Fort Scott officials working to maintain local ER access

8 Friday, December 8

Fort Scott officials working to maintain local ER access

info2023-12-08T10:39:17-06:00December 8th, 2023|

Fort Scott officials are still working to make sure Bourbon County residents still have local access to an emergency room after December 20th. That's the date Ascension Via Christi has given for when they'll cease operations of the emergency room in Ft. Scott. Fort Scott Mayor Matthew Wells said they've been working with U.S. Senator Jerry Moran's office to give the current facility the Rural Emergency Health Care (REH) designation. When an eligible facility converts to an REH, it allows them to provide emergency department services, observation care, and additional outpatient medical and health services that don't exceed an annual per-patient average [...]

8 Friday, December 8

Topeka City Council votes to extend interim city manager’s contract

info2023-12-08T10:38:23-06:00December 8th, 2023|

The Topeka City Council approved multiple items at its Dec. 5 meeting. City leaders voted to extend the contract of Interim City Manager Richard Nienstedt. He will stay in this position until a permanent city manager can be hired. Nienstedt has held the position since June, following the sudden departure and later termination of former City Manager Stephen Wade. The city has enlisted the help of a recruiting company from Texas to fill the role. The council also signed off on a street project near the Oakland neighborhood. The voted unanimously to spend $1 million for mill and overlay work on Northeast [...]

8 Friday, December 8

Uniontown SD receives hydroponic farm from Leafy Green Farms

info2023-12-08T10:35:37-06:00December 8th, 2023|

Last week the Uniontown district received a hydroponic farm from Leafy Green Farms. The district is partnering with Leafy Green Farms for five years to have a hydroponic farm classroom on campus so students can learn how to grow organic vegetables. This is a phase one initiative to place a hydroponic farm at ten schools in southeast Kansas. The project is a partnership between Leafy Green Farms and Community Green Farms. Leafy Green Farms is providing everything the school needs for the first three months of operations, including training, all equipment, seeds, and nutrients. Superintendent Vance Eden says they're planning to use [...]

8 Friday, December 8

Municipal Bond Trends for December 7, 2023

Henry Schmidt2023-12-08T10:34:59-06:00December 8th, 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.

8 Friday, December 8

Bel Aire finds manager at City Hall

info2023-12-08T10:45:48-06:00December 8th, 2023|

Bel Aire looked no further than City Hall to find its next city manager. The city council on Dec. 5 chose current finance director and assistant city manager Ted Henry to replace Ty Lasher on April 1. Henry has served as the city's finance director for seven years. Mayor Jim Benage said the governing body's confidence in Henry and its familiarity with him made the decision not to spend money searching for other potential candidates an easy one. Lasher's final day will be March 29, 2024. Lasher has been considering retirement since 2022 and was asked to give the city a [...]

8 Friday, December 8

Matt Jensby to lead City of Kechi

info2023-12-08T08:25:09-06:00December 8th, 2023|

Matt Jensby has been named Kechi's new city administrator. Jensby replaces Kamme Sroufe following her resignation this fall. Jensby served as the police chief in Maize for 18 years after growing up in Valley Center. He is a 1990 Valley Center High School graduate and worked for the Valley Center Police Department for three years before transferring to Maize in 1996. Jensby said he witnessed incredible growth in Maize while working in the city and was inspired to pursue a second career in public administration. Source: Ark Valley News

8 Friday, December 8

Committee working to revise Lawrence’s Land Development Code talks incentives, energy

info2023-12-08T08:15:22-06:00December 8th, 2023|

While members of the Land Development Code Update Steering Committee didn’t take a look at any new sections of the revised rules for how Lawrence should grow on Thursday, they did participate in plenty of discussion about incentives and energy. ... Those topics, in part, included a discussion of what types of zoning incentives could work in Lawrence. That resulted in a decently-sized list, including ideas like providing more options for developers through less linear incentives, waiving system development charges for affordable housing projects and offsetting the costs for developers creating open spaces or other public amenities. Source: LJWorld

7 Thursday, December 7

Municipal Bond Trends for December 6, 2023

Henry Schmidt2023-12-07T08:01:07-06:00December 7th, 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.

6 Wednesday, December 6

Johnson County might buy this $6M hotel to convert into a long-needed homeless shelter

info2023-12-06T15:10:09-06:00December 6th, 2023|

Johnson County is considering spending $6.5 million in federal COVID-19 relief funding to purchase a Lenexa hotel to be converted into a permanent homeless shelter. It would be a major step forward to meet a growing need in Kansas’ most affluent and populous county, after years of debates and inaction. Next week, the Johnson County Board of Commissioners is expected to consider purchasing the Lenexa property at 9461 and 9471 Lenexa Drive, the site of La Quinta Inn and Suites off of Interstate 35. Source: Joco 913 News

6 Wednesday, December 6

A Wichita young professional dreams of living downtown, but it’s tough to overcome high rents

info2023-12-06T15:08:32-06:00December 6th, 2023|

Kyle Ritterbush is one of the young, entrepreneurial professionals Wichita politicians talk so much about wanting to keep. At just 20 years old, he started his video production business last year after graduating high school. He wants to grow it – hiring someone part-time, taking on bigger projects – all while here in Wichita. On the side, he pursues his dream of filmmaking through the city’s Tallgrass Film Festival. He’s currently working on a horror short film to submit next year. But there’s an obstacle to launching his career and becoming a fully fledged adult: moving out of his family’s home. ... Due [...]