Nebraska Furniture Mart, one of the busiest retailers in the region, stands to get a nearly $1.5 million property tax refund on its Kansas City, Kansas, location after winning an appeal to a state tax board. What could this mean for other big box retailers?
Podcast: KCUR News
Kyle Carlin understands first-hand how hard a mental health crisis can hit in rural Kansas. He dealt with depression starting as a teenager. It eventually led him to attempt suicide. But he didn’t think about seeking counseling until he was preparing to leave the Army Reserve in Hays roughly 12 years ago. Even then, asking for help wasn’t easy. “Stigma is such a big issue around mental health,” Carlin said, “especially in western Kansas.” His story illustrates a growing trend stressing rural communities across Kansas and the nation. While suicide rates have increased by nearly 45% statewide over the past two decades, rates have risen most sharply in the most sparsely populated parts of Kansas.
Source: KCUR News
The City of Wichita said the Boston Park Splash Pad public restrooms will be closed until further notice. City staff found the restroom facilities vandalized and sinks broken over the weekend. The city said they had seen increasing amounts of vandalism at facilities. However, there is no word on whether park vandalism is tied to the ‘devious licks’ challenge. Recently, kids across the U.S. have been posting TikTok videos of themselves vandalizing school bathrooms and stealing soap dispensers and even turf from football fields. The “devious licks” social media challenge went viral last week and bedeviled principals and school district administrators. Some schools have even had to shut down bathrooms, where much of the damage is occurring.
Source: KSN-TV
School and business leaders are gearing up to celebrate an inclusive playground for youngsters on Lawrence’s southeast side. Featuring wide pathways and ground-level entry, the play equipment provides accessibility, no matter a child’s method of mobility. A celebration for the William Dann Playtown will take place at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21 at the Kennedy Early Childhood Center, 1605 Davis Road. The Lawrence Schools Foundation and Lawrence chamber of commerce will host the event. The shiny play equipment features two covered areas connected by a slightly elevated pathway, as well as bars to climb on and hang from, and a tunnel and slide. It also encourages children to use sign language via a panel that teaches the signs for play, friend, peace, love and help.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Banning plastic bags in Wichita is a discussion that’s been brought to the Wichita City Council several times. As a result, the city started the Wichita Plastic Bag Ban Task Force in February of 2020. The group includes some city council members, businesses like Dillons and Goodwill, and other advocates. Member Lori Lawrence said it has been a slow process to present an actual ordinance to the council. COVID-19 has pushed back meetings and outreach efforts. The task force has also been working on getting an economic impact and litter study finalized.
Source: KSN-TV
A COVID-19 testing program used since August in the Eudora school district aims to reduce COVID-19 quarantines. Students and staff exposed to a positive case can “test out” of quarantine as long as they don’t have symptoms and continue to test negative for the virus. Mark Dodge, spokesperson for Eudora Public Schools, said an advantage of the plan was that it helps students and staff stay in schools as much as possible — and with no financial cost to the district for testing supplies.“We are a ‘test-to-stay’ district and do not quarantine students due to close contact,” Dodge said in an email. “Our Stay to Learn and Play plan allows us to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, while working to keep students and staff in school and at work.”
Source: The Lawrence Times
Sedgwick County’s unemployment rate remained one of the highest in Kansas in August, but no longer topped the list across the state, according to the Kansas labor market report released Friday. The unemployment rate in Kansas remained at 3.8% in August, the same as July. Last August, the state had an unemployment rate of 6.2%, showing some economic recovery over the last year. “August estimates indicate little change in the labor force since July, resulting in no change to the unemployment rate at 3.8 percent,” Labor Secretary Amber Shultz said in a statement. “The private sector added jobs for the third consecutive month. Most of the gains in August were due to continued economic recovery in manufacturing and leisure and hospitality.”
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Tax law changes and bond provisions included in the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package being debated in Washington likely will shift the demand components for and the makeup of the muni market in dramatic ways in the coming decade. The market is closely watching Washington to see whether the proposed tax law changes — higher rates for both individuals and corporations — and new municipal bond tools — the return of tax-exempt advance refundings, a higher bank-qualified limit and direct-pay taxable bonds — come to fruition. “If enacted as drafted, the impact on the municipal bond market will be comparable to the 1986 tax reform: munis’ supply and demand will both be expanded extensively, and credit quality will strengthen,” BofA Securities strategists Yingchen Li and Ian Rogow said in a Friday report. “A golden decade is to be expected. The tax-exempt muni market will over time transform to a market with much shorter average maturity and mostly advance refunded bonds, while taxable munis will grow fast and big and become the majority of outstanding munis after five years.”
Source: The Bond Buyer
Three days before a vote to turn Century II, Wichita’s last large public venue, over to private management, candidates for City Council clashed over whether privatization of park and arts facilities is a good idea. Southeast Wichita Council District 3 challenger Mike Hoheisel said he thinks it’s time to pump the brakes on turning over major city assets to private profit-making companies. Privatization “is putting another barrier in between accountability to the people and the people who need to be held accountable,” he said during a Saturday evening campaign forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters.
Source: Wichita Eagle.
Close to 60% of Lawrence residents are renters, but an extremely small number of the city’s rental properties — under 1% in recent years — are inspected annually for code and safety violations. That could soon change. As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will consider the first draft of amendments to the city’s rental inspection ordinance, which includes provisions to increase the number of units inspected and to reduce the number of violations that allow landlords to qualify for less-frequent inspections, among other proposed changes. Commissioners agreed in August that the current inspection program is inadequate and expressed interest in a potential overhaul.
Source: LJWorld.com.
200 W Douglas Ave, Suite 110
Wichita, KS 67202
(316) 264-3400
info@ransonfinancial.com
Registered municipal advisor with the MSRB and SEC
© 2026 Ranson Financial Group LLC. All rights reserved.
