Municipal News & Jobs

In a 70-minute work session, the Wellington school board met to determine whether or not to bring another school bond proposal to voters, and what cuts need to be made in order to get it passed. There was no vote at Monday night’s work session, as it was technically not an official meeting. In the end, this draft of the bond has been pared down to $17.8 million, nearly $5 million less than the one that fell to defeat at the Nov. 4 general election. Wellington school district voters rejected a $22.6 million bond by 125 votes. Several things were cut from the November bond proposal. The new bathroom at Sellers Park is gone. Two parking lots, which were slated for concrete, have been slated for asphalt. They are also taking out the roofs at Washington Elementary and Roosevelt Center. However, window upgrades at Roosevelt will be included. A line item for “remaining rooftop units at other schools” was also removed with the thought that those united could be replaced out of the capital outlay fund as they break.
Read more: Sumner NewsCow

No two days are ever quite the same for Jessica Woodyard, public communications manager at the City of Hutchinson, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. “I absolutely love my job, and I’m passionate about what I do,” Woodyard said on a misty Monday morning in her office at city hall. From handling media requests to gathering information from different city departments to deciding the best communications tools to ensure that as many city residents receive needed information about what the city is doing, Woodyard’s days are spent in constant motion, especially with the upcoming winter weather season.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

Allen County is one of six counties across Kansas and Missouri that will participate in a Heartland Rural Innovators Initiative over the next 18 months in an effort to draw tech and innovation employers to the region. One of her biggest challenges as economic development director for Iola and Allen County is for Camille Lavon to operate proactively, and not reactively. A new initiative may change that. Allen County has been tapped as one of six rural counties across Kansas and Missouri to participate in the Heartland Rural Innovators Initiative. The 18-month program, coordinated by the Center on Rural Innovation (CORI), is designed to help rural communities in Kansas and western Missouri accelerate their technology and innovation economies.
Read more: The Iola Register

The Wichita City Council has moved a step closer to naming its next city manager — and the recommendation is a familiar name in Manhattan. Following an executive session Tuesday, the council voted 5-2 to enter contract negotiations with former Manhattan Assistant City Manager Dennis Marstall. Council members Mike Hoheisel and Brandon Johnson voted no. If negotiations are successful, the city council expects to take a final vote on an employment agreement at its Dec. 2 meeting.
Read more: themercury.com

Pennies — or rather the lack of them — were a topic of discussion at Monday’s Pottawatomie County Commission meeting. Country Treasurer Lisa Wright was before the commission to update them on her department. One topic she brought forward was the mint discontinuing printing pennies. She said it creates an issue for the Treasurer’s Department in making change because counties, including Pottawatomie, will no longer be able to receive pennies. Fees within the counties will all be affected. Rounding down would cause issues with balances, so as a solution Wright asked the commission to approve the idea of rounding up to the nearest five cent increment. Four pennies will be the highest increase that should occur, and this will only apply to cash payments.
Read more: themercury.com

KDOT has agreed to undertake an updated feasibility study for the project which towns like Goddard and Maize said would be a game changer for them. The project has been discussed off and on since the early 2000s, and nearly 40% of highway rights of way have been purchased, mostly near Maize and Goddard.
Read more: Wichita Eagle

The commissioner explained that there are definitions for dangerous animals and dogs, dogs with a known propensity to attack, cause injury, are vicious, have threatening behaviors on streets or are bred primarily for the purpose of attacking or to bite a domestic animal or human. “Then they just throw in Pit Bulls as though by definition a Pit Bull is going to be threatening and attacking.”
Read more: Hays Daily News

The city commission decided to have the vote in a special election on Feb. 24, 2026. This comes after a petition ordinance was certified to repeal the current ban, which is often referred to as BSL, or breed specific legislation, on pit bull-type dogs.
Read more: Salina Journal

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 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 mayor, Jenny Landers, worked at the helium plant for five years. More than 30 balloons will take flight Thursday morning filled with helium from Kansas. The Otis plant has supplied the helium for more than 30 years, plant officials say.
Read more at: Wichita Eagle

In addition to its previously scheduled workshop on Tuesday, the council will hold a public hearing and a vote on the city manager.
Read more: KSN-TV

Working in teams, volunteers went door to door to offer residents of prefabricated homes smoke alarm testing, replacement and installation — free of charge.
Read more: KSN-TV

Some of the plan’s key recommendations include increasing the frequency of bus service along key routes, including Metcalf Avenue, as well as scaling back the geographic area covered by the ride-hailing microtransit service, which has seen a decline in users. Other notable changes include an eventual reinstatement of fares for fixed bus routes — part of a broader return to fares in public transit across the Kansas City region — and a rebranding of Johnson County public transit to “Ride JoCo.”
Read more: Johnson County Post

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 technology works by identifying the spoken language and providing immediate translation. In a demonstration, the AI translated one person’s Spanish message to English for the officer. The officer’s response was then translated back to Spanish.
Read more: KWCH

After a little under a year since its launch, the first 10 City Housing Incentive Program (CHIP) homes are being built. Introduced by Kim Froman, director of Housing and Community Development, the program encourages developers to build specifically for middle- and low-income residents by offsetting construction costs. “The lack of affordable housing in Pittsburg is restricting growth and the ability to support workforce demands,” Froman told the city commission last December, saying that high material costs, delivery delays, market forces and a shortage of skilled labor are diverting resources away from rural areas. Under the program, a contractor can apply for a building permit and license to build a single-family home and submit the building plans. The contractor then applies for the CHIP, which is reviewed and approved by the city. During construction, the contractor tracks all building expenses until the home is completed and the home receives a certificate of occupancy from the city.
Read more: – Morning Sun

Wyandotte County leaders voted Thursday to rename an area baseball field after fallen Sheriff’s Deputy Elijah Ming. The board of commissioners voted 6-0 to rename Heathwood Park Baseball Field, at North 10th Street and Parallel Parkway, to “Elijah Ming Memorial Field. Ming, who was killed in the line of duty on July 26, grew up playing baseball on that field. His family and friends often spoke about his love of baseball.
Read more: FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV

HOA is coming out against the idea of a Kansas City Royals stadium going in at the northwest corner of 119th and Nall. In May, the Royals announced an affiliate of theirs bought the mortgage on the old Sprint campus, now known as Aspiria. Hawthorne View’s just about a mile southeast of 119th and Nall and less than a 20-minute walk from the intersection. HOA President Jeff Hurt told FOX4 he hopes city council members pay attention to how the homeowners in his area feel about this issue.
Read more: FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV

Treasury yields were lower on Friday as investors look for clues on the shape of the U.S. economy and the direction of monetary policy. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury fell more than 4 basis points to trade at 4.056%. Yields across the maturity curve ticked lower, with the 2-year Treasury yield also shedding more than 4 basis points to 3.516% and the longer-term 30-year Treasury’s yield being down more than 3 basis points at 4.698%. Global markets are digesting Thursday’s delayed non-farm payrolls report, which showed the economy added more jobs than expected in September, but the unemployment rate also rose to 4.4% — its highest level since Oct. 2021.
Read more: Bonds