Kansas Municipal News
Thunderbirds to headline 2022 McConnell air show
McConnell Air Force Base recently announced the return of air shows to the base, with Frontiers in Flight 2022 scheduled for Sept. 24-25, 2022.This event marks McConnell’s first air show in four years. The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will headline the free event, along with a wide variety of civilian and military static aircraft – including the KC-135 Stratotanker and KC-46A Pegasus – throughout the two-day show. The open house and air show is expected to host more than 150,000 visitors over the two-day event and generate upwards of $6 million of economic stimulus for the local and surrounding communities.
Source: Derby Informer | News
KS housing survey: despite population growth JoCo, WyCo not meeting community needs
The Kansas City Metro area is the fastest growing region in Kansas but, like the rest of the state, it struggles to fill the housing needs of its community. Preliminary results of a statewide survey, the first of its kind in 30 years, found that 30% of homes in Kansas were built before 1960 and that the state lacks diverse housing options for middle income buyers and renters. Full results of the housing needs assessment, conducted over the past year by the Office of Rural Prosperity and Kansas Housing Resource Corporation, will be released in December or January. Before that, researchers are touring the state holding public presentations on regional findings.
Source: KC Star Local News
Municipal Bond Trends for November 30, 2021
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.
Hillsboro golf course superintendent to retire after 32 years
Almost anyone who has golfed in Hillsboro anytime in the past 30 years or so knows who Gary Andrews is, because he is always around the golf course and always friendly. “Gary has done amazing things for the Hillsboro Golf Course,” Hillsboro City Administrator Matt Stiles said. “Gary works as hard as anyone I’ve ever known and has devoted himself to making sure Hillsboro has a superb golf course. Gary is also the first one to offer a hand or advice on other projects around the city. Expertise and work ethic like that don’t come around very often, and the city has been lucky to have Gary all these years.” Andrews has been the superintendent at the Hillsboro GolfCourse for almost 32 years. He is retiring at the beginning of the year, although he is basically done now and taking vacation time for the rest of the year.
Source: Hillsboro Free Press
Take a look at recent changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
The United States Department of Education recently announced sweeping (and welcome) changes to the troubled Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. These changes make it easier for government and nonprofit workers to gain tax-free forgiveness on their federal student loans when working for a qualified employer. This is welcome news for public servants. Forgiveness has no cap and could reach into the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for qualified individuals. PSLF in its original form requires four criteria to achieve forgiveness…
Source: Joco 913 News
Crazy home prices hit rural Kansas and Missouri
All across the United States, the pandemic has sparked high housing prices in places long insulated from them, even rural Kansas and Missouri towns with historically low real estate values. As KCUR’S Frank Morris reports, a surge of interest in some of these markets is squeezing out long-time residents.
Source: KCUR News (Audio Report)
Prairie Village measured its city’s carbon footprint — here is what the report said
The city of Prairie Village emitted more than 227,000 metric tons of green gas emissions in 2020, according to the city’s first-ever study of its overall carbon footprint. Last year, Prairie Village entered an agreement with Kansas City-based Dynamhex to track the city’s greenhouse gas emissions — with the goal of ultimately using that data to come up with ways to reduce emissions. Prairie Village along with Roeland Park are the only Johnson County cities so far to get such an emissions report.
Source: Shawnee Mission Post
Municipal Bond Trends for November 29, 2021
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 Public Library now has 250 internet bundles, hoping to bridge digital divide for residents
“One of our library pillars of operation is digital inclusion, making sure people have access to adequate digital resources, so internet, computers, printing, faxing, that sort of thing. We hope that with the internet bundles, people with low or no internet connectivity, who need access to the internet the most, whether to do school work or find jobs or for leisure activities, can utilize these bundles and connect and finish the work that they need to get done,” Jones shared. All you need to borrow one of these internet bundles is a library card in good standing. If you do not have one, you can visit one of Wichita Public Library’s 7 locations to register.
Source: KAKE – News
Sedgwick County mulls doubling fine for hobby shooters whose stray bullets menace neighbors
A month after passing a $500 fine for recreational shooters whose bullets stray onto neighboring properties, Sedgwick County is aiming to pass two measures that together could raise the penalty to $1,000. The companion proposals on the Dec. 1 County Commission agenda are a follow-up to the Nov. 3 passage of a law requiring backyard target shooters to confine flying lead to their own property. During debate on that measure, Commissioner Lacey Cruse argued that the $500 fine was not enough to deter unsafe shooting and may not generate enough money to pay for the law’s enforcement.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Rural setting is backdrop for unique cemetery in Sedgwick County
A unique cemetery will soon offer a peaceful place to rest that at times looks and sounds like it did when wagons rolled across the vast Kansas prairie. Prairie Home Scattering Garden, in a rural part of Sedgwick County between Derby and Rose Hill, opens soon with the aim of offering an affordable and remote place for people wanting to bury their loved ones. The cemetery and almost all of the contiguous land around it were gifted in 2003 to two nonprofits by Raymond Fleming Jr., an oil and gas investor who died in 2015. One of the non-profits, Sunflower Land Trust, specializes in land conservation. The other, Breakthrough — Episcopal Social Services, aims to help people in poverty and suffering with mental illnesses.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Governor appoints new KDHE secretary
Governor Laura Kelly has appointed a former Topeka hospital executive as the new secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Janet Stanek has most recently been director of the state employee health benefits program. She replaces Dr. Lee Norman, who announced his resignation Nov. 19. He’d been the health department’s top administrator since Kelly took office in January 2019. Kelly’s office said in a Monday news release that Stanek has held healthcare leadership positions in Pennsylvania, New York and Kansas. Stanek spent 21 years at Stormont Vail Health Topeka, where she last was chief operating officer and senior vice president. Stanek will serve as acting secretary until the Senate confirms her appointment.
