Kansas Municipal News
Marion council members inspect new electric car charging station
Marion city councilmen got an up-close look at two new charging stations for electric cars Monday. The chargers, at the west edge of the Historic Elgin Hotel parking lot, have already been used for an electric car owned by Kansas Power Pool. The car, in town for the weekend and driven in the Holly Jolly Christmas parade by council member Chris Costello, took only a short time to recharge after it was driven from Wichita to Marion.
Source: Marion County RECORD
Residents create new welcome for The Highlands
Residents of The Highlands finished work last week on a new entrance sign at their small, fledgling city north of Hutchinson. A comment from a Realtor last year, who noted the existing sign didn’t project the image of a new, growing city, spurred the idea, said resident Vickie Nuss. “We needed to send a message that something new was happening in The Highlands,” she said. Having incorporated just two years before with the intent of raising money to repave its streets, however, residents in the town of 314 recognized there wasn’t money in city coffers to design, let alone erect one.
Source: Local – The Hutchinson News
KS hospitals refusing rural COVID transfers
Kansas hospitals are turning away more than 100 transfer patients a month as smaller, local hospitals continue filling up at an alarming rate. In May, at the beginning of the pandemic, the University of Kansas Health System denied 40 transfers and in October it was up to 140, said Jill Chadwick, a KU spokeswoman. “November was expected to trend higher,” she said, adding that those numbers are not yet available. At the KU daily briefing Wednesday, Hays Medical Center reported currently treating 34 COVID-19 patients, which is more than third of the 85 to 90 in-patients the hospital usually averages. Dr. Heather Harris, Hays Medical Center’s medical director, said that nearly all of their COVID-19 in-patients are from rural counties without mask mandates.
Source: The Iola Register
Kansas puts vaccine priority on grocery, meatpacking workers
Gov. Laura Kelly said Friday that Kansas considers meatpacking plant workers and grocery store employees essential workers, putting them just behind health care workers and nursing home residents for coronavirus vaccines. … Kelly said Kansas’ vaccine plan calls for the first shots to go to front-line health care workers with a high risk of coronavirus exposure, including workers in nursing homes, as well as nursing home residents.
Source: KSN-TV
Soda fountain in Cimarron endures
The old-fashioned soda fountain on the corner of U.S. Highway 50 and Main Street has always been a staple in Cimarron, Kans. Generations of kids made the soda fountain the after-school hangout, while generations of adults got together for conversation and coffee. Since the building had been a combination of a soda fountain and pharmacy for over 50 years, the way that most of the locals remember the fountain is as part of Clark Pharmacy. However, in 2019, Mat and Kim Monical, owners of the pharmacy, sold the building and moved their pharmacy across the street. When the building went up for sale last year, some local citizens became concerned about the soda fountain closing.
Source: Leavenworth Times
Ark City miniature Christmas display still on, with limits
The COVID-19 pandemic has created problems around the world, including the North Pole. The North Pole Kansas in Arkansas City, that is. Because of the virus, the traditional display of ceramic buildings at 500 S. Summit St., will be scaled way back this year to allow for social distancing. Kanyon Gingher, who spearheads the annual display, said that the fundraising event began 15 years ago and grown larger every year. The display normally contains more than 650 unique lighted buildings atop more than 50 tables. This year, the display will be reduced to about 200 buildings on 30 tables.
Source: The Arkansas City Traveler
Galena hosts Christmas Parade
A Kansas city is getting in the holiday spirit. Saturday afternoon Galena held a Christmas Parade down Main Street. Local law enforcement agencies, the fire department and other organizations were in the parade. Parade goers say they are happy this event wasn’t canceled.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Governor Directs Flags Be Flown Half-Staff for Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
In accordance with Executive Order 20-30, and in recognition of National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, December 7, 2020, Governor Laura Kelly has ordered flags throughout the State of Kansas to be flown at half-staff on Monday, December 7, 2020, until sunset. “We will never forget the tragic day of December 7, 1941, when Imperial Japan launched an attack on Pearl Harbor, killing thousands of U.S. personnel and civilians,” Governor Laura Kelly said, “That day changed the trajectory of our nation and the world. We are thankful for all the veterans who have given their lives for the cause of freedom.”
Municipal Bond Trends for December 3, 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.
A pandemic, exhaustion and threats: Why dozens of Kansas public health officials are quitting
Nick Baldetti resigned as director of the Reno County Health Department in July. He left to head an effort to establish a school of health at McPherson College. It was a good opportunity, Baldetti said, but he likely would have stayed to see the department through the pandemic if not for the 80-hour work weeks, the hostile political environment and the threats to his family. “I had the local police watching my house because my family was home and I was not,” said Baldetti, who also served as the department’s health officer. “There was a period of time that I had escorts to and from work.” Baldetti, like his counterparts across the state, spent years preparing to deal with a public health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. He never imagined that when the moment arrived he would encounter such antagonism for simply doing his job.
