‘What does that next phase look like for Lawrence?’ Big questions arise with requests to add hundreds of acres to city

22 Wednesday, February 22

‘What does that next phase look like for Lawrence?’ Big questions arise with requests to add hundreds of acres to city

info2023-02-22T08:31:12-06:00February 22nd, 2023|

After seeing minimal expansions of its boundaries in recent years, the City of Lawrence could be poised to increase by as much as 300 acres in the next year. However, as those requests come up, so will questions about where and how the city grows. The city received four applications to annex land in 2022, totaling 295.05 acres altogether. Three of those applications were filed in the last half of the year. For comparison, there have been only six annexations into the city since 2015. Planning and Development Director Jeff Crick said the rise in annexation requests in recent months could [...]

22 Wednesday, February 22

Fed’s James Bullard pushes for faster rate hikes, sees ‘good shot’ at beating inflation

info2023-02-22T08:24:52-06:00February 22nd, 2023|

St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard expressed confidence that the central bank can beat inflation and advocated Wednesday for stepping up the pace in the battle. Bullard told CNBC that a more aggressive interest rate hike now would give the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee a better chance to bring down inflation that, while falling some off the precarious levels of 2022, is still high. "It has become popular to say, 'Let's slow down and feel our way to where we need to be.' We still haven't gotten to the point where the committee put the so-called terminal rate," he [...]

22 Wednesday, February 22

Municipal Bond Trends for February 21, 2023

Henry Schmidt2023-02-22T08:22:48-06:00February 22nd, 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.

21 Tuesday, February 21

How tiny saddles and youth rodeo might help keep another generation in rural Kansas

info2023-02-22T08:26:56-06:00February 21st, 2023|

For rodeo families — most of whom, she said, come from agricultural backgrounds — the cost of competing is worth every penny as they look for ways to sustain their traditional way of life and their town’s population of young folks. In a place where farms and ranches go back generations, rodeo is sewn deep into the cultural fabric of rural Kansas. But the number of people living in the region’s small towns has been shrinking for decades as young adults leave the rural life for bigger cities. Most counties in western Kansas have been steadily emptying since the Dust Bowl. [...]

21 Tuesday, February 21

BABs subsidy cuts legal under sequestration, federal judge rules

info2023-02-21T23:15:51-06:00February 21st, 2023|

Build America Bond subsidy payments are subject to federal budget sequestration, and public power agencies that floated the bonds are not eligible for refunds, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Friday. The ruling stems from a three-year-old lawsuit brought against the United States by six Midwestern public power agencies, led by the Indiana Municipal Power Agency. The agencies together issued more than $4 billion in direct-pay Build America Bonds before 2011. Source: The Bond Buyer

21 Tuesday, February 21

City approves new cybersecurity agreement

info2023-02-21T23:13:45-06:00February 21st, 2023|

In the wake of the recent network disruption (still under investigation) and a review by the Department of Homeland Security last year, efforts were taken to meet the city’s growing IT needs. The city approved a one-year agreement with Adams Brown Technology Specialties for IT and cybersecurity support at its Feb. 14 meeting. Cybersecurity insurers continue to push for additional program and infrastructure standards to mitigate potential threats, while DHS also made some recommendations for improvements. Source: Derby Informer | News

21 Tuesday, February 21

Overland Park starts work on U.S. Highway 69 express toll project

info2023-02-21T23:12:08-06:00February 21st, 2023|

State and city leaders broke ground Thursday on a much anticipated change in Overland Park. Overland Park approved a plan to add toll lanes to U.S. Highway 69 in 2021. Road crews will spend the next two years building express lanes along the highway from 103rd to 151st streets. The Kansas Department of Transportation said U.S. 69 is the busiest highway in the state, making congestion a problem. Traffic can back up for miles during rush hour. Source: Kansas City Business Journal

21 Tuesday, February 21

Pittsburg Public Safety Tax Voting

info2023-02-21T23:10:39-06:00February 21st, 2023|

Pittsburg residences will vote whether to continue a public safety sales tax in the next election. The tax went into effect in March 2014. Pittsburg police Chief Brent Narges told KOAM that the public safety sales tax allows the department to better enhance their services to the community with technology, equipment, and more. "As far as staffing goes we've had a number of patrol officer positions budgeted along with stand alone drug enforcement unit, additional dispatchers, a crime annalist position, along with a drug prosecutor," said Pittsburg Police Chief Narges. Source: KOAM News

21 Tuesday, February 21

Shawnee can’t develop this 12-acre prairie plot

info2023-02-22T08:28:50-06:00February 21st, 2023|

Twelve acres of undeveloped land in western Shawnee will remain that way now that a Kansas City-area conservation group has gained control of the property. The final remaining tract of an old farm just southeast of the junction between Shawnee Mission Parkway and I-435 features a variety of habitats, like woodland, savanna and wetland, that the Platte Land Trust wants to protect. Source: Prairie Village Post

21 Tuesday, February 21

City of Lawrence staff members want to increase diversity of community events

info2023-02-21T23:06:06-06:00February 21st, 2023|

City employees outlined goals related to diversity in local events at Tuesday’s Lawrence City Commission meeting, with a focus on increasing outreach to diverse communities. Porter Arneill, communications and creative resources director, shared data from community surveys, joined by Derek Rogers of Parks and Recreation, Kalenna Coleman of Equity and Inclusion, and Steve Nowak, director of the Watkins Museum of History. The ETC Institute was commissioned for this survey, and analyzed several performance indicators related to the city’s events. Source: The Lawrence Times