‘The history of the town’: Project working to conserve, clean headstones in historic Oak Hill Cemetery

3 Friday, February 3

‘The history of the town’: Project working to conserve, clean headstones in historic Oak Hill Cemetery

2023-02-05T10:19:23-06:00February 3rd, 2023|

Before lichens and other biological growth were cleaned from the headstone in Oak Hill Cemetery, neither the name of the person buried there nor the stone’s ornamentation was clearly visible. The surface of the stone was covered in black, green and yellow growth, and cemetery records listed the headstone as “unknown.” Now, when visitors look upon the headstone, what they can clearly see is the name of Luzine Wildersen and an inscription indicating she died in 1871 at the age of 10 years, 9 months and 29 days. Atop the stone is a hand with a finger pointing upward to heaven. [...]

3 Friday, February 3

Experts point to challenges for megadeal in Wichita

2023-02-05T10:18:57-06:00February 3rd, 2023|

...many of the same criticisms leveled against the Panasonic deal — and diverting state monies to economic development projects more broadly — remain, while some question the wisdom of using the incentive framework on a company already based in Kansas. They are compounded by significant uncertainty regarding the CHIPS Act, the federal law passed last year to stimulate investment in the semiconductor industry domestically. Kansas will need to be awarded federal incentives for the Integra project, otherwise the state can withdraw their offer and look for another megaproject. All the while, a land rush has occurred nationally with states trying to [...]

3 Friday, February 3

Russell groups trying to land Buc-ee’s convenience store

2023-02-03T14:01:45-06:00February 3rd, 2023|

Just 262 miles to go, you can hold it. So says one of the many signs promoting the up-and-coming super chain of Buc-ee's convenience stores popular in the southern United States. But not if Russell Economic Development and CVB and Russell Development Inc. can do anything about it. Eco Devo Director Mike Parsons said there is a push to bring the chain to the I-70 corridor in Kansas. "Late last year, they actually had a CBS Sunday Morning segment that highlighted Buc-ee's," he said. "They announced they're looking to expand and maybe move further north." Source: Great Bend Post

3 Friday, February 3

Great Bend Mayor enjoying the ride

2023-02-03T14:00:48-06:00February 3rd, 2023|

It has been just over three years with Cody Schmidt serving as the Great Bend Mayor. The 2004 Great Bend High School graduate acknowledged that he has enjoyed the successes and challenges that have come with the position, but he is unsure if he’ll seek a third term in this upcoming fall election. Schmidt spends a lot of hours, outside of his fulltime job, as a volunteer for the city’s betterment, but he wouldn’t have any other way. "Since I've been mayor, I've always wanted to be involved in everything I can be," said Schmidt. "I think that is what has [...]

3 Friday, February 3

Kansas OKs more than $300M in incentives for new semiconductor factory, 2,000 jobs in Wichita

2023-02-03T13:25:05-06:00February 3rd, 2023|

Kansas is giving more than $300 million in state APEX incentives to Integra Technologies to build a new semiconductor factory in Wichita. The Wichita megaproject could bring 2,000 jobs and more than $1.8 billion in capital investments to the state’s most populous city. The project is the second approved under Kansas’ APEX incentive program, which was established last year in the state’s effort to lure Japanese tech firm Panasonic to build a new battery plant in De Soto, Kansas. The Kansas Department of Commerce is touting the deal as the second-largest economic development project in the state’s history — behind the [...]

3 Friday, February 3

Reported Chinese spy balloon seen north of Hiawatha

2023-02-03T13:24:18-06:00February 3rd, 2023|

A air balloon reportedly from China was spotted hovering in Brown County just north of Hiawatha and moving eastward on Friday morning. According to national news channels, a reported spy balloon has been said to be a weather station according to Beijing officials. According to USA Today, the Pentagon was contemplating shooting it down on Thursday when it was over Montana, but didn't due to the possibility of debris. ... After receiving several reports from concerned residents, Sheriff John Merchant contacted Homeland Security, the FFA, meteorologists and Rose Crans Air Base. He said they told him that the balloon is flying [...]

3 Friday, February 3

Wichita and Sedgwick County leaders excited about Integra chip plant announcement

2023-02-03T13:23:06-06:00February 3rd, 2023|

Local leaders are calling Gov. Laura Kelly’s announcement of Integra Technologies’ $1.8 billion investment a critical first step to bringing a semiconductor plant to Wichita. They are stressing the fact nothing is guaranteed just yet. "We've been working on this behind the scenes for years now,” Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple said. Mayor Whipple was in Topeka Thursday to take part in Gov. Kelly’s announcement. ... "The amount of space that they plan on building is really just transformational for our economy, so it's not easy to find that amount of space right off the bat, so we are working with our [...]

3 Friday, February 3

Municipal Bond Trends for February 2, 2023

2023-02-03T10:19:13-06:00February 3rd, 2023|

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, Beth Warren and Henry Schmidt.

3 Friday, February 3

Kechi residents to vote on sales tax increase to fund Arts and Business District plan

2023-02-03T08:09:53-06:00February 3rd, 2023|

Karg Art Glass has been on the northwest corner of 61st and Oliver in Kechi since 2003. Its owner, Rollin Karg, has lived in the city for over 30 years. He's noticed the city has "gotten a lot bigger in the last couple of years. So seems like we're losing some of that small-town thing, which is not a bad thing. It's going to happen anyway, when Wichita does come in this way, eventually, it's just going to be one big city.” The city of Kechi wants to take advantage of the growth Karg is seeing. It has proposed improvements to [...]

3 Friday, February 3

Saline County zeros in on vision for the future

2023-02-03T07:35:38-06:00February 3rd, 2023|

A three-hour work session went on to spell out what the Saline County Commissioners want to work on and provide to the community during their tenure. They honed in on key focus areas which encompass different goals, each working toward a broader discussion Tuesday about the culture of local government in Saline County. Five key focus areas the commission collectively agreed upon include: county workforce, communication and outreach, working relationships, physical and economic health, and service and infrastructure. Source: Salina Journal

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