McCune hosts 77th annual fall festival

There were vendors, rides, animals, and fun this past weekend at the 77th annual McCune Fall Festival. The festival was held from Friday through Sunday and was located primarily in downtown McCune on Main Street. In addition, the event was hosted by the McCune Lions Club. Lions Club member Cherie Schenker noted that attendees come from across the Four State area to attend the event. “I enjoy people coming together in an old-fashioned festival,” she said. “People get together, they can sell stuff they made, they get to see old friends they went to school with. We draw people from all over the area, I just talked to a gentleman that came over from Carl Junction and says he comes every year, a lot of folks from around the area.”
Source: Morning Sun

2023-09-26T10:44:06-05:00September 26, 2023|News|

Kansas losing many of its graduates

Kansas will add 54,000 jobs that require some level of college education this decade, but the state is poised to fall well short of that demand, one of the state’s top labor economists told the Kansas Board of Regents. To meet the demand, Kansas would need to produce an additional 34,000 degrees by 2030 — a tall order as Kansas continues to see many of its young college graduates move out-of-state for higher paying jobs. … “Given the increase in technology, artificial intelligence and robots, most jobs are going to require some credential,” the distinguished economics professor told the Regents. “The days of jobs for high school graduates only are going away.”
Source: CJonline

2023-09-26T09:32:34-05:00September 26, 2023|News|

Topeka buildings still making history

Topeka is full of historical treasures dating back to the founding of the state, but many of the city’s most iconic buildings have faced uncertain futures. Advanced decay and disrepair, a lack of funding and the absence of interested buyers are roadblocks to preservation efforts. Private citizens purchased and funded the rehabilitation of properties with significant historical ties to Kansas, including the Charles Curtis House, the Thacher Building and the Jayhawk Theatre.
Source: CJonline

2023-09-26T09:31:35-05:00September 26, 2023|News|

SW Kansas treasurers to meet in Liberal

Next Wednesday, county treasurers and their staff from across Southwest Kansas will converge in Liberal for a conference. The Southwest Kansas County Treasurers Association will host its annual conference at the Activity Center, and Seward County Treasurer Mary Rose said the association is made up of offices from 17 counties. “The Kansas County Treasurers Association is all 105 counties, and they’ve divided it up into districts,” she said. “Southwest Kansas is one. They go down the list starting in alphabetical order of who gets to host the county treasurers event for Southwest Kansas. This year, we were asked to host it, and we accepted.” This is the first time Seward County has hosted the conference in 20 years, and Rose said the event is a chance for area treasurers to meet and talk about issues pertaining particularly to Southwest Kansas.
Source: Liberal First

2023-09-26T09:30:15-05:00September 26, 2023|News|

Kansas counties eager for lawmakers to resurrect property tax relief fund

The Legislature’s perennial failure to invest in lowering local property taxes left Miami County with a budget dilemma this year. The sheriff’s office, competing with higher wages for law enforcement in the neighboring Kansas City metro area, was about 20 deputies short of a full staff. Faced with the prospect of raising property taxes to pay for better salaries, Miami County Commissioner Rob Roberts said the question he had to ask was: “Are we going to have law enforcement in Miami County?”… Roberts joined Bruce Chladny, executive director of the Kansas Association of Counties, on the Kansas Reflector podcast to talk about the benefits of the Local Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund, which has been dormant for 20 years. “This actually is a program that started way back during the Dust Bowl days, back when Kansas was struggling, the economy was in the tank and citizens were really having a hard time to make ends meet,” Chladny said. “Luckily, the state started to recover a little bit faster than the economy did. And so they actually had extra tax dollars that they purposefully pushed back out to the local government to help lower property taxes for the struggling citizens.”
Source: The Lawrence Times

2023-09-25T13:45:16-05:00September 25, 2023|News|

EPA announces new round of WIFIA loans

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced $7.5 billion in available Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) funding. To date, EPA’s WIFIA program has issued $19 billion in loans to help finance 109 projects across the country, creating more than 60,000 jobs. This announcement initiates EPA’s 7th round of WIFIA financing with $6.5 billion available through the WIFIA program and $1 billion available through the State WIFIA (SWIFIA) program, which provides loans exclusively for State infrastructure financing authority borrowers. EPA is currently accepting letters of interest for both WIFIA and SWIFIA loans. Prospective borrowers can also receive technical assistance to develop a funding request that meets the WIFIA program’s requirements. This assistance will help small and disadvantaged communities benefit from WIFIA funding. Learn more about the WIFIA program, our selected projects, and this funding announcement. Email the WIFIA team (wifia@epa.gov) for more information about technical assistance.
Source: Water Finance & Management

2023-09-25T13:44:21-05:00September 25, 2023|News|

Lenexa is building a new $73 million public safety complex

The city of Lenexa is planning another big move. In 2017, the city moved its downtown and city hall to the Lenexa City Center campus at 87th Street Parkway and Renner Boulevard. Next summer, the city’s police department and municipal court will pack up from the 1980s-era complex at West 87th Street and Monrovia Street and head west to the new Lenexa Justice Center, which is now under construction, at Prairie Star Parkway and Britton Street. The new $73 million public safety complex will house the city’s police headquarters, municipal court, and a police training facility. It will also feature a state-of-the-art communications center for dispatchers, dedicated space for mental health co-responders, detective work areas, and a public meeting room for community events.
Source: KC Star Local News

2023-09-25T13:43:32-05:00September 25, 2023|News|

What’s that smell? Mystery odor pervades in Wichita, but city says air quality is good

Wichitans took to social media on Monday to talk about a mystery odor that apparently started on Sunday. One south Wichita resident on Monday described the smell of oil in a Facebook post comment. “We live in south city and you’re right… it was bad yesterday [Sunday], like an oil spill smell,” the resident said. The city of Wichita said in a Facebook post on Monday that they do not know what is causing the odor, but that it is not negatively affeciting air quality.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle

2023-09-25T13:41:57-05:00September 25, 2023|News|

With new round of $3,000 teacher incentives, Topeka USD 501 drops attendance requirement

Topeka USD 501 will offer each employee a $3,000 “incentive” this fall, and the district will drop its controversial condition that staff maintain near-perfect attendance to receive the bonus payment. The incentive is meant to help recruit new teachers and support staff, Topeka USD 501 officials said. Part-time workers will receive pro-rated payments. The payments, which will be made in two installments of $1,500 in October and December for full-time, active staff members, will use $8 million of the district’s $42.2 million in the latest round of federal COVID-19 relief funding.
Source: CJonline

2023-09-25T13:37:01-05:00September 25, 2023|News|
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