Municipal News & Jobs

Abilene is leading the pack in a USA Today poll of America’s Best Historic Small Towns. The hometown of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Abilene is among 20 towns across the nation vying for the honor.
Source: Salina Journal

Visitors to Old Town will likely have to start paying for parking starting this summer. After the Wichita City Council established paid parking for most of downtown in December, several Old Town building owners had sought to install an extra 2% sales tax to pay for parking in the area instead of asking visitors to pay when they park. But the council declined Tuesday to set a public hearing to establish the tax district, triggering implementation of $1 an hour parking. Parking would be free for the first 15 minutes someone is parked in a spot.
Source: Wichita Kansas Local News, Crime & More |

Mulberry is the little town that refuses to quit. Once a popular rest stop for travelers along the Military Highway, the little burg has experienced some rough times. But the spirit of the town refuses to quit. Mulberry has always been a focal point for young athletes. Kids from the surrounding small towns, including Liberal, Missouri, still come to play on the city basketball court, recently refurbished with a grant from the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas (CFSEK). Mayor Pat Walden wants to capitalize on that momentum. Walden’s plan is to renovate the city’s baseball field at the City Park. Currently, the entire diamond is covered by grass, the lights do not work, the outfield fence is gone, restrooms need updating, and the bleachers need replacing.
Source: – Latest Stories

The City of Lawrence has launched a new searchable database of burial records for Oak Hill, Memorial Park and Maple Grove cemeteries. The website allows people to search and locate burial sites, including walking and driving instructions. It includes functions to upload photos and add more information about the people buried there. There have been more than 64,000 burials, dating back to the city’s founding, according to a news release from the city. More than 1,000 Potter’s Field burials at Oak Hill are now viewable and searchable for the first time, according to the city.
Source: The Lawrence Times

Newton Fire/EMS calls rose slightly in 2024, driven by an increase of grass fires. Calls for service increased from 4,303 in 2023 to 4,334 in 2024. “Probably the big highlight is our call volume stayed consistent,” Chief Steve Roberson said of a report recently released by Newton Fire/EMS. “We saw a slight increase but not near what we’d seen in years past.” EMS calls, which account for roughly 83 percent of service calls for fire/EMS, were down slightly on the year. Fire calls, however, increased by 80, he said. “Grass fires are way up,” Roberson said. “We’ll continue to see problems as long as the drought is an issue.”
Source: Harvey County Now

A normal 30-minute job turned into a three-day excavation search for Sedgwick Public Works last week on South Commercial. City maintenance was working on water service installs for the new houses north of the industrial park that Jimmy Sharbutt and his crew are building, but when they dug a hole to connect to the main line, they came up empty. Finally, the missing lines were located across the street from where they were expected. The problem wasn’t with public works but with the city’s map, something Nordick and Administrative Assistant Isaiah Chapman have been working on since last fall anyway. Last year, the city bought a GPS device, including a battery pack, stick, and iPad, to plot the city’s infrastructure and update its current maps.
Source: Harvey County Now

Kansas farmers are on alert, bracing for how tariffs against Mexico and Canada and retaliatory tariffs could affect their bottom line. Those working in agriculture are waiting to find out the full scope. Tariffs are coming in at an awkward time of year for growers. That’s because the fertilizer industry relies heavily on Canadian imports.
Source: KSN-TV

Kansas’ weather in the early 1990s was active, including large hailstorms and disastrous tornadoes. One of those tornadoes was the Hesston tornado in March 1990. Decades later, memories of that day are still fresh in the minds of meteorologists and storm researchers. An outbreak of tornadoes occurred early in the season 35 years ago. Ripping across Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Iowa, Missouri, and Texas.
Source: KSN-TV

Citing the rising price of eggs, Emporia is making it easier for residents to own and raise their own egg-laying hens. The city commission has voted to waive the Chicken or Fowl Pen and Domestic Animal Application fee for 2025. However, you must still apply to receive a permit and follow the city ordinance.
Source: KSN-TV

As property valuation notices are mailed out this week, not everyone is happy with what they are seeing. Most home valuations in Sedgwick County are up this year, and homeowners are worried about how it could affect the bottom line on their taxes. The assessed value of a home, which is the smaller number on a property valuation notice, plays a big role in determining how much you pay for your property taxes. It’s multiplied by the mill levy rate to decide how much you pay.
Source: KSN-TV

