Kansas Municipal News
Municipal Bond Trends for January 20, 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.
CARES money helps City of Sedgwick upgrade technology
As part of the funding from the CARES act, the City of Sedgwick will soon be using new technology to live-stream their city council meetings. If everything goes to plan, everything should be up and running by the next meeting on Feb. 1, according to City Administrator Joe Turner. … A year ago the city council meetings were not available online. The city began streaming them on Facebook using an Ipad to encourage people to watch from home, in a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the new equipment, those interested should be able to watch the meetings for years to come.
Source: Harvey County Now
Shelter’s new director enjoys finding good homes for pets
Growing up, Brittni Israel’s home in Westphalia seemed to be a dumping ground for unwanted dogs. A nonstop parade seemed to make their way to her. Maybe it was a coincidence. Or maybe desperate pet owners knew Israel and her family would find the dogs a good home. And they did. Israel’s love for animals has shaped her career. She recently was named director of the Allen County Animal Rescue Facility in LaHarpe.
Source: The Iola Register
Supply shortage: Sedgwick County to limit next round of vaccine to those over 90
The COVID-19 vaccine is in such short supply in the Wichita area that the county health department plans to initially limit its second phase of vaccinations to those aged 90 or older, Sedgwick County officials said Tuesday. Gov. Laura Kelly is expected to announce a move into the second phase of the state’s vaccination program later this week, expanding eligibility to anyone 65 or older. But it could be weeks or months before the youngest in that age group are vaccinated in the Wichita area.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Derby pushes for more regular redistricting review
As Derby has continued to transition to a city of the first class following a proclamation last November, staff and the city council have continued to update charter ordinances to maintain operations as they were prior to that designation. Changes so far have not been substantive, but the ordinance brought before the council at its Jan. 12 meeting had at least one significant change proposed. Addressing the selection of mayor and city council election policies in Derby, the regularity of redistricting was brought into question with the new charter ordinance. From a legal standpoint, and with the city’s continued growth (leading it to become a city of the first class), City Attorney Jacque Butler recommended reviewing the boundaries of Derby’s four wards on a more regular basis instead of every 10 years.
Source: Derby Informer | News
Sedgwick County jail moving to e-mail only for inmates
In an effort to stop drugs from making it into the jail, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office will no longer allow personal mail to be sent to inmates. The jail contracts with Securus Technologies for a lot of services, and they will handle this too. Starting immediately, mail to an inmate should be addressed as shown below. Letters and photos will be scanned and delivered to inmates electronically.
Source: Country 101.3 KFDI
Neosho County hears discussion on wind turbine warning lights, sound levels
Neosho County Commissioners heard from two property owners in the Neosho Ridge Wind project area and got an update on the electric generation project’s construction…. Property owner Stan Basler met with commissioners about a proposal that the 139 windmills, which have flashing aircraft warning lights, use a system where the lights would be activated by radar when aircraft are present. “Everybody here knows the wind farm’s here to stay,” Basler said, adding that he feels as if he is in an industrial park instead of living in the country. “Compromise is always out there,” Commission Chair Nic Galemore said.
Source: www.chanute.com
Former KS court clerk who stole voided payments sentenced in public funds misuse case
A former southwest Kansas county court clerk who kept more than $8,000 in voided traffic court payments for herself will serve a year of probation, pay $2,962 in restitution and a $2,500 fine, a judge ruled Tuesday. Sonia B. Johnson, 57, an ex-clerk for Seward County District Court, pleaded no contest to one count of misuse of public funds in August. Retired Ellis County Judge Edward Bouker handed down her sentence during a court hearing held via videoconference, U.S. Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office announced in a news release Wednesday. Prosecutors say she returned most of the money she stole while working as a public employee but fell a few thousand dollars short, resulting in the restitution order.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Lenexa Police upgrade body cams, which will now record automatically if officer’s gun is drawn
The new technology upgrades will automatically cause Lenexa officers’ body-worn cameras to start recording when an officer draws his or her firearm from the holster. It will also begin recording on all body-worn cameras that are within 30 feet of an officer who has drawn their weapon. Chief Dawn Layman said the body-worn cameras also go back 30 seconds prior to an officer’s firearm being drawn when recording an incident to ensure an incident is more fully captured.
Source: Shawnee Mission Post
KSHSAA to discuss allowing up to four spectators per participant
The Kansas State High School Activities Association on Wednesday voted to allow up to four spectators at student events. The change will take effect starting Jan. 29 until the end of winter activities regular season. School districts may choose to have stricter limitations based on seating and guidelines from local health departments.
