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.
The Sedgwick County Zoo, the state’s top attraction, has taken a triple hit from the coronavirus pandemic. “It’s taken a very drastic hit,” said executive director Jeff Ettling. The zoo’s operating budget is down $1.5 million; it had to halt the final phase of its renovation fundraising campaign with $1.7 million still to go; and now it’s canceling its signature fundraiser, the popular Zoobilee event, which raises more than $1 million each September. Yet Ettling is optimistic. Part of it is his nature, he said, and part of it is the way his staff is rallying with ideas. “There’s nothing crazy,” Ettling said he’s told his employees while brainstorming. One result: Zoobilee To Go, a virtual fundraiser instead of the traditional one at the zoo, which usually has more than 3,000 people standing shoulder-to-shoulder while in line for food or dancing at various music stages.
(Read more: Carrie Rengers: Business Columns & Blogs |)
Kansas school districts are trying to budget for some pretty big unknowns right now. No one knows if it will even be safe to have students in schools in August, and everyone’s worried about the $650 million hole COVID-19 blew in the state’s budget. Administrators are worried that if the state’s economy doesn’t rebound soon, they’ll have to make deep cuts in the middle of next school year. “There’s not a superintendent that isn’t preparing for something like that,” said Glen Suppes, the superintendent of the Smoky Valley Public Schools in Lindsborg. “We continue to hear optimism from (state education) Commissioner Randy Watson, and that schools are a priority for the governor. But I’m anxious to see how the tax revenues are going to come in.”
(Read more: Atchison Globe Now)
After an application made following a May 26 city council meeting, the city of Derby recently learned (as of June 2) it will be receiving $132,000 in Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Response Supplement funds through the Kansas Department of Commerce. CDBG-CV funds were made available at the state level through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Derby was one of 66 Kansas cities and counties to be awarded funding. The funds are intended to help local businesses reopen amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Based on employment members, maximum allotments would be capped at $30,000 or $50,000 for each individual business as long as they meet the necessary criteria – though Deputy City Manager Kiel Mangus said the amounts given out by the city will depend on the volume of requests.
(Read more: DerbyInformer.com – news,news/)
The Marion County Board of Commissioners met on Monday, June 8. All were in attendance at the courthouse. The meeting opened with the usual updates on COVID-19. Health Department Administrator Diedre Serene stated that there are no new cases which has been the situation for several weeks now. She suggested that for now, the weekly COVID-19 updates be suspended as Marion County seems to have accomplished the goal of flattening the curve and stopping the spread of the virus. Serene asked that everyone remember to be safe and follow the same suggestions she has been giving along the way such as proper handwashing and social distancing. “Please stay home if you are not feeling well,” said Serene.
(Read more: Hillsboro Free Press)
The Shawnee Mission School District has tasked a group of staff members with devising a range of plans to accommodate students this coming fall — either in person or virtually — as schools across the state wade through the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a report to the board of education Monday, Superintendent Mike Fulton said the district will be relying on guidance from the state, which is expected to be released no later than July 10, before finalizing its approach for the start of the 2020-21 school year. Fulton noted that district parents and teachers had provided ample feedback about their experiences with remote learning after buildings closed in March, and that “there are some things if we’re in a virtual world that we need to do better.”
(Read more: Prairie Village Post)
The Shawnee Mission Board of Education will need to decide by next month whether to put a new bond issue before area voters this fall — a move that, if approved, would allow the reallocation of some expenses and open up funding to hire dozens of additional secondary teachers, a key step to addressing the workload issues that dominated this year’s contentious contract negotiations. But the move would require a tax increase for district patrons, and wouldn’t lead to substantial workload reductions for a couple of years. Superintendent Mike Fulton on Monday presented the board with the results of a study by the group tasked with addressing the strategic plan goals of reducing secondary teachers’ daily class load from six sections to five, as is standard in neighboring districts. To achieve that goal, the district would need to hire 39 new high school teachers at a projected cost of $2.9 million and 22 new middle school teachers at a projected cost of $1.7 million.
(Read more: Shawnee Mission Post)
Since 2018, the Greater Wichita Partnership and W/A Community of Young Professionals have partnered to host a kickoff event during Riverfest to welcome interns working in Wichita for the summer. The gathering would typically attract about 300 interns, and give them a chance to network and participate in an iconic Wichita tradition. But with Riverfest canceled and the threat of Covid-19 still lingering this summer, the two organizations decided to pivot. On Thursday, they will launch a six-week social media challenge encouraging interns to experience the region’s locations and landmarks.
(Read more: Wichita Business Journal)
Federal officials have cleared the path for a tribal casino to be built on land just north of Wichita, setting up a potential showdown between the state of Kansas, Sedgwick County and the Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma. The Wyandotte and others — including casino magnate Phil Ruffin and former Wichita Mayor Bob Knight — have been fighting to open a casino in Park City for decades, but legal challenges and voters have thwarted legal gambling in Sedgwick County. The proposed casino would open just south of the Kansas Coliseum and the Greyhound Park race track, both now closed, in the area that was previously Wild West World, a failed amusement park that filed for bankruptcy two months after opening in 2007. The Kansas Attorney General’s Office has repeatedly warned that opening a casino in Sedgwick County is illegal.
(Read more: Local News |)
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.
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