After three years of negotiations, Starbucks will be bringing its coffee to Dodge City. The coffee store will be joined adjacently with T-Mobile on 14th Avenue near Soule Street in front of Sutherlands. The building will be a similar setup to that of recent retail development along 14th Avenue. “Similar size three-plex, (with) still a spot open for rent in the center,” said Dodge City/Ford County Economic Development Corporation executive director Joann Knight. “Starbucks will have a drive-thru.”
Source: Dodge City Daily Globe.

The KANcycle bike-sharing program is celebrating two years of existence with birthday parties this week. Launched by OCCK Transportation in June 2019, the program has 80 bikes and 16 stations across north central Kansas. … “KANcycle has been a great program for north central Kansas,” said Michelle Griffin, mobility manager. “We have brought a new and popular transportation option to smaller communities with this unique program. We are so excited to celebrate KANcycle’s second birthday.”
Source: Salina Journal.

Visitors were delighted Saturday upon seeing the several great performances and demonstrations during the Midsummer’s Festival, which was held on Main Street for the first time in 20 years. The event featured performances from the Lindsborg Swedish Folk Dancers, Lindsborg’s Community Jazz Band and the Glomesdal Vikings of Oklahoma. Mayor Becky Anderson welcomed people to the city, spoke about the upcoming growth to come in the form of new projects and events and the importance of community involvement and celebrating Lindsborg’s heritage. Marika Peterson, a Swedish folk dancer, performed the blowing of the birch horn to open the festivities, becoming the first woman to do so at the festival.
Source: Salina Journal.

Topeka city manager Brent Trout said the city council urges through its resolution the U.S. Congress to invest in rail. The Kansas congressional delegation appears to be in support of the rail recommendations.
Trout said he has heard complaints about Amtrak’s access in Topeka. Trips to some major cities, like Chicago, only leave the city at 4:40 a.m. Proposed changes wouldn’t add a new line to Topeka, though more Amtrak connectivity in Kansas could bring more people to the city. Trout said he hopes the proposed changes also lead to more frequent changes coming to Topeka. Jim Parrish, president and CEO of Parrish Hotel Corp., which manages the downtown Ramada, said the Ramada is across the street from Topeka’s Amtrak station. He said travelers staying overnight used to be a “pretty nice little piece” of business until ridership numbers dropped. Parrish said that is likely due in part to the pandemic, but he said expanded service has an economic impact as well.
Source: CJonline.com.

A study being conducted by researchers at the University of Kansas aims to rectify what the project’s lead researcher describes as a “terrible” lack of data about broadband access in the sunflower state. “The (Federal Communications Commission) data on broadband is terrible. There’s no other word to describe it,” said KU economics professor Donna Ginther. “It’s inaccurate. It’s incomplete. So one of our first steps was to try to get a handle on actual access and speed and affordability.” Ginther, who serves as lead on the project and director of KU’s Institute for Policy & Social Research, said getting to the bottom of those questions about internet access is why researchers are conducting the study now. The main piece of the study is a statewide survey that includes an internet speed test.
Source: Dodge City Daily Globe.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced he will intervene in a challenge to a Johnson County mask mandate.
Attorney General Derek Schmidt said Thursday in a legal filing that his office will seek to intervene in a challenge to a Johnson County mask mandate — a case which has burgeoned into a threat to the constitutionality of a sweeping set of reforms to the state’s emergency management law. Senate Bill 40 … included a sweeping provision allowing individuals to demand a hearing or file a civil suit challenging COVID-19-related orders from a local governmental body, school board or public health officer, with strict time limits on when a hearing must be held and a verdict rendered.
Source: Dodge City Daily Globe.

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.