Source: KAKE – News
Dodge City rescinds mask ordinance, cites decrease in COVID-19 cases
Dodge City commissioners have voted 3-1 to rescind the city’s mask ordinance. A news release from the city said commissioners cited the decrease in the daily average of COVID-19 cases in Ford County. “…it will be up to businesses and individuals to continue the downward trend by choosing to keep wearing a mask,” the release said. City Manager Nick Hernandez reported that according to the information reported through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s COVID-19 metrics website, the 14-day rolling average of cases in Ford county had decreased by 81% since the ordinance was put in effect. The seven-day rolling average fell by 90% during the two months the ordinance was in place.
Source: KAKE – News
Park City announces new downtown development, seeks public input
Dana Walden, assistant city administrator for Park City, says the downtown development “Needs to be Park City. What does Park City want here? Who do we want to be? We’re reaching out to our citizens and saying what would you like to see.” With the new Amazon distribution center just down the road, the new district is also an opportunity to boost quality of life for potential new residents. “What is something that we want to keep that money here and we want to provide those amenities that people want to have when they’re here” said Walden.
Source: KAKE – News
Local artists get creative with sprucing up NOTO
Two local artists continue to leave their mark on the art community by adding a little extra flair to the light poles in the NOTO Arts and Entertainment District. Eight structural banners were fastened to light poles in lieu of some of the traditional art banners that feature a variety of local artists from the community. Brainstorming for these metal artwork pieces first began in the Spring of 2018. The two artists, Michael Bradley and Larry Peters, said the art pieces are made out of mostly aluminum and silk screen frames. When a request for spare aluminum parts was made by the artists for the project, the community came together and delivered.
Source: KSNT News
Lawrence to consider new scoring guide to help make spending decisions
As part of their effort to better prioritize their budget decisions, city leaders will soon consider a new scoring guide that would affect how millions of tax dollars are spent. As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will consider approving a proposed priority-based budgeting scoring matrix, which will identify spending priorities by scoring city programs against the commission’s new strategic plan. Danielle Buschkoetter, budget and strategic initiatives administrator, said the matrix was intended to build on the city’s recent budget prioritization efforts.
Source: LJWorld.com.
Municipal Bond Trends for January 19, 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.
Sedgwick County Electric Cooperative breaks ground
A solar energy project is bringing sun farms to Kansas. Twelve Kansas electric companies have signed an agreement with Today’s Power, Inc. This agreement ensures rate stability for the next 25 years. “I just feel like we all work hard for our money, and anything that Sedgwick County Electric can do to save our members money, especially in these times is just going to be helpful,” said Scott Ayres, CEO of Sedgwick County Electric Cooperative. Once complete, the farms will generate more than 20 megawatts of solar power across 800 miles of land in the Sunflower State.
Source: KSN-TV
Woman buys, relocates grandmother’s old house in Hillsboro
For Marlene Richards, life came full circle Wednesday when her grandmother’s house, where she spent her childhood Christmases, was settled onto her property in Hillsboro. Clusters of people gathered in the cold morning air to watch as Unruh House Movers of Galva lifted the home onto the back of a semi and painstakingly moved it from the corner of Grand and Washington Sts. to N. Cedar St. Police officers and fire chief Ben Steketee provided traffic control…
Source: HILLSBORO Star-Journal
Green Team Southwestern and City of Winfield offer e-waste recycling event
The Green Team of Southwestern College will again collaborate with the City of Winfield for an e-waste recycling event from 3 to 6 p.m. Feb. 2 at the Arkansas City/Winfield Recycling Center at Seventh Avenue and D Street in Strother Field. The Green Team will accept donations to help offset the cost of transporting electronics to the recycler. Use the east driveway to enter the recycling center building and exit out the west driveway after dropping off electronics.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
From ‘Early Settlements of Atchison County’: Kapioma
Most of the early Indian settlements in Atchison County were located on creeks, the most important of these being Grasshopper Creek, now known as the Delaware River. There is some controversy as to how this stream got its name. According to one account, it was named in 1819 by the French trader Joseph Roubideaux, the founder of St. Joseph. While camped along this stream, a great swarm of grasshoppers alighted and in a few days ate all the grass from the river bottoms. From this circumstance he named the river Sautrelle, the French word for grasshopper.
Source: Atchison Globe Now
RCPD seeing significant improvements in retention of dispatchers
RCPD Retention rates for Riley County dispatchers have improved significantly since 2019, according to a report from Riley County Police Department Director Dennis Butler. “I expected it to take about two years to achieve the gains that you’re seeing in this report, which has cut our vacancy rate in half,” Butler told Riley County Law Board members Tuesday. “I really thought it would take longer to get where we are now, but I’m very pleased and we’re continuing to make progress.”
Source: 1350 KMAN