Kansas Municipal News
Hutchinson working with MIT to break poverty shackles of the ‘cliff effect’
The Hutchinson Community Foundation frequently hears stories like this from residents who struggle to escape poverty because of the “cliff effect.” That’s when a single parent or couple who receives a modest boost in income loses a disproportionate amount of resources because they no longer qualify for government programs that provide assistance for food, housing, child care, health insurance or tax credits. … Earlier this year, the foundation partnered with students from the MIT Sloan School of Management to study the cliff effect and identify solutions. They worked with area nonprofits, the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce, and the Kansas Department for Children and Families.
Source: Kansas Reflector
A Pittsburg assistance program is helping the community pay for housing
The city of Pittsburg is working to help community members pay for housing. City commissioners, this week, approved the application for the “Tenant Based Rental Assistance Program” grant. It would enable the city to provide $100,000 worth of security deposit assistance over the next 3 years. Eligible households within city limits could receive up to $700 in assistance during the cycle. “All the assistance in the world doesn’t do anything when you can’t get into a unit with a security deposit, most landlords ask the same amount as rent, the first month’s rent, as a security deposit, so this will eliminate barriers, help eliminate barriers in getting into housing.” Says Megan Keener, Pittsburg Housing Office Housing Manager.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Forty-five speakers cite pros, cons of Golden city
In the cool of the evening, John Weaver and his wife sometimes go for a walk up Cedar Niles Road in northern Miami County. Weaver, who lives on Cedar Niles near 215th Street, said occasionally cars park along the road and people take photographs of the sunset. “As we get close, generally they ask ‘how often do you have sunsets like this?’ Of course our answer is ‘most every night.’” Weaver’s focus has been diverted from sunsets in the west to what’s happening just north of the county line, where NorthPoint Development is working with the city of Edgerton to annex and rezone land – most recently 640 acres – for proposed industrial warehouses that serve the Logistics Park Kansas City intermodal facility. He’s concerned about industrial development spilling into Miami County on land currently zoned for rural residential and agriculture use.
Source: Local News | republic-online.com
Manhattan discusses placement of ‘university’ in vision statement
Should Manhattan be called a university town or a town with a university? Manhattan city commissioners on Friday discussed where “university” should go in the city’s vision statement. Here’s the current statement: “A thriving, high-quality university community that offers a variety of opportunities to support the well-being of its people while capitalizing on its small-town feel.” Commissioners discussed possible definitions and descriptions of the city’s vision with consulting firm Planning NEXT, which is helping the Manhattan city government shape priorities. The commission reviewed the CrossroadsMHK strategic plan during a Friday retreat at the new Anthony Recreation Center.
Source: themercury.com
Victor White retires as Wichita’s airport director
Victor White, director of airports for the Wichita Airport Authority, is retiring after more than 46 in the aviation industry. White, whose last day is Friday, took the helm of Wichita’s airports in 2005. During his tenure Col. James Jabara Airport in northeast Wichita saw significant expansion, while the city’s primary airport got a $250 million new terminal and a name change to Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport. He was also at the controls of initiatives that expanded air service out of Wichita and led to record passenger traffic in 2019.
Source: Wichita Business Journal
Genesis says it will double its Goddard ballfields as part of $15M addition
Genesis Health Clubs says it will double its number of baseball fields to 10 as part of a $15 million upgrade to its Goddard Sports Complex project. A news release from the fitness company Friday said the fields are necessary to keep up with a busy schedule of baseball and softball tournaments at the facility just south of Kellogg near 199th Street West. “We couldn’t keep up with the demand,” Genesis owner Rodney Steven II said in a statement. “It’s already the largest all-turf competitive baseball complex in a multi-state area, and we’ve got it packed every weekend with tournaments booked out months in advance and in some cases 1-2 years. So the demand caught us off guard, to say the least.”
Source: Wichita Business Journal
Residents seek new Kansas town to protect rural lifestyle
Residents living on the outskirts of a sprawling industrial park southwest of Kansas City hope that creating their own town will protect their rural lifestyle from encroaching development. Opposition to the massive Logistics Park Kansas City intermodal facility has been brewing for months, but it boiled over after the Edgerton City Council earlier this year agreed to rezone 700 rural acres to make way for more industrial properties south of Interstate 35, the Kansas City Star reported. That’s bringing development closer to the rural homes residents say they bought to be surrounded by fields and pastures — not warehouses and semitrailers. They hope that incorporating their own town of will give them more say over their fates. “Our area is too beautiful, it is too important for the environment, and it’s our right,” said Jennifer Williams, who leads the effort.
Source: The Arkansas City Traveler
Bourbon County to look at feasibility of hospital in Fort Scott
Bourbon County Commissioners have engaged in a cooperative agreement with a Kansas City, Mo.-based health care company to look at the feasibility of bringing a hospital back to Fort Scott and Bourbon County. During a special meeting Friday, commissioners discussed the recent donation of the former Mercy Hospital building to the county, as well as contractual services between Mercy Kansas Communities, Inc., and the different providers for that facility, and an agreement between the commission and Noble Health Corporation for a feasibility study.
Source: Fort Scott Tribune
Hybrid patrol vehicles saving Reno County money
Studying the use of hybrid vehicles by the Reno County Sheriff’s office, Automotive Department Director Kyle Berg found they didn’t provide quite as much savings on gas as projected. However, the combination of gas and electric engines cut down significantly on engine idle time for the patrol vehicles. That prompted Berg to recommend the county extend the replacement schedule for those vehicles by a year, from four years to five, which could save the county substantially more. The only issue, Berg noted, is that other county departments often add the vehicles to their fleets as replacements when they’re retired by the sheriff’ s office, so he wasn’t sure how it would impact operations overall.
