Support for groundwater conservation efforts isn’t the issue. What those efforts will look like is the question that continues to confront Groundwater Management District No. 1. While landowners and operators within the five-county GMD are overwhelming in support of establishing a Local Enhanced Management Area (LEMA), determining how to reduce water allocations will be the subject of hearings over the next year. A tentative timetable to put the LEMA into effect is January 2023.
Source: Scott County Record

Much of rural Kansas is losing population as metropolitan areas grow and the state becomes more racially and ethnically diverse, new 2020 Census data show. The Census Bureau released redistricting data Thursday showing 80 of the state’s 105 counties lost population in the past 10 years. Kansas also grew more racially and ethnically diverse over the past decade. The data will be used to redraw state political maps for congressional, legislative and board of education districts. The population shifts will further concentrate political power in cities and away from rural areas. The statistics were released on the second-to-last day of a weeklong listening session on redistricting, during which the Kansas House and Senate committees are holding 14 town halls across the state.
Source: CJonline.com.

The Scott City Council would like to see more done to remove dilapidated trailer homes or demolish structures that are beyond repair, but building codes are an obstacle. Under current regulations, if someone wants to demolish a trailer home within the city they are required to purchase a $1 million liability insurance policy. Building inspector Lloyd Foster referred to that level of liability coverage as “overkill” when he brought up the issue at the last council meeting.
Source: Scott County Record

Municipals remain attractive as an asset class … In the near term, summer technicals have generated very visible net negative supply conditions, according to Jeff Lipton, managing director and head of municipal credit and market strategy and municipal capital markets at Oppenheimer & Co. … “If the outlook for the future tax bite stays muted for a while longer and we continue to receive heavier doses of hawkish Fed speak and higher inflation data points, yields may experience continued upward pressure,” he added. … Even without a rise in federal tax rates,
municipals should continue to offer “very desirable credit quality and diversification attributes,” which are expected to further entice foreign investment into the asset class, according to Lipton.
Source: Bond Buyer.

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.