Kansas Municipal News
Firefighters watch from above when 911 lines go down
What happens when 911 does notwork? Dozens of Kansas counties had to learn the hard way after emergency lines went down for a couple of hours yesterday. In Sedgwick County when the phones went down Wichita fire crews went up. “Overall the majority of the firefighters, if not all of them, have never experienced anything like that,” said Chief Jose Ocadiz. With a battalion crew roaming the ground fire Chief Ocadiz said they took things to another level.
Source: KSN-TV
Police and Community committee review officer discipline and training as discussions on policing in Topeka stretch into December
If an officer in the Topeka Police Department doesn’t complete their training they could be written up or even fired. Incoming Interim Police Chief Brian Wheeles said it rarely needs to escalate beyond a write up, but insight into the police department’s progressive discipline plan provided the Police and Community committee answers they were hoping to uncover when it first convened Oct. 5.: Does TPD have good police policy, and are the officers learning and following it? The department has a training software that lets officers know when training needs to be taken and what training needs to be done, even if it’s just a policy change, Capt. Jamey Haltom said.
Source: Local News | Topeka Capital-Journal
Wichita schools send 13,000 elementary students to home learning until at least January
Wichita schools will send home about 13,000 elementary students as the largest public school district in Kansas transitions to a fully remote learning model. The Board of Education for Wichita Public Schools voted unanimously in a special meeting Monday evening to move all classes online until further notice. The decision will be re-evaluated Jan. 11. Students will still attend in-person classes on Tuesday, but will start online learning on Wednesday. Remote learning will be fully implemented on Friday.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Construction aims to fix one of the most dangerous intersections in Johnson County
Interstate 35 commuters can expect some delays in Johnson County as construction picks up this month at one of the most dangerous intersections in the Kansas City area. Work is now underway at I-35 and West 119th Street in northeast Olathe, where the traffic volume is among the highest in the state. The $22.5 million construction project includes reconfiguring the intersection and widening 119th Street — creating three lanes in each direction from Renner Boulevard to Strang Line Road — to alleviate congestion. “Anyone who uses that interchange knows the challenge it presents,” said Olathe Mayor John Bacon. “It’s not only difficult for those crossing the highway, but the backup on I-35 creates traffic and safety issues for people using the interstate as well.”
Source: KC Star Local News
Municipal Bond Trends for November 30, 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.
Sedgwick County Issues New Health Order And Sets Up Online Portal To Report Violators
A new COVID-19 health order for Sedgwick County limits public gatherings to 25 people and continues current restrictions for businesses. The mandates are in effect Friday through Jan. 9. This latest health order from Sedgwick County Health Officer Dr. Garold Minns replaces directives that were in effect since Nov. 13. One of the biggest changes: The current health order requires masks in all indoor settings and outdoor public gatherings, even when there’s space to social distance. It also rolls back gathering limits from 100 to 25 people.
Source: KMUW
Fenwick brings prairie history to life
Stafford County native Lynda Beck Fenwick has spent years straddling two centuries as she researched historical events for her third book to be published, Prairie Bachelor, The Story of a Kansas Homesteader and the Populist Movement, scheduled for December 2020 release by the University Press of Kansas. Fort Hays State University Forsyth Library will host Fenwick, a 1966 FHSU Tigers alumna, for a guided discussion of Prairie Bachelor–which she based on the 480-page journal of Stafford County homesteader Isaac Beckley Werner–on Tuesday, December 1, with the program also available for public viewing online via Zoom. … “Werner’s journal gave me a front-row seat to the years Stafford County farmers and ranchers struggled to survive in a world increasingly controlled by the wealthy,” said Fenwick, who for the last ten years has traveled with her husband, Larry, to places Werner had lived and frequented as she carried out her research.
Source: Leavenworth Times
Powell says pace of economic improvement has moderated
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says that the pace of improvement in the economy has moderated in recent months with future prospects remaining “extraordinarily uncertain.” In remarks released by the Fed on Monday, Powell said that the increase in new COVID-19 cases both in the United States and abroad was “concerning and could prove challenging for the next few months. A full economic recovery is unlikely until people are confident that it is safe to reengage in a broad range of activities.” Powell said while progress on developing vaccines had been “very positive,” significant challenges remained regarding the timing, production and distribution of the vaccines, and it remained difficult to assess the economic implications of this process with any degree of confidence.
Source: Wichita Breaking News, Sports & Crime |
New JoCo courthouse set to open in 2021 — here is what could happen to old site in downtown Olathe
A green space concept is taking shape for the soon-to-be-vacant plot of land in downtown Olathe where the current Johnson County courthouse stands. County commissioners earlier this month got a first look at initial designs for what could go into the space between the new courthouse, which is going in on the northeast corner of Santa Fe Street and Kansas Avenue, and the county administration building just to the south. The plan may eventually include a tree grove, a stage and shelter for events and eating, a memorial plaza with historical markers and a play area and art garden for families. Now that the new courthouse is nearing completion, discussions are beginning in earnest about what to do with the space that will be available once the old courthouse is demolished. County commissioners got their first look recently at staff-recommended improvements that were based on input from surveys and open houses last fall.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Amid difficulties of the pandemic, incoming Lawrence mayor wants the city ‘to look out for everyone in the community’
Over the past 20 years, City Commissioner Brad Finkeldei has played big roles in plenty of local organizations: social service nonprofits, the chamber of commerce, the planning commission and more. And this week, if tradition holds, he’ll add a new role to that list: mayor of Lawrence…. Finkeldei, 47, recently told the Journal-World that many of his priorities as mayor will be similar to the things that motivated him to run for City Commission in the first place — addressing issues such as equity problems, homelessness and the shortage of affordable housing. But in his first year on the commission, another priority overshadowed all of those things: the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: LJWorld.com.
