Kansas Municipal News
Market in Johnson City setting a trend on Main Street by raising happy livestock and selling lots of local products
Two years ago, Matt and Michelle Canny had a realization. They needed to change what they were doing or they would sink. Like other ranchers across the country, including in Kansas, the Cannys, who own Bear Creek Farms, realized if they could sell directly to the customer they could make a larger profit. The issue was marketing – and demand. “There’s more money in this than in selling through the sale barn,” Michelle Canny said.
Source: Hutch News
Webinars coming up for Emergency Rural Health Care Grants
This program provides up to $500 million in grant funding to help broaden access to COVID-19 testing and vaccines, rural health care services, and food assistance through food banks and food distribution facilities. Eligible applicants include public bodies, community-based nonprofits, and federally-recognized Tribes. Facilities and projects supported through this grant must be located in rural areas with populations of 20,000 or fewer, and must primarily serve rural areas. Learn more about the program.
Municipal Bond Trends for August 12, 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.
Mural magic colors communities with positivity and unity
…a cow looks over her calves, penned by a white fence next to a red barn and a windmill — a familiar scene in rural Kansas. But this bucolic scene towers over the town. No, we weren’t in some sort of land of giants but in Clay Center, population 4,000. After husband Art had taken care of some business with one of his customers, we decided to pause a moment and enjoy the art. The books were two-dimensional … paintings on a wall, fittingly next to the town’s Carnegie Library. The farm scene was a few blocks south on 6th Street … a 7,000-square-foot mural on the Key Feeds facility. These are two of 13 paintings installed in the past eight months as part of Clay Center’s “Mural Movement.” Others include one that honors local first responders, while another depicts the flag-raising on Iwo Jima during World War II.
Source: Kansas Reflector
Sedgwick County looking for another COVID-19 testing site due to demand
The number of people getting tested for COVID-19 is skyrocketing due to the spread of the delta variant. Data from the Sedgwick County Health Department shows tests from nearly 1,700 people came back on Wednesday. Staff said that because of the surge in cases, they are looking at getting another testing site that allows more people. The current testing site is located in Sedgwick County Park at the Sunflower Shelter. In the meantime, if you go to the park and there is a line, you will have to wait in your car until it is your turn to get tested.
Source: KSN-TV
The city of Erie, Kansas is working on getting a Childcare Center
Access to quality child care can be a struggle for many rural communities. It’s something many families in Erie are dealing with. For now. The hope it that it won’t be that way for long. “We drive almost 20 miles in the morning, and then we come back to work, and then we drive another 20 to get them, and another 20 miles back, so we put 80 miles a day on our truck.” Says Kelly Diller, Erie Community Childcare Center Director. This is a common struggle for parents in rural communities like Erie. With no child care center for miles, parents either have to make a long drive or find other options.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Attorney summarizes public input about proposed City of Golden
There’s no desire among proponents or opponents of the proposed city of Golden to see their rural lifestyle change. How they achieve that objective is the sticking point. Jim Kaup, a Topeka attorney who specializes in land use law, provided that assessment of the proposed incorporation of Golden in northern Miami County during the County Commission’s first Golden testimony session Wednesday, Aug. 4. County commissioners will hear experts weigh in on a number of topics during their Wednesday morning study sessions through early September as part of the testimony phase before they begin their deliberations. … “A couple of quick things that really struck me in going through all this material — in my observation, there’s virtually no desire by proponents or opponents to see the rural landscape converted to warehouses,” Kaup said. “They value the rural character, the rural nature of the area. Rural residential and lots of agriculture.”
Source: Local News | republic-online.com
Gov. Kelly discusses COVID response, economic development, Big 12 shakeup
Governor Laura Kelly spoke with News Radio KMAN this week during an exclusive interview heard Wednesday on KMAN’s In Focus. COVID-19. Governor Kelly says she shares frustrations of Kansans upset with the return of COVID restrictions after it appeared the state had turned a corner on the pandemic just a few months ago. According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, as of Wednesday, nearly 50 percent of all Kansans have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 43 percent have received both shots. Gov. Kelly says she hopes to see that threshold push higher in the state’s efforts to reach herd immunity. Kelly says masks are a mitigation effort to protect others, especially those school aged students under 12, who aren’t currently eligible for the vaccine.
Source: 1350 KMAN
Kansas population more concentrated; 80 counties lose people
Most Kansas counties lost residents over the past 10 years as the state’s population concentrated in more populous places, including the Kansas City area, new census figures released Thursday showed. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s once-a-decade count of the nation’s population showed that 80 of the state’s 105 counties declined in population since 2010, 16 of them by more than 10%. Most of those counties were rural. Five of the top 10 fastest-growing counties were in or close to the Kansas City metropolitan area. The state’s most populous county, Johnson County, has affluent Kansas City suburbs that have been growing for decades, and its population grew another 12.1% in the past 10 years. Census figures show that Kansas saw a 3% increase in population over 10 years, to almost 2.94 million. Population shifts within the state mean a shift in political clout away from rural areas and toward Kansas City and a few other areas when the Legislature redraws political boundaries next year.
