Great Bend council hears Sunday storm update

18 Tuesday, July 18

Great Bend council hears Sunday storm update

info2023-07-18T10:44:21-05:00July 18th, 2023|

New Great Bend City Administrator Brandon Anderson told the City Council Monday night that he had its update prepared for the meeting, but “obviously my report changed quite a bit at about 6:30 yesterday.” He was of course referring to the supercell thunderstorm that roared through the community late Sunday afternoon and into the evening, leaving extensive damage in its wake. “I was so impressed with our community,” he said. Source: Great Bend Tribune

18 Tuesday, July 18

Kansas gambling, Crosswinds casino expanding

info2023-07-18T10:44:29-05:00July 18th, 2023|

Sedgwick County is seeing multiple new additions for gambling. The Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission approved the license for a Historic Horse Racing Facility in Park City. Also, Crosswinds Casino in Park City is expanding to Class 3 Gaming. After Senate Bill 84 passed in 2022, the door opened for HHR and sports betting. "I think it's good," Government Manager for the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission Randy Evans said. "I think it's an exciting time to be in the business with the different types of gambling, sports betting, typical Las Vegas style casinos, and now HHR parimutuel." But, the bill was very specific [...]

18 Tuesday, July 18

Cities assess ‘widespread’ storm damage — 8K in JoCo still without power

info2023-07-18T10:44:36-05:00July 18th, 2023|

The lingering impacts of Friday’s severe thunderstorms were still being felt Monday, with stubborn pockets of power outages affecting thousands of residents in suburbs clustered in northeast Johnson County. The severe storm on July 14 uprooted trees, downed power lines and, at one point, left more than 180,000 Evergy customers without power. A meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Kansas City field office told the Post that the metro was hit by a “squall line,” a phenomenon when multiple thunderstorms combine, resulting in higher and more concentrated wind gusts that, in this case, averaged between 50 to 60 miles per hour. Source: Prairie Village Post

18 Tuesday, July 18

Great Bend community helps each other out after powerful winds brought major damage

info2023-07-18T10:45:02-05:00July 18th, 2023|

Residents in Great Bend woke up bright and early to start clearing out debris after straight line winds up to 85 mph caused trees to fall all around the city. "The definition of people helping people, come to Great Bend. You'll see, everyone's coming out to help everybody," said life long Great Bend resident Gary Parr. Gary drove throughout different neighborhoods in his golf cart offering people an extra hand, chainsaw, and cold drinks. Residents said this is the Great Bend standard. "Pretty much nobody asked. It was just as soon as we seen the damage we all started helping and [...]

18 Tuesday, July 18

The end of Mission Gateway? Johnson County city pulls funding for beleaguered project

info2023-07-18T10:45:30-05:00July 18th, 2023|

The Mission City Council on Monday terminated its redevelopment agreement with Mission Gateway, yanking away millions of dollars in tax incentives the developer argued were necessary to get the project done after nearly two decades of broken promises. A likely death knell for the stalled project, the council voted unanimously to toss out the deal — its fifth iteration for the long-plagued development — because the property owners failed to pay nearly $450,000 in taxes due in May. The city sent a default notice on May 15, giving the property owners, Aryeh Realty, 60 days to pay up. That deadline expired [...]

18 Tuesday, July 18

Governor Kelly Proclaims Rural Road Safety Awareness Week

info2023-07-18T10:50:06-05:00July 18th, 2023|

Governor Laura Kelly has proclaimed July 17-21 as Rural Road Safety Awareness Week (RRSAW) in Kansas to call attention to the high number of traffic fatalities on rural roads. The weeklong observance is part of a nationwide campaign spearheaded by the National Center for Rural Road Safety and includes the participation of the Kansas Department of Transportation. With one of the main causes of rural crashes being speeding, this awareness campaign is driving home the need to slow down. “Raising awareness about rural road safety will save lives and put the state of Kansas on the path to ‘Drive To Zero’ traffic [...]

18 Tuesday, July 18

Students can spread their wings at Fowler Grade School, where Goldbugs learn to lead

info2023-07-18T10:50:20-05:00July 18th, 2023|

Fowler sprang to life last week for the 42nd annual Fowler Threshing Days community festival. Under the coordination of a dedicated team of volunteers, many organizations throughout the community collaborated to provide family-oriented festivities all week long with an “Adventures in the Great Outdoors” theme. Fowler Grade School appreciates the work that these team members and organizations do to provide memorable experiences for the local children, Principal Corri McDowell said. Through the USD 225 school-wide leadership program, McDowell said students learn what it takes to lead the next generation of local volunteers and community leaders that will keep the community spirit and Fowler Threshing [...]

18 Tuesday, July 18

Municipal Bond Trends for July 17, 2023

Henry Schmidt2023-07-18T07:31:31-05:00July 18th, 2023|

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS "investment grade" yields. 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.

17 Monday, July 17

Overland Park tourism rebounds to ‘pre-pandemic levels’

info2023-07-17T11:05:47-05:00July 17th, 2023|

A new report shows tourism in Overland Park saw a spike in 2022, rebounding to pre-pandemic levels. Data put together by international advisory firm Tourism Economics shows 4.7 million visitors came to Overland Park in 2022, spending more than $850 million and generating some $95 million in local tax revenues. “Overland Park’s visitor economy has rebounded beyond pre-pandemic levels,” said Warren Wilkinson, president of Visit Overland Park, the city’s tourism and marketing bureau. “While these results are fantastic, we must continue to compete with other communities to expand our position as a great place to visit, live and work.” Overall, year-over-year [...]

17 Monday, July 17

Lenexa wants to add more ‘missing middle housing’

info2023-07-18T10:54:28-05:00July 17th, 2023|

Lenexa is hoping to add more midrange housing options — including potentially townhomes and affordable starter homes — to areas of the city still open for development. This type of housing, often called “missing middle housing,” tends to be more dense and attainable cost-wise, though it’s lacking in many communities where there might be a market for it, Community Development Director Scott McCullough said. Encouraging these new housing options has so far been a major focus of the city’s comprehensive plan update process. Exactly what the end result of this process will look like for Lenexa is unclear at this stage, [...]