Arkansas City Public Schools says its new phone policy is already paying off, with administrators, teachers and students reporting calmer classrooms, stronger connections and more focused learning. The “Disconnect to Reconnect” initiative, launched in August, requires students to secure their phones in Yondr pouches during the school day. High school principal Ryan Taylor said the change has created “livelier” classrooms and boosted morale among staff.
Read more: Local Archives – Cowley Post

Tom Roush spoke about his 37 years as an Iola police officer, including a lengthy stint as community resource officer. Roush retired Sunday. It was a match made in heaven. The term community policing, where law enforcement organizations work in league with community groups and citizens to provide safety and security, was taking root in the early 1990s, just as Tom Roush was finding his niche with the Iola Police Department. It wasn’t long after he started with the IPD that Roush agreed to take on the role of community resource officer.
Read more: The Iola Register

Douglas County commissioners have requested that staff complete more research over the next month or two toward implementing tenant right to counsel, though dozens of advocates called for a vote to launch a program this month. The city and county strategic plan to end chronic homelessness, approved in March 2024, includes a goal of establishing “the tenant’s right to legal representation in Douglas County.”
Read more: The Lawrence Times

The City of Salina is proud to announce that Lauren Driscoll, AICP, Director of Community and Development Services, has been elected President-Elect of the American Planning Association (APA), the nation’s leading organization for professional planners with nearly 40,000 members. Driscoll has served Salina since 2017, leading a department responsible for planning, housing, building services, property maintenance, and civil rights enforcement.
Read more: City of Salina

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

The HEAL grant program helps communities revitalize downtown buildings as spaces for new or expanding businesses, housing, arts and culture, civic engagement, childcare or entrepreneurial activities. Submitted projects must show potential to become economic drivers in the community and demonstrate that the space will be occupied by the end of the project. There must be proof of 1:1 matching funds from the building owner that will be required at the time of application.
Read more: Kansas Department of Commerce

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

In the “breadbasket of America,” the grocery store shelves in Moran will now sit bare. With the closing of Marmaton Market, the town’s only grocery store, residents are left without a place to buy fresh milk, vegetables, or meat — a stark irony in a state that feeds much of the world. The loss pushes the Moran community closer to what experts call a food desert, where access to healthy, affordable food is measured not in minutes but in miles. Food deserts are low-income areas where residents have limited access to supermarkets — defined by the USDA as more than one mile away in urban areas or over 10 miles in rural regions. The Mildred Store, about eight miles north of Moran, is now Moran’s closest source of fresh foods. About 19 million Americans, roughly 6% of the U.S. population, live in food deserts.
Read more: The Iola Register

Danny McKarnin, who has worked in the City of Iola’s power plant for 30 of his 34 years as a city employee, appreciates the knowledge he’s gained through the years. McKarnin, 62, retired earlier this month. If there’s one thing Danny McKarnin learned as a longtime City of Iola employee, it’s that he couldn’t help but learn something new every day. “I think anybody out there would agree with me,” McKarnin said. “You learn something new every day. There are so many variations of what you might be working on. And that’s what I liked most about it,” he continued. “There was something different every day.” McKarnin, 62, retired Sept. 19 after a 34-year career with the city, the last 30 as a power plant technician.
Read more: The Iola Register