Source: Hutch News.
Pilgrimage To Pilsen: Nearly 400 People Trek To Father Kapaun’s Hometown
Early on a Thursday morning in June, nearly 400 people from around the country gathered at the Church of the Magdalen in far northeast Wichita. It’s the annual Father Kapaun Pilgrimage, a 60-mile trek over four days, from Wichita to Kapaun’s hometown of Pilsen, a tiny community in Marion County. “Today’s our big day,” JP Brunke, who organized this year’s pilgrimage, told those gathered as they prepared to leave. “We’re gonna walk the 22 and a half miles, so we need to get on the road as quickly as we can.” The walkers made last-minute checks for sunscreen and water bottles. They then got started. “Father Kapaun,” someone shouted. “Pray for us.” the crowd responded. If you’re Catholic, chances are you know the story of Father Emil Kapaun. But if not, the best place to hear it is the Father Kapaun Museum in Pilsen. “The story of Father Kapaun is so beautiful,” said Harriet Bina, one of the directors of the museum. Any tour of the museum starts with that beautiful story: a priest who
Source: KMUW
Reno County urges hike in Yoder, HABIT sewer rates
Members of the Reno County Commission agreed Tuesday that rates need to be significantly increased sooner, rather than later, for patrons of the rural Yoder and HABIT sewer districts. What they did not agree on was how quickly that should be or how much rates should rise. Public Works staff have been working for more than a year studying how to address the deteriorating and inadequate Sewer District 201 and 202 systems that serve about 100 residents in the Yoder area. That included asking the city late last year to allow the systems to dump into the city’s sewer plant. “Regardless of where we think, ultimately, we’ll see rates are going to be, it might be time to just increase them to a reasonable rate immediately,” Commissioner Daniel Friesen suggested Tuesday morning.
Source: Hutch News.
Job numbers increasing in Finney Co.; workers needed
Jobs have increased in Finney County over the past five years and more workers are needed. Shannon Dick, Director of Analytics at Finney County Economic Development Corporation, found that on average 126.6 new jobs are coming to the county year over year based on numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2015 to 2020. The biggest job growth was in the manufacturing, transportation and healthcare fields, Dick said.
Source: GC Telegram.
Mural movement has now made Clay Center a destination for public art
While this new mural will catch anyone’s eye as they travel along the highway, it is just one of many that are part of “A Mural Movement” which has now made Clay Center a destination for public art. The effort started with the basic idea of creating one mural in the community on a large wall next to a vacant lot downtown. When Brett Hubka became the Clay Center Rotary Club president, he presented the idea of coordinating the single mural project. For fun, at the end of his initial PowerPoint presentation on the concept, he added another couple locations that could have murals, but the group decided to stick to “one mural, and see where it goes.”
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
Stoplights removed at Johnson County crossing. 10 crashes later, it’ll get stop signs
An Overland Park intersection near a busy shopping area has seen 10 crashes since the city removed the traffic signals there. That many crashes in a matter of months is unusual at 91st and Glenwood streets, which saw two crashes in 2018 and three in 2019. Some neighbors said the decision to remove the stoplights was a dangerous one. And they’ve called for the signals to be reinstalled. … With the latest crash earlier this month, city officials said they will now place four stop signs at the intersection.
Source: Joco 913 News
Governor Laura Kelly Cuts Ribbon on Animal Science Innovation Center in Topeka
Governor Laura Kelly joined a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Hill’s Pet Nutrition Small Paws Innovation Center in Topeka. Hill’s Pet Nutrition invested $20 million to build this 25,000-square-foot nutrition facility that will focus on the needs of small dogs. The facility will also include a new Engagement Center for veterinarian and other pet caregiver engagement. “With the new Small Paws Innovation Center, this great Kansas company has cemented its reputation and ours, as a leader in the Animal Health field,” said Governor Laura Kelly. “We’ll continue to support our businesses like Hill’s to grow the Animal Health Corridor and bring new jobs and expertise to our state.”
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
Kansas approves the state’s first-ever express toll lanes on Johnson County highway
A project to build express toll lanes on U.S. 69 in Overland Park can officially move forward after a panel of Kansas lawmakers and Gov. Laura Kelly granted final approval to the project Thursday. The bipartisan panel granted the project, which is part of the statewide Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program, unanimous approval. “This project isn’t just for Overland Park though we appreciate Overland Park’s work on it,” said Speaker of the House Ron Ryckman, an Olathe Republican. “It’s for the entire region.”
Source: Joco 913 News
Amtrak: One step closer to Wichita return
President Biden announced Thursday that a deal has been made to pass the infrastructure bill that has been making headlines for months. One part of that plan includes $65 million for passenger rail services. This potential funding would position Amtrak to make it’s long awaited return to Wichita. From Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple, to Amtrak, and to the current owners of Union Station (Occidental Management), locally everyone seems onboard for this expansion.
Source: KSN-TV
The “Bourbon County Arts Council Art Walk” is making a big return
Part of Main Street in Fort Scott will be lined with art tomorrow evening. The “Bourbon County Arts Council Art Walk” is making its long-awaited return. Like many events, it was put on hold last year due to the pandemic. The art walk starts at 5:00p.m. at “Crooner’s Patio” on Main Street, and will feature the work of 12 local artists.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Expecting a garden snake, police officer finds 8-foot python at Kansas home
When police in a southeast Kansas town were called to remove a snake, the responding officer expected to find a garden snake. Instead, he found a python. Officer Jesse Spencer “fulfilled the job description category ‘other duties as required,’” the Pittsburg Police Department said in a Thursday Facebook post. Spencer was dispatched to the reporting party’s front porch, where he found the homeowner’s unwanted guest and removed it.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Municipal Bond Trends for June 24, 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.