Municipal News & Jobs

As the City of Lawrence’s first ever director of equity and inclusion, Farris Muhammad began by listening. Muhammad, who recently completed his first year with the city, said that listening to the voices of those who are marginalized in the community was one way he sought to understand the landscape. He said when he asked people about their experiences and their history, a lot of them were candid, saying that Lawrence strives to be progressive, but there is a lot of work that still needs to be done.
Source: LJWorld.com.

This coming week, Baldwin City will look to build on recent downtown success as it starts tapping into additional resources associated with its entry into the Kansas Main Street Program. It was announced in March that Baldwin City, Atchison and Junction City were selected as this year’s Kansas Main Street Program cities. Lori Trojan, executive director of the Baldwin City Chamber of Commerce and the Baldwin City Main Street Program, said three Kansas Main Street Program representatives, including Director Scott Sewell and business specialist Shelley Paasch, will visit Monday and Tuesday to tour the community and introduce the program to residents.
Source: LJWorld.com

While COVID-19 produced a lot of negative impacts, local officials also say the adversity it brought about highlighted a lot of what makes Great Bend and other rural communities great places to live. “People were craving connection and they weren’t getting that in (cities),” said Great Bend Economic Development Inc. President Sara Hayden. “(In the cities) you don’t have time to really meet your neighbor or get to know your city government personally, and I think that’s where we really excel. You can go downtown on a Friday night, and you’re going to find 10 people that you know, and catch up with them.” It is that personal touch that Great Bend City Administrator Kendal Francs also highlights when speaking about the city and its residents.
Source: Great Bend Tribune

The second annual Christmas Window Contest in downtown Great Bend has shown what businesses and decorators can do for an encore, following last year’s inaugural success. Thirty windows were decorated this year in hopes of being crowned “Best Christmas Window.” The contest ensures that downtown Great Bend is once again merry and bright for the holiday season. The anonymous donor who provided the incentive of $3,000 in prize money for the second consecutive year is impressed with the quality of this year’s windows.
Source: Great Bend Tribune

Bob Dole and Russell’s Main Street are inextricably linked. It is the site of Dole’s first job, working a soda fountain at a downtown drugstore, the same place locals fundraised to help ease the financial strain of his war wounds years later. Later, its stores and railroad crossing served as a backdrop where the powerful U.S. senator campaigned on two presidential runs, projecting the 4,600-person community to international recognition. But the town was quiet Friday morning, with a few locals out running errands at the bank, marveling at the lack of media attention — a rarity since Dole died Sunday morning in his sleep at 98 years old.
Source: CJonline

Inflation accelerated at its fastest pace since 1982 in November, the Labor Department said Friday, putting pressure on the economic recovery and raising the stakes for the Federal Reserve. The consumer price index, which measures the cost of a wide-ranging basket of goods and services, rose 0.8% for the month, good for a 6.8% pace on a year over year basis and the fastest rate since June 1982.
Source: CNBC

Representation was a main issue among those who turned out Thursday for a listening session about whether the Douglas County Commission should expand from three members to five. The commission tabled the topic this summer because few residents had expressed interest in the idea, but Commission Chair Shannon Portillo said that after media coverage of that decision, the commission heard from “quite a few folks.” That led the county to schedule Thursday’s listening session. “Our goal today is to listen and to hear from the community,” Portillo said.
Source: LJWorld.com.

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.

People across central Kansas were awakened [Wednesday] morning after an earthquake shook the region. The quake, measured by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) as a magnitude 4.3, happened at 7:45 a.m. with an epicenter 16 miles southeast of Salina, near the intersection of South Kipp and East Lapsley Roads, just south of the city of Gypsum.
Source: Salina Journal