Source: Country 101.3 KFDI
Riley County approves contract for company to archive social media communication
Riley County commissioners on Monday approved a contract with Archive Social to keep records of the government’s social media interactions. Archive Social, a company based in Durham, North Carolina, will have access to the county government’s social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, to archive communication between the public and the government. The company will archive the communication for public record and archival purposes or if a legal matter arises. The annual cost of $2,988 will be prorated for 2021. Without this service, officials said Riley County might not have access to all conversations with the public through social media.
Source: themercury.com
Pandemic Assistance Drinking Water and Wastewater Funding Available
- The Emergency Water Assistance Program (EWAP) provides payments to restore or prevent disconnection of drinking water and wastewater services
- Eligible Kansas households are those with a combined gross income equal to or less than 150 percent of Federal Poverty Level
- Funding available: $9 million
- DCF, not the water vendor, will accept applications from households beginning Dec. 1
Learn more at http://www.dcf.ks.gov/EWAP
USDA Begins Accepting Applications for $1.15 Billion in Loans and Grants to Help People Living in Rural Communities Get Access to High-Speed Internet
USDA is making $1.15 billion in funding available through the ReConnect Program starting today. Eligible applicants are state, local or territory governments; corporations; Native American Tribes; limited liability companies and cooperative organizations. This funding, which does not include the nearly $2 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is available for projects that serve rural areas where at least 90 percent of the households lack broadband service at speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) (download) and 20 Mbps (upload). USDA will give funding priority to projects that will serve people in low-density rural areas and areas lacking internet access services at speeds of at least 25 Mbps (download) and 3 Mbps (upload). Applicants must commit to building facilities capable of providing broadband service at speeds of 100 Mbps (download and upload) to every location in a proposed service area at the same time. In making funding decisions, USDA will also consider the economic needs of the community to be served; the extent to which a provider will offer affordable service options; a project’s commitment to strong labor standards; and whether a project is serving Tribal lands or is submitted by a local government, Tribal government, non-profit or cooperative.
Applications for funding must be submitted through USDA Rural Development’s online application system on the ReConnect webpage. For additional information, see the Oct. 25, 2021, Federal Register.
Municipal Bond Trends for November 26, 2021
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.
Sexton, Mangus prepare for looming Derby city manager transition
The proverbial clock is ticking at Derby City Hall. As December approaches, staff are preparing for a shift in management as Deputy City Manager Kiel Mangus gets ready to take over for current City Manager Kathy Sexton. Sexton’s last day working for the city (Dec. 10) is less than a month away, leaving not much time to impart any last bits of wisdom to Mangus as he prepares to take over for his predecessor. Mangus took on a new position within Derby as deputy city manager when he was hired three years ago. While that allowed for the shuffling of some city manager duties, both he and Sexton realize there is still quite a bit to glean about the role (especially over the last month) before the transfer of responsibilities. “We’re a big small city, so the city manager does a lot of different things. I want to make sure I understand how she handles those day-to-day items and those key relationships that I may not know…”
Source: Derby Informer | News
Derby recognizes neighborly manner with new awards
Would you be mine? Could you be mine? Won’t you be my neighbor? Hearing those lyrics from the children’s show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” would not have been out of place at the Nov. 9 Derby City Council meeting, as Derby’s Melvin Robinson and the Hamilton Estates HOA were presented with the inaugural Neighbor and Neighborhood of the Year awards. And the efforts they were honored for would have made Fred Rogers proud. “This award program was launched early this year to highlight and recognize contributions by individuals and neighborhoods to enhance the quality of life and feel of community in their neighborhoods and in Derby as a whole,” said Derby HOA liaison Judy Morris.
Source: Derby Informer | News
Treasury yields sink amid concerns around a new Covid variant, 10-year yield falls below 1.5%
U.S. Treasury yields fell sharply on Friday morning, amid concerns around a new variant of the coronavirus found in South Africa. … Yields slid lower on Friday, as investor fled to the safety of bonds, with stock market futures also falling. Overnight, fears of a new Covid variant found in South Africa started to rise, seeing the U.K. suspend flights from six African countries.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Iola changes holding policy for animals
Animals taken to the shelter by city employees can be held for five business days before ACARF officials can put the dogs or cats up for adoption. The city’s previous contract allowed for 10 days. The hope is to reduce overcrowding.
Source: The Iola Register