Federal funding to advance technology in Andover one year after tornado

25 Tuesday, April 25

Federal funding to advance technology in Andover one year after tornado

info2023-04-25T10:32:29-05:00April 25th, 2023|

Nearly a year after an EF-3 tornado ripped through Andover, Sen. Jerry Moran announced Monday federal funds for education and law enforcement in the city. In total, $385,000 will be allocated to the Andover Police Department, and $200,000 will go toward the Andover School District. "Everything was empty," Prarie Creek Elementary school art teacher Jamie Clark said. "There was nothing on the boards, nothing on the walls." Source: KSN-TV

25 Tuesday, April 25

Pittsburg community members discuss needs in town

info2023-04-25T10:30:19-05:00April 25th, 2023|

Area residents in Pittsburg on Monday gathered to discuss changes and improvements for the community through the year of 2030. Area Chamber of Commerce officials say, the discussions will be taken into consideration and the group will come back in the fall to present projects for the community. This was the first one of the community conversations. Another one all Pittsburg residents can attend will be Thursday, April 27th at Meadowlark Elementary School at 6pm. Source: KOAM News

25 Tuesday, April 25

Baxter Springs students will soon have a 4-day school week

info2023-04-25T10:28:35-05:00April 25th, 2023|

It's going to be a shorter week with longer days for Baxter Springs students. The Baxter Springs School District will adopt a four-day school week. The Tuesday through Friday schedule will begin with the start of the new school year (2023-2024). The Superintendent David Pendergraft says the new schedule is designed to give students an extra day off. He also says the main reason for the transition is due to the lack of qualified staff. "Over the years, the number of applicants that are applying has been diminishing across the board, and we've experienced some of our upper-level courses where we're [...]

25 Tuesday, April 25

Mission monitoring situation after bank moves to foreclose on Mission Gateway site

info2023-04-25T10:26:08-05:00April 25th, 2023|

Mission Mayor Sollie Flora says the city is keeping a close eye on the situation after a New York bank sued to foreclose its mortgage on the Mission Gateway property. The civil suit was filed Tuesday, April 18, in Johnson County District Court by Metropolitan Commercial Bank. The suit names as a defendant Aryeh Realty, which owns the long-troubled development at the confluence of Johnson Drive, Roe Avenue and Shawnee Mission Parkway on the site of the former Mission Center Mall. Source: Prairie Village Post

25 Tuesday, April 25

Prairie Village City Council to dig into much-discussed housing recommendations

info2023-04-25T10:24:57-05:00April 25th, 2023|

The Prairie Village City Council Monday night is set to take its first deep dive into how the city’s controversial housing recommendations could impact single family-zoned districts. That has proven to be one of the thorniest topics of debate around the recommendations since they were first rolled out last summer. Tonight’s meeting comes as the city continues to navigate the increasingly fraught public discussion over how to address ballooning housing costs in the Johnson County suburb. Source: Prairie Village Post

25 Tuesday, April 25

With Fire Departments Struggling for Volunteers, States Respond to the Alarm

info2023-04-25T10:23:24-05:00April 25th, 2023|

When firefighters show up to a blaze or medical emergency across much of the United States, they most likely are volunteers. It’s also likely the department is understaffed, struggling to replace old equipment and facing uncertainty about its next generation of firefighters. “So much of our country relies on the volunteer fire service,” said Kimberly Quiros, chief of communications with the National Volunteer Fire Council, a nonprofit advocacy organization. “Right now, we’re seeing less volunteers and more calls [for emergency response], but a lot of communities don't have the tax base and support to switch to a career staffing model.” Source: [...]

25 Tuesday, April 25

Cline resigns as USD 430 superintendent

info2023-04-26T07:13:33-05:00April 25th, 2023|

At Wednesday's meeting of the USD 430 Board of Education, the board accepted the resignation of Superintendent Jason Cline, a little less than a week after it was announced that Cline had accepted the same position at Columbus, Nebraska's Lakeview Community Schools. Cline's resignation is effective at the end of the school year, when the Atchison High School graduate will begin his new position on July 1st. He has served as the USD 430 superintendent for 6 years. Later in the meeting, the board voted to hire KASB Superintendent Search Service for $3,500 plus fees to assist in filling the newly-vacant [...]

25 Tuesday, April 25

How Local Governments Can Rise to the Infrastructure Complexity Challenge

info2023-04-26T07:13:11-05:00April 25th, 2023|

The federal government is investing nearly $2 trillion in American infrastructure and competitiveness through three historic efforts: the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Taken together, these laws represent a uniquely difficult execution challenge, not only for the federal government, but for local governments across the country. Source: Route Fifty - All Content

25 Tuesday, April 25

The ‘Dark Store’ Threat to Property Tax Revenues

info2023-04-26T07:12:06-05:00April 25th, 2023|

Some big-name chain-store operators, including Walmart, Lowe's, Target and the Midwest’s Meijer, have been suing their local governments for lower property taxes on the premise of a controversial legal argument called the “dark store” theory. Localities are fighting back, but there's a need for stronger legislation to protect tax revenues. Here’s the background: It’s no secret that retail shopping centers and some superstores have been struggling for years as consumer tastes shifted and online sales cut retail traffic. Then the pandemic made matters worse. Source: Governing

25 Tuesday, April 25

New Federal Program to Help Cities Plan ‘Thriving Neighborhoods’

info2023-04-25T10:15:08-05:00April 25th, 2023|

In Brief: The Thriving Communities Program provides technical assistance to urban, rural and tribal communities for transportation and land-use planning. The Department of Transportation announced 64 communities will receive support in the first year. $21 million will be distributed to four teams of “capacity builder” organizations, including planning consultants, transportation experts and environmental nonprofits. Economic development authorities spend lots of time trying to get businesses to put down roots in their cities and to keep homegrown industries in place: assembling land, navigating tax incentives, and helping out with licensing and permitting and zoning regulations. Source: Governing: State and local government news [...]