Source: KAKE – News
Is Sedgwick County counting illegal ballots? Irregularities cloud vote count
Sedgwick County commissioners took the rare step Thursday of ordering the election office to count ballots that may not have arrived by the legal deadline after the Aug. 3 city council primary. The commissioners, sitting as the county’s canvassing board, rejected a recommendation by the new election commissioner, Angela Caudillo, who recommended tossing the votes out. At issue are 37 ballots that were postmarked on election day. State law says that if those ballots are delivered by the end of the following Friday, they count. And if they don’t arrive by then, they don’t count. But commissioners said there was no way to tell whether the ballots arrived on time or not. Caudillo acknowledged that the election office didn’t check the mail after 8 a.m. Friday.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
County Treasurer transitions to national vehicle title and registration process on Monday
Atchison County Treasurer Connie Ellerman has issued the following press release regarding some software transitions in the Atchison County Treasurer’s Office that will commence Monday, Aug. 16. The State of Kanas is transitioning to include National Motor Vehicle Title Information System reporting in titling and registering vehicles. NMVTIS is designed to protect consumers from fraud and unsafe vehicles and to keep stolen vehicles from being resold. The transition to NMVTIS in the state system occurs Monday. At this time, the Atchison County Treasurer’s office is not certain how this may affect motor vehicle processes Monday morning. While we do not anticipate a wide spread issue, the Atchison County Treasurer’s office is encouraging citizens to arrange another time to renew and register vehicles other than Monday morning, August 16. Please call 913-804-6050 with questions.
Source: News | atchisonglobenow.com
Overland Park considers plan to allow backyard chickens on smaller properties
Overland Park residents who hope to keep backyard chickens may finally have cause to rejoice. After coming to a deadlock last November, city councilmembers have come up with a compromise they hope will make it easier for people on smaller lots to keep chickens on their property. A proposed ordinance change is working its way through city government that would allow people on lots as small as a quarter acre to have up to three hens, provided they meet the rules for enclosures and setbacks and pass inspections. The change would not require prospective chicken owners to make a presentation at the city planning commission and the full city council. That council presentation and vote process has typically been the downfall of previous chicken requests for owners of small lots.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Merriam City Council discusses but ultimately rejects idea for new city mask mandate
Merriam became the latest Johnson County city to consider imposing a citywide mask mandate in the face of rising cases of COVID-19 this summer. Ultimately, however, the city council this week rejected the idea, in favor of focusing more on encouraging residents to get vaccinated. On Monday, the Merriam City Council revisited the topic of a potential city mask order in a discussion prompted by Councilmember Whitney Yadrich, who brought forward the item while also making clear she didn’t necessarily think the city should impose its own mandate. She noted that neighboring Prairie Village has also begun exploring the possibility of its own mask order. The city council there is expected to discuss a mask ordinance at its next meeting later this month.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Support exists for LEMA, but final plan still lingers among Groundwater Management District No. 1 stakeholders
Support for groundwater conservation efforts isn’t the issue. What those efforts will look like is the question that continues to confront Groundwater Management District No. 1. While landowners and operators within the five-county GMD are overwhelming in support of establishing a Local Enhanced Management Area (LEMA), determining how to reduce water allocations will be the subject of hearings over the next year. A tentative timetable to put the LEMA into effect is January 2023.
Source: Scott County Record
Rural Kansas is losing population while metro areas see political power growth, census redistricting data shows
Much of rural Kansas is losing population as metropolitan areas grow and the state becomes more racially and ethnically diverse, new 2020 Census data show. The Census Bureau released redistricting data Thursday showing 80 of the state’s 105 counties lost population in the past 10 years. Kansas also grew more racially and ethnically diverse over the past decade. The data will be used to redraw state political maps for congressional, legislative and board of education districts. The population shifts will further concentrate political power in cities and away from rural areas. The statistics were released on the second-to-last day of a weeklong listening session on redistricting, during which the Kansas House and Senate committees are holding 14 town halls across the state.
Source: CJonline.com.
Scott City to reconsider liability for building demo
The Scott City Council would like to see more done to remove dilapidated trailer homes or demolish structures that are beyond repair, but building codes are an obstacle. Under current regulations, if someone wants to demolish a trailer home within the city they are required to purchase a $1 million liability insurance policy. Building inspector Lloyd Foster referred to that level of liability coverage as “overkill” when he brought up the issue at the last council meeting.
Source: Scott County Record
Municipal bonds remain attractive to investors
Municipals remain attractive as an asset class … In the near term, summer technicals have generated very visible net negative supply conditions, according to Jeff Lipton, managing director and head of municipal credit and market strategy and municipal capital markets at Oppenheimer & Co. … “If the outlook for the future tax bite stays muted for a while longer and we continue to receive heavier doses of hawkish Fed speak and higher inflation data points, yields may experience continued upward pressure,” he added. … Even without a rise in federal tax rates,
municipals should continue to offer “very desirable credit quality and diversification attributes,” which are expected to further entice foreign investment into the asset class, according to Lipton.
Source: Bond Buyer.
Municipal Bond Trends for August 11, 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.
USD 308 Hutchinson scrambles to recover live stream of BOE meeting after Facebook takes it down
Facebook took down USD 308’s Board of Education meeting from Monday, a meeting where the board voted to mandate masks for all schools in the district. The school district says because they have no control over the social media platform — there isn’t much they can do. Now, USD 308 is just hoping they will be able to get access to the video again so the public can rewatch the meeting. Michael Folks, USD 308’s superintendent said, “I can tell you that it’s disappointing because we pride ourselves on being transparent.” “We believe in our community’s right to share their opinions and we think the conversations that happened last night were needed,” explained Marissa Meis, USD 308’s communication director.
Source: KSN-TV
South Hutchinson agrees in principle to county offer on bridge project
The City of South Hutchinson City Council unanimously agreed in principle Tuesday night to accept an offer by Reno County to assist in the replacement of the Scott Boulevard bridge. Reno County Public Works Director Don Brittain consulted with an engineer that the county works with regularly for their own projects and it is believed that a bridge can be built for about half the price of the original $700,000 estimate by using a different type of design and construction. “With the help of Reno County, we’re hoping to save our taxpayers about $350,000,” Mayor Matt Nisly said after the meeting. “We are fortunate to have them as a partner and I appreciate the efforts of Commissioner Hirst in reaching this win-win resolution.”
Source: KSN-TV