
One day after the Barton County Commission let stand the countywide burn ban due to lingering dry conditions, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly Thursday approved updated drought declarations via executive order, placing all 105 Kansas counties either in watch, warning or emergency status. Barton County joins 60 other counties under the drought warning category, the second-most severe classification. The drought declaration also placed 19 counties into an emergency status and 25 into a watch status. This action was recommended by Connie Owen, director of the Kansas Water Office and chair of the Governor’s Drought Response Team.
Source: GB Tribune
Municipal Bond Trends for March 17, 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.
Federal Reserve approves first interest rate hike in more than three years, sees six more ahead
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday approved its first interest rate increase in more than three years, an incremental salvo to address spiraling inflation without torpedoing economic growth. After keeping its benchmark interest rate anchored near zero since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee said it will raise rates by a quarter percentage point, or 25 basis points. That will bring the rate now into a range of 0.25%-0.5%. The move will correspond with a hike in the prime rate and immediately send financing costs higher for many forms of consumer borrowing and credit. Fed officials indicated the rate increases will come with slower economic growth this year.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Governor Laura Kelly Announces First Round of Grants to Support Tourism and Economic Development
Governor Laura Kelly today announced the first-round of 2022 funding recipients for the Tourism Marketing Grant Program (TMGP). The TMGP, administered by Kansas Tourism, assists Destination Marketing Organizations, tourism communities and travel industry businesses or events. The program helps with first-time marketing efforts or enhancement of current marketing with new or innovative strategies. “Our tourism industry injects millions into our economy and adds another incentive for families to put down roots in our state,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “These grants will enhance local community efforts to develop quality tourism assets that will grow the economy and improve the quality of life for all Kansans.”
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
Sedgwick County officials concerned about bill on home-based businesses
A bill has been introduced in the Kansas Senate to limit restrictions on home-based businesses, and some city and county leaders across the state are raising concerns that it will hurt their ability to deal with any nuisance issues in neighborhoods. Sedgwick County commissioners had a briefing on the bill this week. Senate Bill 505 would prohibit cities and counties from enacting or enforcing zoning regulations that would be considered as barriers to home-based work. Assistant County Counselor Justin Waggoner told commissioners that the bill would wipe out county zoning regulations on home-based businesses. He said there would be no restrictions on the number of employees, or the number of company vehicles that are parked on a property, and a home business could build an accessory building.
Source: Country 101.3 KFDI