Kansas Municipal News
Kaw Nation asks for return of sacred prayer rock that was taken and converted into monument to settlers
The Kaw Nation has asked the city of Lawrence to return a sacred prayer rock that was removed from the tribe’s homelands and made into a monument honoring settlers. A letter from the Kaw Nation to the city states that Kaw citizens overwhelmingly voted in favor of returning Iⁿ ‘zhúje ‘waxóbe, or the “Big Red Rock,” to the tribe at the Kaw Nation General Council meeting in October. The letter, signed by Kaw Nation Chairwoman Lynn Williams, says that the tribe’s stewardship of the rock and its significance as a spiritual item of prayer is well documented.
Source: LJWorld.com.
Lawrence to conduct survey about systemic racism using public kiosks throughout December
The City of Lawrence will be using public kiosks to survey residents about systemic racism throughout the month of December. As the Journal-World previously reported, the city is seeking residents’ input about systemic racism to help inform potentially fundamental changes in policing and other city functions. The city’s Human Relations Commission has partnered with the University of Kansas Center for Public Partnerships and Research to gather input from residents about systemic racism and its effects on safety, health, education, economic development and housing, according to a news release from the city. The commission has worked with KU to write 10 statements, and residents will be asked whether they agree or disagree with the statements as part of the survey.
Source: LJWorld.com.
Manhattan debates need for diversity task force
The Manhattan City Commission debated Tuesday about whether to vote on establishing a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force next week. Mayor Usha Reddi, who first proposed the idea in August, says the idea is to bring together diversity experts from local organizations to make resources more available to underrepresented and marginalized communities. “There are organizations already in some of these structures, such as the university, such as Fort Riley as well as USD 383, that we can kind of consolidate for our own city and make sure we are more welcoming and inclusive,” Reddi said.
Source: 1350 KMAN
With attendance down at some schools, Derby school district hires new support staff
Derby Public Schools hired a team of attendance clerks in an effort to help students stay engaged during the pandemic and the district’s shift online. Holly Putnam-Jackson, assistant superintendent of curriculum, said the district hired three attendance clerks and a coordinator. The staff positions are new due to the pandemic and are meant to support students during remote and quarantined instruction. At the Nov. 25 gating committee meeting, Putnam-Jackson gave a rundown of attendance rates across the district from Sept. 8 to Nov. 20. The numbers indicate that most Derby schools are seeing drops in attendance rates compared to 2019.
Source: Derby Informer | News
Sedgwick County Commissioners amend local health order
The Sedgwick County Board of Commissioners have amended the latest local health order to include provisions for event centers, youth organized sports and adult recreational sports. The county commissioners added the following amendments to youth organized sports: For indoor single-court or single-playing area rooms and outdoor facilities, there can be a maximum of two attendees per participant. All persons must exit the area once the event is over. For indoor multi-court or multi-playing area rooms, there can be a maximum of two attendees per participant. All persons must exit the area once the event is over.
Source: KAKE – News
Two parents can be allowed for Kansas high school winter sports starting Thursday
Up to two parents or guardians per participant family can be allowed to attend Kansas high school winter sports events starting on Thursday, following a vote by the Kansas State High School Activities Association Board of Directors on Tuesday. The vote does not mean every school has to allow spectators into their events, but it does leave it up to each school district. That’s a reversal from what the KSHSAA Board of Directors decided in a Nov. 24 meeting when it voted to not allow any fans during the coronavirus pandemic through at least Jan. 28. “We had great success in the fall, but we weren’t perfect and certainly as a society we aren’t perfect,” said Bill Faflick, the KSHSAA executive director. “There’s significant evidence of continued community spread. Our numbers are worse now than they have been in a long time. It’s really important we never lose sight of that data.
Source: Wichita Breaking News, Sports & Crime |
COVID-19 vaccinations could start next week in Sedgwick County; you might need to wait
Vaccinations for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 could begin as early as next week in Sedgwick County, but it’s likely you’ll have to wait a while for your shots if you don’t fall into the highest-risk group, a county official reported Tuesday. Some early doses will go straight to Wichita’s two main hospital systems — Wesley and Ascension Via Christi — to vaccinate the nurses, doctors and other medical personnel who are providing direct treatment to COVID-19 patients, Deputy County Manager Tim Kaufman told the County Commission at a staff meeting Tuesday. Other doses will be sent directly to commercial pharmacies contracted to distribute to nursing homes and long-term care facilities, where the risk of COVID-19 clusters has been the highest, Kaufman said. The elderly are especially susceptible to dying of COVID-19 if they get it.