Source: KSN-TV
Teachers cover bus routes at Haviland
The number of active COVID-19 cases continues to rise in Kiowa County last week, creating a need for adjustments at the Haviland Grade School as multiple staff members became identified as positive cases. Mark Clodfelter, USD 422 Haviland Grade School superintendent and principal, said the school has had multiple staff members affected by the coronavirus. They had enough substitutes to cover all of their classes, but the district was short on transportation staff …
Source: Leavenworth Times
Siemens Gamesa marks 10 years in Hutchinson
The novel coronavirus scuttled a public open house, but Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy celebrated 10 years of operation at its nacelle and hub assembly facility in Hutchinson on Thursday by serving a barbecue lunch to employees.Since opening, the Hutchinson facility has completed nearly 5,000 nacelles, shipping to 16 U.S. states, as well as Canada, Chile and Peru. Those nacelles could cumulatively generate enough electricity to power more than 3.8 million homes …
Source: Local – The Hutchinson News
Iola library circulates new internet hotspots
Iola Public Library has added a new service: circulating Internet hotspots. The hotspots bring an Internet connection into a home or other location and allow computers or devices to connect to it via wi-fi. There are currently five hotspots available to check out. Later this month, an additional 10 “smart hotspots” should be available. T-Mobile/Sprint is the carrier. Funding for the hotspots comes from a Broadband Partnership Adoption Grant through the Kansas Department of Commerce using CARES Act, or federal coronavirus relief, funds. The regular hotspots are suitable for those who have smartphones, computers, tablets or other devices with wi-fi capability. Those who have no computers or other devices can check out the smart hotspots, since besides bringing the Internet connection, they are themselves a device which can be used.
Source: The Iola Register
Gov. Kelly announces ‘Stop the Spread. It’s Up to Us, Kansas’ campaign
Governor Laura Kelly and the State of Kansas on Thursday launched a COVID-19 public health campaign called “Stop the Spread. It’s Up to Us, Kansas.” The campaign shares the importance of getting tested, wearing masks and encourages social distancing this holiday season to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Included in the campaign is a new testing website, GoGetTested.com/Kansas, that quickly identifies free testing locations throughout the state.
Source: KAKE – News
Kansas counties reject new guidance on COVID-19 quarantines
Two northeast Kansas counties on Thursday rejected at least part of the new federal and state guidelines for shortening the time people are quarantined after they’re possibly exposed to COVID-19. New guidance Wednesday from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said people who’ve been exposed to coronavirus and show no symptoms but don’t get tested can end their quarantines after 10 days, instead of 14. The new guidance also says a person without symptoms who tests negative can end a quarantine after seven days. … Public health officials in Wyandotte County announced that the Kansas City-area county is sticking with 14-day quarantines for people who’ve been potentially exposed to coronavirus…Shawnee County will allow people without COVID-19 symptoms who’ve not been tested to shorten their quarantines to 10 days, Dr. Gianfranco Pezzino, the county’s health officer, said Thursday. But he said it will not allow people who’ve tested negative to leave quarantine after seven days.
Source: KAKE – News
A postal headache in Longton, Kansas
You could call it a living mailroom nightmare that includes a crumbling building, missing bills and pandemic fears. The postal headache is the talk of the town in Longton, Kansas. But they’re not mailing it in because they can’t. The Post Office is locked up tight. “Did the city get any warning that this was going to happen?” KAKE News asked. “No, we did not. Just the note on the door,” explained Longton city clerk Bonnie Foged. Most folks told KAKE News that they first they heard of the Longton Post Office closure when they found a sign on the boarded-up front door.
Source: KAKE – News
Broadband access to rural communities
Governor Laura Kelly today announced the introduction of the new Broadband Acceleration Grant Program to expand broadband access to rural and underserved communities across the state. This year marks the first time in Kansas history that there has been a concerted, statewide, bipartisan effort to fund increased broadband access. Over the next ten years, the program seeks to invest $85 million toward bridging the digital divide in Kansas thanks to broadband modernization funding provided through the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program (IKE).
Source: Gardner News
75,000 Kansans to get COVID-19 vaccinations by month’s end, Gov. Kelly announces
An estimated 75,000 Kansans will be vaccinated for COVID-19 by the end of the month, Gov. Laura Kelly announced Wednesday afternoon. Kelly said that Kansas is expecting its initial shipments of vaccines by mid-December from two pharmaceutical companies — Pfizer and Moderna. Overall, Kelly said she expects 150,000 doses to arrive in Kansas through December. Each patient will get two doses for fullest effect, which means the state will be able to vaccinate 75,000 people.
Source: Wichita Eagle.
Municipal Bond Trends for December 2, 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.
Topeka officials project long-term savings if zoo transitions governance
City officials said Tuesday night that transitioning zoo governance from the city to a nonprofit group shifts risk away from the city government, which can have long-term savings. The city and zoo have been discussing transition governance to the non-profit group Friends of the Zoo for years, but conversations have intensified recently. The zoo’s budget in 2019 was $2.6 million and is 2.3% of the city’s total budget, according to the director of the finance department Jessica Lamendola. She said when city departments budgets are that small they might not get prioritized with funding, and transitioning the zoo to a nonprofit model could benefit the zoo.
Source: Local News | Topeka Capital-Journal