Kansas Municipal News
Sedgwick County nonprofit aims to address day care woes
There’s a push to bring a new type of child care to Sedgwick County. A nonprofit, oneCOMMUNITY, is aimed at working with employers to give more affordable child care to their workers. The executive director of the nonprofit, Brent Lewis, is the husband of Sedgwick County Commissioner Sarah Lopez. The goal is to work with employers instead of parents to come up with day care solutions they say will help with employee retention and attendance.
Source: KSN-TV
Olathe educators says district’s new cellphone rules have been ‘non-issue’
Olathe Public Schools’ new cellphone policy is going well four months after its approval, three administrators said Thursday. Principals representing the elementary, middle and high school levels addressed the Olathe Board of Education at its last meeting of the semester Dec. 4, providing an update on the personal electronic device policy that was approved in August. “Overall, it’s really been a non-issue,” said Olathe Northwest High School Principal Chris Zuck. “It’s probably not the kids’ favorite policy that we’ve ever put in place, but the strengths — or maybe some of the successes — have included some more instructional time and engagement in classrooms.” Under the policy, students of any age can have their cellphones in their bags, in their locker or kept “on their person” provided they “are not visible during the school day.”
Source: Johnson County Post
City commission approves contract for extra solar energy
The City of Holton gets its electric power from a variety of sources, and following action by the Holton City Commission, the city will add a solar energy source to its power portfolio, starting in 2027.
Source: Holton Recorder
Governor Kelly Announces More than $8M Toward Closing the Digital Divide
Governor Laura Kelly announced Thursday that the Kansas Office of Broadband Development will begin accepting applications on Feb. 3, 2025, for funding from the National Telecommunications Information and Administration (NTIA) Digital Equity Capacity Grant program. There will be a total of $8.2 million available in funding. The program promotes partnerships to enhance digital opportunity efforts and expand workforce skills, education, and other resources.
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
Riley County considers policy for incentivizing ‘affordable’ housing
Riley County’s budget and planning committee on Monday presented a policy for incentives intended to entice developers build affordable housing. The committee members proposed Reinvestment Housing Incentive District policy. The RHID captures the increase in property taxes created by the development for up to 25 years. Brittany Phillips, county budget and finance officer, presented an overview of the RHID policy at Thursday’s county commission meeting. The county commissioners did not take votes on the matter Monday, as it was their first time looking at the proposal.
Source: 1350 KMAN
Governor Kelly Announces Flora Food Group Investing $90M, Creating 100 New Jobs in Hugoton
Governor Laura Kelly announced Wednesday that Flora Food Group, a global food company, has purchased a manufacturing facility in Hugoton. This capital investment of around $90 million and the expected creation of approximately 100 new jobs over the next several years will elevate the workforce in Stevens County. The facility will be the hub for Flora Food Group’s creams and cream cheese products for the United States, Canada, and the rest of the Americas region over time. Its existing New Century facility will continue to serve as the U.S. hub for Flora Food Group’s butters and spreads products. The intention is to bring back a fully operational facility and jobs to the Hugoton community.
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
Sedgwick County asking four cities to take over road maintenance
Sedgwick County Commissioners have passed several resolutions asking the cities of Wichita, Kechi, Park City and Goddard to annex rights-of-way along certain roadways and take over maintenance of the roads. Commissioner David Dennis said there has been situations where cities have annexed land, but they haven’t annexed adjacent roads, so county taxpayers are having to pay for maintenance of roads that should be handled by the cities.
Source: 101.3 KFDI
Tourism grant helping turn old schoolhouse into a vacation rental
Kansas Tourism last week presented property owner Clay Graber with a $25,000 check to go toward the revitalization project. Graber estimates the total renovation cost to be $150,000. The Wabaunsee County District No. 1 Primary School at 38130 Elm St. in Wamego was built of limestone in 1879 and saw the education of hundreds of school children. Graber owns and operates Our Little Schoolhouse LLC and has been leading the restoration project since September. He sees the old schoolhouse as a space “where locals and out-of-towners alike can come get away from the busyness of everyday life, enjoy small-town living and learn about the history behind this 150-year-old educational institution.”