Source: Wichita Eagle.
Kansas broadband efforts receive $85 million boost to bridge digital divide
Kansas’ broadband czar says a new grant initiative will infuse tens of millions of dollars over the next decade into projects working to close the digital divide in underserved areas across Kansas. Stanley Adams, director of the office of broadband development at the Kansas Department of Commerce, said the Broadband Acceleration Grant Program will provide $85 million over the next decade to qualifying areas with low connectivity. “What we know for sure is increasingly, not decreasingly, we all need to have access to these services,” Adams said. “We knew that before the pandemic. Now, a lot more people know, and there is a glaring bright light on it, so it’s an opportunity for us to seize.”
Source: Kansas Reflector
Kansas education board adds academic planning time, rejects linkage of spring break calendars
The Kansas Board of Education approved a plan Tuesday to offer up to 20 hours of additional professional development time for public school educators working through the COVID-19 pandemic and voted to reject a proposal allowing local school boards to align K-12 spring break with university and colleges calendars. Randy Watson, state commissioner of education, said superintendents, teachers, paraprofessionals and instructional aides would welcome more time for instructional collaboration from Dec. 1 to April 30. He said the state Board of Education pressed districts to burn through allotted professional development hours last summer to prepare for the 2020-21 academic year. Most districts in Kansas complied with the suggestion, he said. Without a change in state policy, he said, the teachers wouldn’t have benefit of opportunities to work together this winter on refining instructional approaches.
Source: Kansas Reflector
Topeka City Council approves plan to invest in affordable housing citywide
Topeka City Council unanimously approved a housing study implementation plan that aims to combat housing inequity and the residual effects of redlining policies in Topeka. Establishing an Affordable Housing Trust Fund to help fund housing projects, creating a landbank, and expanding weatherization and weather proofing of homes were listed as “tier A” priorities to address in 2021. A “Take 2 Tenancy” program to provide people better opportunities to rent housing even with past blemishes — like evictions — on their housing record, focusing on seniors and their housing needs, rehab assistance and downtown area housing were listed as “tier B” priorities that “need more planning in 2021 before they are activated.”
Source: Local News | Topeka Capital-Journal
Downtown Ramada to receive sales tax assistance to fund renovations
The Ramada in downtown Topeka will receive sales tax assistance after city council unanimously approved a Community Improvement District. A CID is a 2% sales tax on retail purchase, but the tax increase is not citywide. The sales tax increase in this CID is “generally described as the Downtown Ramada Hotel & Convention Center,” according to the CID ordinance. Jim Parrish, the president and CEO of Topeka-based Parrish Management Corp., applied for the CID district to help fund improvements to the Ramada, 420 S.E. 6th. Parrish, a managing member of Jefferson Street Partners, told the Topeka City Council last week he wanted to add more apartments to the Ramada to adapt to the changing market.
Source: Local News | Topeka Capital-Journal
‘Anything is welcome’: WPD collecting gifts for kids in domestic violence shelters
The Wichita Police Department is collecting new, unwrapped clothes, toys, blankets and gift cards to help give children living in the city’s domestic violence shelters a merrier Christmas. You can drop off items in person from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday at 5803 W. Central, just west of the Patrol West substation. After Wednesday, email Officer Lori Kimrey at lkimrey@wichita.gov to arrange a pick-up time through Dec. 17. “If you can just pull in, officers will come out (and) collect whatever gifts you have to donate,” community policing Officer Roddy Winder said about Wednesday’s toy collection drive.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Kansas schools now allowed to petition state for flexibility from key mandate
Schools will have more flexibility in opting out of a key mandate requiring them teach a certain number of hours per year under a proposal approved by the State Board of Education Tuesday. Under state statute, districts must offer at least 1,116 of instruction per year for most students, a measure designed to ensure uniform levels of schooling across the state. But the state elected in March to give districts the option of waiving the attendance requirements for schools, with many forced to cancel classes or offer online instruction in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. State education commissioner Randy Watson said that most schools across the state are back offering in-person instruction, although some of the larger districts are still offering online or remote instruction.
