City of Manhattan asks for homeowner feedback on water lines

2 Monday, January 2

City of Manhattan asks for homeowner feedback on water lines

info2023-01-02T23:30:33-06:00January 2nd, 2023|

We've all heard scary headlines about tap water safety, like those dealing with the Flint Water Crisis. Now, the City of Manhattan hopes you can help it prevent lead contamination in the local drinking water. The Environmental Protection Agency sets limits on contaminants in drinking water and is cracking down on communities to make sure their water lines are safe. As the City of Manhattan works to assess their underground system of water lines, it's asking residents to help by filling out an online survey about what kind of pipes are in their own homes. Source: KSNT 27 News

2 Monday, January 2

Grocery tax cut will start soon in Kansas, here’s when

info2023-01-02T23:29:13-06:00January 2nd, 2023|

The food sales tax for Kansas will be dropping significantly at the beginning of 2023, giving local residents more money in pocket. Currently Kansas has the second highest sales tax rate on food in the entire country at 6.5%. House Bill 2106 is set to eliminate that state sales tax on groceries by 2025. On Jan. 1, 2023 the Kansas food sales tax will drop to 4% and in 2024 it will drop again to 2%. Washburn Economy professor Paul Byrne told 27 News that the reduction is a win-win for Kansans. Source: KSNT 27 News

2 Monday, January 2

Atchison declares water emergency due to ice jams causing low river levels

info2023-01-02T23:27:32-06:00January 2nd, 2023|

The City of Atchison is declaring a water emergency in response to continued low river levels. The city said the low level on the Missouri River is primarily the result of ice jams located upstream, one of which is reported to be 60 miles in length. The U.S. Corps of Engineers indicates that the ice jams are still holding in place but is potentially allowing increased flow below the ice. The Corps is hoping that warmer temperatures will eventually alleviate this situation; however, there is potential for the ice jams, once they break loose, to get held up at certain points [...]

2 Monday, January 2

Ark City could purchase large parcel for development

info2023-01-02T23:26:20-06:00January 2nd, 2023|

Arkansas City commissioners will meet Tuesday to consider a home rule ordinance that would allow the city to acquire property in northwest Ark City for economic and residential development. The ordinance would also authorize the issuance of general obligation bonds to pay for those acquisitions. If approved, the city could proceed with the purchase of a 101.75-acre property south of West Skyline Road, west of North Eight Street, north of Forrest Glenn addition and east of North 15th Street. Source: The Arkansas City Traveler

30 Friday, December 30

Majority of survey respondents say City of Lawrence should pay for 100% of sidewalk repairs

info2023-01-02T20:10:08-06:00December 30th, 2022|

The majority of Lawrence residents who responded to a city survey about sidewalk repair said the city should take full financial responsibility for repairs, adding more weight to discussions about potential changes to the city’s current cost-share program. The Lawrence City Commission will receive the survey results as part of its meeting Tuesday. The city put out the survey in October to ask residents to weigh in on whether changes should be made to the city’s sidewalk repair program. In addition to asking about funding, the survey asked several other questions about the format of the program. Source: LJWorld

30 Friday, December 30

Wichita vs. Peterjohn: Initiative Petitions to enact Ordinances

info2022-12-30T10:01:16-06:00December 30th, 2022|

Syllabus: An initiative petition is effective when it substantially complies with all relevant statutory safeguards. This means that petitioners must comply with the essential matters necessary to assure every reasonable objective of the statutes has been met. An initiative petition can only be used to advance policies that are legislative in nature, not for policies that are predominantly executive or administrative. Ordinances tend to be administrative in nature when they require particularized knowledge in matters of city operations, associated space requirements, public safety, and regulatory issues, as well as an intimate appreciation of the city's fiscal affairs. Source: Kansas Court of [...]

30 Friday, December 30

Municipal Bond Trends for December 29, 2022

Henry Schmidt2022-12-30T09:37:25-06:00December 30th, 2022|

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.

30 Friday, December 30

How Emporia became king of the Disc Golf world

info2022-12-31T10:57:53-06:00December 30th, 2022|

If you’re an Emporian, you already know the city has staked its claim to this wildly popular sport. Disc golf has manifested in many ways in Emporia/Lyon County. The city has hosted the disc golf world championships, boasts the largest disc golf retail store in the world, offers several disc golf courses and the Emporia State University men’s team is ranked No. 1 in the nation. Enough proof? UDisc, a disc golf resource website, ranked Emporia as the top disc golf small town in the country. “A lot of people refer to Emporia as the disc golf capital of the world, [...]

29 Thursday, December 29

Lawrence bus service to be free to ride in 2023 as part of yearlong pilot program

info2022-12-29T10:45:07-06:00December 29th, 2022|

The City of Lawrence is set to begin a yearlong pilot program that will make city buses free to ride in 2023. All Lawrence Transit services will be free beginning Monday, Jan. 2, including the city’s regular fixed-route bus service, paratransit service, the Night Line and the new “microtransit” service, which will operate on Sundays, according to a city news release. The Fare Free Pilot Program is financially supported by increased federal transit funding. The program will be re-evaluated in Fall 2023 to determine the feasibility of extending the pilot. Microtransit, which will operate on Sundays when regular routes do not [...]

29 Thursday, December 29

Eudora machinist creates gear to fix Douglas County courthouse clock

info2022-12-29T10:07:23-06:00December 29th, 2022|

Eudora machinist Wayne Neis wasted no time when it came to fixing the historic Douglas County courthouse clock. A busted gear had left the 117-year-old clock defunct since August. And it wasn’t as if someone could order the broken part — the part no longer existed. Word traveled to Jason Grems, of Eudora, who owns a welding shop as a side gig from his work as a captain at the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. Grems sought out Neis, knowing the project had more moving parts than he could take on alone. “I knew (Neis) could do it,” Grems said. “I’ve seen [...]