Source: 1350 KMAN
Passenger rail could come to Wichita in the next several years. Here’s what’s happening
A rail line connecting the Southwest Chief route in Newton to the Heartland Flyer in Oklahoma City could be fully operational by 2029, the Kansas Department of Transportation says. The connection would include a stop in Wichita, at Union Station, which hasn’t had passenger rail service since the 1970s. For Wichitans, the nearest passenger rail station now is 25 miles north in Newton, and the only pickup time is at 2:45 a.m. Amtrak provides a bus between Newton and Oklahoma City, with a stop in Wichita, in lieu of rail service.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
US electric vehicle infrastructure has tripled in 5 years. Here’s how Kansas compares.
Car buyers who are weary of electric vehicles often share the same concern: “What if I run out of juice and there’s nowhere to charge my car?” That was a fair question in 2007. At the time, there were only 139 public EV charging stations. But in the years since, public and private entities have invested billions into building out charging infrastructure to make EVs a more practical option. In 2023, 0.6% of cars on the road in Kansas were electric or plug-in hybrid. As of November 2024, there were 655 charging stations available. In the last three years, the federal government has allocated $35.3 million in grants toward clean transportation, or about $12 per person.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
County solves grant matching problem
At their Tuesday morning meeting, Allen County Commissioners discussed ways to help Your Community Foundation meet a $70,000 matching grant, without affecting the management of the county’s environmental fund. With the help of County Counsel Bob Johnson, the commission arrived at a solution.
Source: The Iola Register
Leffler named ACC President
Allen Community College trustees announced Tuesday evening that Dr. Lyvier Leffler has been selected as the next president of the college. Leffler’s career includes 11 years at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa, where she served as dean of academic services and director of counseling services.
Source: The Iola Register
Kansas’ smallest school district to dissolve following voter, state board approval
Two students are enrolled this year at the Healy Public Schools district in western Kansas, a decrease from 20 students the previous year. Steadily declining enrollment led area voters in November to favor dissolution, and the Kansas State Board of Education affirmed the vote Tuesday. Healy’s neighboring district, Scott County Schools, will absorb its territory and property, and eventually collect taxes that would have typically gone toward the Healy district.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Lawrence city commissioners approve street design with separated bike lanes for section of Mass Street
Community members asked the commission in April to push for the stretch of road, which was already set for a redesign, to include protected bike lanes. City staff members looked at street designs with protected bike lanes in several cities to help evaluate options. The design includes one lane of vehicle traffic in each direction, a center lane for turns, and 5-foot-wide bike lanes separated from the street by a 3-foot-wide median. Residents along the stretch could put their trash carts in the median zone, and solid waste workers could complete trash pickup from the lanes of traffic.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Why all of Kansas would feel loss of Ogallala Aquifer
Depletion of the water supply would be a critical blow to major farming and beef industries, which would send reverberations across the state. Simply living farther east in places like Wichita, Topeka or the Kansas City area won’t make you immune to the effects of lost jobs and tax revenue.
Source: Hutch News
Federal government to study water supply and depletion of Ogallala Aquifer
The U.S. House passed the Water Resources Development Act 399-18 on Tuesday. … A section of the 624-page bill authorizes a federal study in coordination with other federal and state agencies. The comprehensive study will assess “water supply, availability, drought resilience, aquifer recharge, and causes of aquifer depletion, for those regions overlying the Ogallala Aquifer.”
Source: CJonline
Municipal Bond Trends for December 11, 2024
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.
Salina Schools superintendent to retire in May
Salina Public Schools Superintendent Linn Exline is set to retire at the end of this school year after spending entire 33-year career in the district.
Source: Salina Journal
Municipal Bond Trends for December 10, 2024
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.
Six in one; half-dozen in the other
In a four-hour session with nearly 40 people in attendance, the Crawford County Commission discussed extending the moratorium on green energy development in the county.
EDF Project Developer Alan Blaesser and Community Engagement Manager Leif Clark spoke directly to the commission expressing their company’s concerns about a 12-month extension, saying that such an action would be a serious threat to the project. In May, EDF asked to be excluded from the moratorium but were denied. As it stands now, according to Clark, the company is extremely concerned about a long extension. EDF has already spent millions of dollars in developing the project and cannot afford to invest in what Clark called an “ambiguous community.”
Source: Morning Sun