The City of Garden Plain announced they will be hosting a city flag and logo design contest for the community. A selection committee will review all entries and choose the winning design that will be presented to the Garden Plain City Council for official adoption on or before May 1, 2024. The winner will be recognized at a City Council meeting and will receive a $250 cash prize.
Source: KAKE – News
The Clearwater Police Department and the City of Clearwater announced the death of a city police officer in a car crash.
In a post on the city’s Facebook page, Police Chief Kirk Ives and Mayor Burt Ussery said Officer Scott Hollingsworth died early Saturday morning while returning home from his shift. Hollingsworth had been with the department since March 2023.
In part, the post reads, ‘on behalf of our entire community, we offer our prayers, love and condolences to Scott’s wife, Hadley, daughter, Claire, parents, Greg and Nataly, and siblings, Jordan and Sydney during this time of unbelievable loss.’
Source: KAKE – News
The Supreme Court on Friday laid out a new test for determining when actions taken by government employees on social media — such as posting messages, deleting comments or blocking users — constitute official business verses personal conduct.
The distinction has become critical as millions of local, state and federal government workers increasingly use social media to communicate with the public, often on “mixed use” accounts that also include purely private, non-official content.
“When a government official posts about job-related topics on social media, it can be difficult to tell whether the speech is official or private,” wrote Justice Amy Coney Barrett in a unanimous opinion in the case Lindke v. Freed. “We hold that such speech is attributable to the state only if the official (1) possessed actual authority to speak on the state’s behalf, and (2) purported to exercise that authority when he spoke on social media.”
In short, Barrett explained, the distinction turns on “substance, not labels.”
Source: KAKE – News
Pitt Plastics, known as one of Pittsburg’s most iconic businesses for over 50 years, has broke ground on a new expansion building that is planned to be completed in 2025. The expansion is planning to add 200,000 square feet to the Pitt Plastics facility. The construction is being undertaken by Koehn Construction Services.
Source: KOAM News
A pocket park is coming to the city of Altamont, Kansas. City officials are working to convert Lansdowne Garden into the unique space. The small area at the corner of US-160 and Huston Avenue has been unoccupied for quite some time. The vision consists of two patios with a space for food trucks to set up, a farmers market, a veterans memorial, and a community garden. A $10,000 grant from Network Kansas has already helped install the first patio. “I think it’s important that we are proactive in our positions and listening to the wants and the needs of our community and figuring out ways that we can fund those things without dipping into their pockets and having to, you know, get more tax dollars,” said Heather Beasley. The Local Health Equity Action Team in Labette County awarded Altamont a $1,000 grant to start the community garden. The city has applied for more grant funding to fund the veterans memorial and a shade structure.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Two Kansas towns are neck-and-neck in a nationwide contest set to determine the best small town in the Midwest. Voting is currently open for a contest hosted by USA Today to find out which small town people think is the best of the best in the Midwest. The leaderboard has 20 towns listed in its ranks this week, with Marysville and Council Grove both near the top. (…) Council Grove has access to a wealth of history thanks to its numerous historic sites, according to the town’s website. The National Park Service (NPS) lists the Santa Fe National Historic Trail, Kaw Mission State Historic site, Lanesfield Historic site and more as noteworthy places to visit in town. Council Grove is also located near a scenic tallgrass prairie and the nearby Flint Hills. (…) Primarily known for its abundance and love for the local black squirrel population, Marysville is located along the historic Oregon Trail in northern Kansas, according to the town’s website. The town shows its love for its local squirrels by building artistic statutes of them every year. More than 30 squirrel statues can be found across Marysville.
Source: KSNT 27 News
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.
Exotic pet ownership can be found in most cities, including Topeka. Before giving exotic pets a try, owners need to consider how the city regulates said ownership and what is permitted. Topeka senior animal control officer Jessica Bowers said the city ordinances give a broad definition of exotic pets, so it can incorporate animals not yet considered when the code was written.
Source: CJonline
Exotic pet provisions are typically found in Section 2-300s of many Kansas city codes.
Kansas Republicans are advancing plans to abolish an unfunded program intended to help local governments provide property tax relief. Instead of putting money into the local ad valorem tax reduction fund for the first time in two decades, Republican lawmakers would formally end the program and put money toward cutting state property taxes…. Republicans say the logic behind their bills are that the LAVTRF, if it were funded, would be roughly the same amount of tax relief as cutting the state mill levies.
Source: CJonline
A group of Lawrence businesses’ lawsuit against the City of Lawrence, which asks a Douglas County court to close a pair of homeless camps, is scheduled to go to trial at the beginning of 2025. According to updated Douglas County case filings, the case will go to a jury trial in late January 2025. The first day will be Jan. 20, 2025, and the trial will resume from Jan. 28 to Jan. 31 of that month. As the Journal-World has reported, the lawsuit is asking a judge to declare a city-sanctioned camp — Camp New Beginnings — located behind Johnny’s Tavern in North Lawrence and an unsanctioned camp behind the Amtrak depot in East Lawrence as public nuisances. Rick Renfro, a founder and owner of Johnny’s Tavern, and Johnny’s North Lawrence Inc. are among the 24 plaintiffs in the suit.
Source: LJWorld
200 W Douglas Ave, Suite 110
Wichita, KS 67202
(316) 264-3400
info@ransonfinancial.com
Registered municipal advisor with the MSRB and SEC
© 2026 Ranson Financial Group LLC. All rights reserved.