Municipal Bond Trends for November 27, 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.
‘It’s very exciting’: New coin features Kansas tallgrass prairie preserve in Flint Hills
There’s big excitement in the Flint Hills over a new coin that pays homage to a stunning Kansas landmark. The U.S. Mint earlier this month released the 55th installment in its America the Beautiful Quarters Program — a coin representing the state’s Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. It is stamped on the tails side with a skyward view of the prairie, native Big Bluestem and Indian grasses as well as a Regal Fritillary butterfly. The inscriptions include “Tallgrass Prairie,” “Kansas” and the release year.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
More than half of Kansas counties now have mask mandates
According to the Kansas Department of Emergency Management, at least 22 counties have added a mask mandate since Nov. 18. This also doesn’t include cities that have created a mask mandate themselves within counties that have opted out. This is a much different reaction from when the governor issued her first mask mandate at the start of the pandemic, when 80 counties rejected it. Part of that change in attitude could be due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in Kansas and across the nation.
Source: News – McPhersonSentinel – McPherson, KS
Christmas traditions axed as pandemic sweeps rural Kansas
It’s barely a town anymore, battered by time on the windswept prairie of northwest Kansas. COVID-19 still managed for find Norcatur. Not much remains of the rural hamlet, save for a service station, a grain elevator, a little museum, and a weekend hangout where the locals play pool, eat pizza and drink beer. The roof has collapsed on the crumbling building that once housed its bank and general store. Schools closed decades ago and the former high school building is used for city offices. But for the 150 or so remaining residents, the cancellation of the beloved Norcatur Christmas Drawing has driven home how the global coronavirus pandemic has reached deep into rural America.
Source: KAKE – News
Some Wichita businesses file a lawsuit over city, county coronavirus restrictions
More than a dozen businesses and business owners in the Wichita area have filed a lawsuit against almost every person who is connected in some way to coronavirus restrictions in the City of Wichita and Sedgwick County. … The attorney representing the bars said there are some legal challenges dealing with public health and citizens’ constitutional rights, but said the businesses should not lose their constitutional rights during a pandemic.
Source: KSN-TV
Topeka’s new microhospital could accept some COVID-19 patients from Stormont, St. Francis
The recently opened Topeka ER & Hospital could accept some COVID-19 patients from Stormont Vail Hospital or the University of Kansas Health System St. Francis campus — though neither of those hospitals has taken Topeka ER up on the offer yet. Jared Schreiner, Topeka ER & Hospital’s chief medical officer, told The Topeka Capital-Journal on Friday that the facility has treated some “moderately ill” COVID-19 patients over the past few weeks. But it doesn’t have any inpatients positive for the coronavirus now, nor has it run into the capacity issues being faced by St. Francis and Stormont. The Capital-Journal reported Friday that St. Francis’ intensive care unit was at 100% of capacity that morning, while Stormont’s ICU capacity sat at 97%.
Source: Local News | Topeka Capital-Journal
VA outpatient clinic in Liberal closing next next year
The Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center said it will close its outpatient clinic in Liberal next year. The Community-Based Outpatient Clinic, which opened in 2018 in Liberal, will cease operations after Jan. 14, the Dodge City Globe reported. “We are disappointed to have to make this decision,” said Candace Ifabiyi, Medical Center director for Dole VA.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
With KC beds sparse, rural hospitals in Kansas, Missouri face new COVID ‘tidal wave’
Like just about every healthcare facility in the nation, Holton Community Hospital spent the early months of the year making big plans as leaders there awaited the arrival of the coronavirus. There were disaster planning sessions, preparations to move around staff and plans to add temporary hospital beds. “Then it didn’t happen,” said Krista Eylar, nursing director at the hospital about 30 miles north of Topeka.
Source: KC Star Local News
Majority of counties in Kansas have mask mandate in place following governor’s order
Sixty-two Kansas counties now have mask orders in place, with many coming as Gov. Laura Kelly’s new statewide mask order went into effect, according to a list compiled by the Kansas Association of Counties. That’s up from the 50 reported counties, out of 105, with mask mandates as of Tuesday. The remaining 43 of the counties have opted out, but most are encouraging or recommending people wear masks. It’s a stark contrast to the response Kelly received to her first mask order in July, when the majority of counties opted out. But as cases of COVID-19 soar and hospitals struggle with the number of patients, the switch shows local officials developing a willingness to take more aggressive action to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Source: KC Star Local News
Municipal Bond Trends for November 24, 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.