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.
If Angelus were still a prosperous farm town and had more children than chickens, then maybe the two-story brick schoolhouse would still be a school and not a chicken coop. But it isn’t and it doesn’t. So instead of students, the ground floor of the century-old building is occupied by poultry, goats cavort on the muddy front lawn and there are reports—unconfirmed—of pigs in the gym.
The situation is raising hackles among the 28 residents of Angelus, as well as former students and history buffs elsewhere in northwest Kansas. “It saddens you every time you go by there,” said Bill Bixenman, 89, whose eighth-grade class in Angelus had 13 pupils. “But it is what it is.” The school’s owner, Josh Rumback, acknowledges that his decision to convert school to barn has left some locals “butt sore.” He built a wall that somewhat blocks the view from the gravel road that runs through the center of Angelus. … Local tension over the school’s decay reflects a larger truth: America’s small towns have been shrinking, sometimes into nothingness.
Source: Wall Street Journal.
For Jennifer Williams and the nearly 300 others who signed a petition to establish a new 9-square-mile third class city named Golden north of Hillsdale Lake in Miami County, the need is clear. The neighbors are concerned because of what is happening just north of the county line, where NorthPoint Development is working with the city of Edgerton to annex land for proposed industrial warehouses. Becoming a city would give them more control over potential rezonings and help them preserve their rural lifestyle. “We don’t want to wait until they infiltrate the Miami County border and it’s too late for us,” Williams has said. “It’s giving the residents a voice.” For Tom Bach, though, and the more than 100 others who have signed a petition against the incorporation of the city of Golden, the issue is not that simple. Bach said the incorporation of the city could limit the county’s options for future growth and development, and he said those seeking to establish Golden are only focusing on one issue and not realizing the other impacts of starting a city, such as police and fire protection and taxes.
Source: Local News | republic-online.com
Labette County departments are having difficulty filling positions, mostly because of starting pay, but there are other issues involved. Wages and benefits to county employees were topics of discussion Monday at the Labette County Commission meeting. The discussion served as a precursor for budget talks that could begin in earnest next week. 911 Director Brandy Grassl was first among department heads to speak Monday. She said supervisors want to address recruitment and retention of employees. The employee pool has shrunk, which many blame on the extended unemployment benefits that made it more profitable for people to stay home than work.
Source: Parsons Sun
A summer of art and activities is on its way to Prairie Village. The first-ever Prairie Village Art Walk kicks off on Friday, June 11, with a ribbon cutting for the “Fifties Freedom In The Village” sculpture at 71st Street and Mission Road. Jessie Cartwright, a Prairie Village resident and daughter of Anna Belle Campbell, who created the city’s iconic “Homesteaders” sculpture, pitched the idea for the art walk last winter. Cartwright and the Prairie Village Arts Council collected data on the city’s existing public art, created an art walk team and selected a geo-mapping app for the event.
Source: Prairie Village Post
A new lending program to bring long-term support to small businesses in Kansas is up and running. Marysville banker Leonard Wolfe said passage of the Small Business Economic Recovery Loan Program came easily in this year’s Kansas Legislature. It allows for part of the state’s idle tax funds to go into low-interest business loans through community banks, credit unions and farm credit institutions.
Source: The Marysville Advocate
For Tori Shirah, the chance to share with Overland Park City councilmembers about her beloved pit bull terrier Gunther was bittersweet. … Shirah was one of 25 people who spoke to the city council’s Public Safety Committee Wednesday night as the city begins to consider whether to repeal its 16-year-old ordinance banning pit bulls. All but one speaker on Wednesday supported the repeal. The speakers came from a variety of occupations. Tam Singer, CEO of Great Plains SPCA, advocated for repeal, as did Greg Musil, a development lawyer who said he’s fostered more than 100 dogs, of which a quarter were some type of pit bull mix.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Maria DeGeer was a woman out of step with her time. She defied the female stereotypes of the late 1800s as a very opinionated person, pursuing causes that further advanced women in society and choosing to take control of her own life. It was those characteristics which brought her to Western Kansas where she founded Scott City and it was those same attributes which saw her leave less than a year later when shoved out of her rightful place by male members of the newly organized town company. It was because of DeGeer’s outspoken nature that she refused to let her role in history be forgotten. One hundred and thirty-five years later, she has been further memorialized with a statue on the very spot where she erected the first cabin that would eventually become Scott City.
Source: Scott County Record.
Merriam’s new We-Go-Swing has come to Chatlain Park, so people in wheelchairs can swing with others without leaving their chairs. The swing allows riders — including those in wheelchairs — to cooperate in making the device move. Other adaptive swings make people leave their wheelchairs in order to board the swing, the city said. At press time, a June 10 ribbon-cutting was scheduled at the park, 6300 Carter Ave., marking the first day of play.
Source: Joco 913 News
In 2009, Wichita commuters celebrated the completion of a five-year, $150 million infrastructure project to elevate train tracks over busy downtown streets, cutting down on both travel times and vehicle emissions. The Central Railroad Corridor, which has saved commuters an estimated 2 million hours of travel time annually, was named one of America’s 10 best transportation projects of the year. By elevating tracks over First Street, Second Street, Central, Murdock and 13th Street, the overpass removed what the city deemed “a major obstacle to economic development in downtown Wichita.”
Source: Wichita Eagle
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