Source: Local News | Topeka Capital-Journal
Municipal Bond Trends for December 8, 2020
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.
Cox giving internet access to nearly 600 Kansas homes in broadband expansion project
Cox Communications is giving nearly six hundred homes across Kansas internet access. Representatives for Cox made the announcement in a meeting with the state’s Special Committee on Economic Recovery on Tuesday. “We know that this is a difficult time for all Kansans, and hopefully by connecting everyone together, and providing more connectivity, we can make things just a little easier,” said Megan Bottenberg, Cox Communications Manager of Kansas Government Affairs. During the meeting, Bottenberg spoke about the impact lack of broadband access has had on families across the state. The average population without broadband access is 15%. Rural areas are struggling with getting internet access the most, but low-income families in urban areas are also affected, 5% of the population in urban areas in Kansas are without options, versus 4% nationally.
Source: KSN-TV
Community recreation center construction nearing completion in Manhattan
The series of recreation buildings being built in Manhattan are almost complete. Collaborations have been made with Douglass, Anthony, and Eisenhower middle schools to build recreation centers that are open to both the middle school students and the residents of Manhattan. Wyatt Thompson, Manhattan Parks and Recreation Assistant Director, says all three projects are moving right along. He adds that the Douglass Center is starting to feel complete. They installed the basketball goals last week,” Thompson says. “So when you walk in, it looks different with paint on the walls and the goals there. You can really now tell that it is indeed, going to be a rec center and that gymnasium space just really changed when they put the goal up.”
Source: 1350 KMAN
KDHE announces clarifications on new COVID quarantine periods
After receiving further clarification from CDC on the shortened quarantine periods, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) is issuing more information concerning the shortened quarantine periods counties may opt in to. The clarifications are regarding the date quarantine periods may end. For the 7-day period with a test, the quarantine period will end after the full seven days, on Day 8. For the 10-day period without a test, the quarantine period will end after the full 10 days, on Day 11. Individuals should check with their local health departments regarding the quarantine recommendations specific to their county.
Source: Atchison Globe Now
Butler County reopens historic courthouse building
Butler County has reopened its Historic Courthouse building after closing it to public access for two weeks. The building was closed November 23rd because of a number of COVID-19 illnesses and staff shortages resulting from close contact quarantines of employees. The building reopened Monday morning and visitors are asked to continue to wear masks and follow social distancing. They are also urged to continue good hygiene practices with hand washing or the use of hand sanitizer. Butler County Commission meetings will now be open to the public, but the meetings are still available by livestream through the county’s web site.
Source: Country 101.3 KFDI
Kansas ambulance agencies slammed by COVID-19 suffer staff shortages, heavy patient load
In the words of a Kansas ambulance service director, surging demand from COVID-19 patients and a shortage of EMS personnel to handle calls “is about to get critical.” Another responding to a statewide EMS survey said this of the pandemic in Kansas: “Very concerned if there are serious trauma events or patients with critical time-sensitive illness, there will be no options for these patients to receive critically needed care.” And, one more piece of insight: “I am concerned that we will be in situations very soon where we will not be able to find a receiving hospital for our patients.”
Source: Kansas Reflector
Sedgwick County commissioners receive an update on COVID-19 testing and vaccine distribution
Sedgwick County commissioners on Tuesday were updated on plans for COVID-19 testing and vaccines. The commissioners were informed the Edgemoor drive-thru testing will be demobilized by Dec. 31. Instead, a new site will open later this month at 21st and Ridge at the Sedgwick County Extension Office. The new site will be in the 4-H hall where there will be a mix of appointment and walkup sampling opportunities. More details will be released soon. Commissioners were also informed that Well Health, an ancillary by the Kansas Department of Health, will be opening four collection sites in the county on Dec. 10. The capacity for tests can reach 2,000 a day through appointments, walkup, and drive-thru. The testing will be saliva and a PCR test. Most results will be released within 48 to 96 hours by a patient portal. For more information, go to gogettested.com/kansas.
Source: KSN-TV