Kansas Municipal News
Local governments should provide better access to information
The City of Arkansas City is a model in providing public access to its City Commission meetings and information about those meetings in advance so that residents know what their local representatives are up to and how their tax dollars could and are being spent.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
City Hall might finally get into historic district
Arkansas City’s downtown historic district be reshaped with the removal of some properties and the addition of others — City Hall, the police department and Ben Givens Park. Arkansas City commissioners approved a resolution Tuesday authorizing the city to apply for a $25,000 Historic Preservation Fund Grant from the National Park Service to change the boundaries.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
Winfield to study future usage of city hall, police station
A study to determine the future use of Winfield City Hall and the current police station was approved 3-0 Tuesday by Winfield city commissioners at their regular meeting. The study was approved with Agora Architecture of Winfield, for a total of $44,950. The study will be funded with capital improvement sales tax dollars. Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
Swiss rail company coming to Winfield
Schwihag, a global leader in railroad equipment and track design, has selected Winfield as the location for its new U.S. headquarters and manufacturing facility. The site is located at 1108 Industrial Blvd. in Winfield, in the former Fluid Kinetics building.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
Sales tax for HCH moving forward
A special retailers’ sales tax to solely benefit Holton Community Hospital operations is moving forward after talks between HCH administrators and the Jackson County Commissioners. During a recent commission meeting, the commissioners agreed to formally ask Kansas House of Representative Francis Awerkamp of St. Marys to introduce a county-wide quarter percent sales tax during the current legislative session on behalf of the hospital. If passed during the legislative session, the quarter percent retailers’ sales tax would be placed on a ballot during the November general election for county voters to approve or reject.
Source: Holton Recorder
Gardner Edgerton schools to ask voters to approve $100M bond issue. What would it pay for?
The Gardner Edgerton School District officially kicked off its school bond campaign earlier this month. Voters who live within the school district’s boundaries will vote this spring on the proposed $100 million bond. If approved, the bond will bring in funding to pay for an early education center, a new district service center and a new elementary school south of Pioneer Ridge Middle School, among other proposed projects.
Source: Johnson County Post
Johnson and Wyandotte county homeless shelters filled over capacity during extreme cold
Persistent cold this month has meant more unhoused people in the Kansas City area have needed warm, safe places to spend the night. But neither Johnson or Wyandotte counties have enough beds, and consistently have to turn people away.
Source: KCUR
Goodland police have new tool to detect skimmers
The Goodland Police Department has a new tool to prevent credit and debit card fraud. The department applied for and was approved for a $470 grant from the Goodland Lions Club. The funds were used to purchase a Skim Scan device. Built by Berkley Varitronics Systems, the device can detect if card skimmers are installed on ATMs, gas pumps, and other devices that take credit and debit cards.
Source: KSN-TV
12 small Kansas communities receive SEED grants
12 small communities in Kansas are sharing $250,000 in grant funding from the Strategic Economic Expansion and Development (SEED) grant program. The grants fund programs focused on economic development and revitalization efforts to improve the quality of life in communities of 5,000 people or less.
Source: KSN-TV
Salina company to close, laying off 98 workers
A Salina company is closing and laying off almost 100 workers. Coperion K-Tron notified the mayor, the Kansas Department of Commerce, and KansasWorks that it is closing its manufacturing facility at 606 N. Front Street by the end of the year, and 98 people will lose their jobs. “This closure is expected to be permanent and will affect all employees, with the exception of approximately 50 roles, mostly in engineering and sales, which will be transitioned to remote work roles,” Mike Gregozeski, Coperion K-Tron Salina Inc., wrote.
Source: KSN-TV
Stafford County receiving $25 million for transload facility
Stafford County is receiving $25 million to build a transload facility in St. John. The money comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant program, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Port Authority of Stafford County will use the grant to design and construct a transload facility, grain terminal, and industrial park next to the BNSF rail line in St. John. The location will allow for the shipment of grain, commodities, and other products to be shipped by truck or by rail.
Source: KSN-TV
Leaders to discuss how to resuscitate local economy in wake of report
According to a report earlier this year by the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce, Manhattan under-performed in several metrics that indicate economic health. Manhattan posted 0% job growth, according to a 2024 report, which was well below that of the four peer cities the report used for comparison. For instance, Ames, Iowa, had 10.1% growth, and Columbia, Missouri was at 8.2%. Morgantown, West Virginia had 7.8% job growth for the same period, and Stillwater, Oklahoma, was at 7.7%. Manattan was near the bottom compared to the other middle-of-the-country college towns in other economic categories, as well.
Source: 1350 KMAN
Municipal Bond Trends for January 23, 2025
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.
Jackson County residents sue to stop 5,000-acre solar farm from moving forward
Four Jackson County residents … are claiming multiple federal agencies failed to provide an environmental impact report required by the National Environmental Policy Act for any “major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.”
Source: CJonline
Municipal Bond Trends for January 22, 2025
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.
The first EV batteries will come out of De Soto’s massive Panasonic plant this spring
One of the largest economic development projects in Kansas history will start churning out lithium-ion batteries as soon as March, Panasonic announced on Friday. Executives from the Japanese tech giant gave updates on its 300-acre manufacturing facility in De Soto, alongside a suite of lawmakers who helped bring the project to Kansas.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Andover adopts new city logo
The City of Andover adopted a new city logo on Tuesday evening during the City Council meeting. The logo, which was created by Greteman Group based out of Wichita, simplified and modernized the old design while keeping key aspects.
Source: Andover American
Communication, honest transparency top traits focus groups desired in next Lawrence superintendent
Focus group members said they’d most like the new permanent Lawrence Public Schools superintendent to be effective in communication and honest with transparency, according to a search firm. Lawrence school board President Kelly Jones called a special meeting Tuesday to hear an update from the Kansas Association of School Boards. Board members voted 6-0 in November to approve a contract with KASB for an amount not to exceed $11,500 to assist with the ongoing superintendent search. Britton Hart, assistant executive director of KASB’s leadership services, on Tuesday shared with the board data from 16 focus groups of teachers and staff, principals and assistant principals, parents, and community members. A range of 3 to 24 people participated in each, held last week. There were 135 participants altogether.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Year begins busy for Arma FD
It is only three weeks into the new year, already becoming a busy time for the Arma Fire Department and Crawford County Fire District #2, carrying over from last year’s busy schedule. At Monday’s Arma City Council meeting, Fire Chief Mike McLeod spoke to councilmembers, offering statistics from last year into the new year. “We’ve had probably the busiest year we’ve ever had (in 2024),” he said. “From when I first got here, we are probably running 50 to 70 calls a year, we’re up to 726 calls. We already had 50 calls this month … We had 107 lift assists, that 107 lift assists are here in the city of Arma. That’s taking a truck from the fire station to somebody’s house to help them up, make sure they don’t need EMS.
Source: Morning Sun
Interest rates won’t fall as fast as expected if tariffs stoke inflation, UBS CEO says
An expected decline in interest rates could be stalled if the prospective tariffs of Donald Trump’s second White House administration bleed into markets and shore up inflation, UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti warned Tuesday. Markets have been on alert for the next trade steps of the newly inaugurated Trump, who has threatened to impose 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, while also floating a separate set of retaliatory trade measures against China in a bid to pressure Beijing to force ByteDance’s sale of TikTok.
Source: CNBC – Bonds