Sedgwick County’s election commissioner testified in Topeka on Monday about a bill that limits special elections. Laura Rainwater supports the bill that restricts special elections to one day in March, as well as during the primary and general elections. Sedgwick County has four special elections on three days in the first half of this year. Rainwater says that this many elections can confuse voters. “You cannot imagine how many emails and phone calls we got from people that show up to wrong polling places because we couldn’t get the polling place for that special election or even early voting places where they’re normally go and vote early and that polling place was not available for this special election and then they get mad at us for not opening it as a special poll, as an early voting site.” said Rainwater.
Source: KSN-TV

As part of Olathe’s efforts to reimagine its downtown, the city has taken the first step toward setting up a special sales tax district that will aid in the redevelopment of a prominent collection of downtown storefronts. The special 2% Community Improvement District sales tax would cover the storefronts between 114 N. Cherry St. and 126 N. Cherry St., directly adjacent to Johnson County Square, at the heart of downtown Olathe where the former courthouse stood.
Source: Johnson County Post

Last summer, a zoning ordinance was put into effect in Clay Center. It was adopted after the Planning Commission recommended a revision to the city’s Zoning Ordinance. With No. 2467, a special permit is needed to open certain types of businesses within city limits. Notably, the amendment refers to healthcare facilities, including a critical access hospitals, independent diagnostic testing facilities, counseling services, surgical centers, etc. would all need a special permit approval, which includes a public hearing, before opening within Clay Center. The amendment was added after other towns saw healthcare chains replicate services. In recent years, Emporia, Newton, and Lawrence were on that list.
Source: KCLY Radio

The City of Manhattan will be reintroducing e-scooters to the Little Apple after the last scooter service was shut down. Assistant City Manager Jared Wasinger said the Manhattan City Commission approved an agreement with Veo Ride back in January following a request for proposals by Kansas State University. The city will start with a fleet of 400 e-scooters and hopes to bring e-bikes to the area next year. Wasinger said the e-scooters can be ridden on campus and around city limits.
Source: KSNT 27 News

Dale Davis is being remembered as a person with a huge impact on Emporia following his death this past weekend. Noting his time on the Emporia City Commission, Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas and Emporia Enterprises, Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jeanine McKenna says Davis did his best to help Emporia grow and thrive. Among his many honors, Davis’ contributions led to the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce bestowing its Lifetime Achievement Award on him in 2015, and the Kansas Chamber gave Davis its Ad Astra Award. Dale and his wife, Carolyn, earned the zoo’s Lifetime Advocate Award last year.
Source: d2430

A new plan for encouraging cities and counties to hold down spending while giving taxpayers a new weapon to challenge bloated budgets moved to the full House on Wednesday. The bill would essentially recreate a fund that once was intended to help local governments hold down property taxes but empowers taxpayers to fight excessive spending.
Source: Sunflower State Journal

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

Synopsis: K.S.A. 8-1575 prohibits a person from driving a golf cart on a sidewalk. Whether a particular pathway constitutes a “sidewalk” depends on the facts. A city may not exempt itself from this statute by enacting a charter ordinance.
Source: Kansas Attorney General Opinions

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

The City of Towanda is getting ready to start working on a big project to repair a water leak that has caused the city to lose $128,000 in the last three years. “We can not continue to lose this water long term,” said Towanda City Administrator Andy Newbrey while talking about why it is so important the city work to address this.
Source: KAKE

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

…the open house will present information about the Traffic Management Program, including highlighting the usage of traffic calming devices like speed humps, chicanes and curb extensions…
Source: LJWorld

People filled the Valley Center Recreation and Aquatics Center to the brim for its grand-opening Feb. 22. They toured the facilities, participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony and many bought memberships.
Source: Ark Valley News

Six days after a gas leak led to a fire that destroyed a business on Hutchinson’s Main Street and displaced several others, the community anticipates answers on how to move forward. The explosion left businesses on Main Street unable to operate.
Source: KWCH

Voters in two other districts near Wichita will weigh in on school bond proposals this spring. Haysville and Mulvane will vote on proposed school improvements on April 8. A Wichita bond issue on the ballot this week failed, according to unofficial results.
Source: KWCH

The Health & Wellness Coalition’s goal is to create communities that support and encourage physical activity and healthy eating. Sign up for the 2025 Working Well Conference here.

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.