A park built with patience: A look at the treasure these acres in Olathe hold

19 Friday, August 19

A park built with patience: A look at the treasure these acres in Olathe hold

info2022-08-19T07:29:25-05:00August 19th, 2022|

It’s a huge area, but those who worked to create Olathe’s Cedar Niles Park hope visitors wander through the many acres and soak up all of its unique specifics. “It’s a beautiful part of Johnson County with wooded hillsides and streams,” said Bill Maasen, superintendent of Parks & Golf Courses, Johnson County Park and Recreation District. “It’s one of the most scenic portions of our county.” Cedar Niles was opened to the public last January and officially was dedicated earlier this spring. The park, which is more than 1,000 acres, is located west of downtown Olathe, stretching nearly two miles north [...]

19 Friday, August 19

Lawrence makes bus rides free starting 2023

info2022-08-19T07:27:58-05:00August 19th, 2022|

With the rise in costs for many goods and services around the country, the City of Lawrence hopes that it can help its residents out by making bus rides free next year. Lawrence Transit will initiate a pilot program to go fare free for the entirety of 2023 for all services which includes fixed route, T Lift, Night Line and planned Sunday microtransit. This decision was made during the Lawrence City Commission meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 16. The Fare Free Pilot Program is expected to help several areas of the city's Strategic Plan and streamline transit operations. Source: KSNT 27 News

19 Friday, August 19

Municipal Bond Trends for August 18, 2022

info2022-08-19T07:27:21-05:00August 19th, 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 and Beth Warren.

19 Friday, August 19

Hutchinson turns 150 and hundreds celebrate at a mile-long block party on Main Street

info2022-08-19T07:17:59-05:00August 19th, 2022|

Hundreds gathered for a giant block party, commemorating Hutchinson's 150th birthday. The mile-long celebration started at 6 p.m. with a photo of more than 300 celebrants, dressed in Hutchinson's yellow and blue, forming the number 150 and waving at a drone. "It's a fun historic event," said Lauren Storm of the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce. "It's a great idea for the city officials to involve everybody on this historic moment." The Reno County Museum, the City of Hutchinson, Hutch Rec and the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce partnered to create a community block party on Aug. 18. Source: Hutch News

19 Friday, August 19

Despite dark national homebuilder report, Wichita market not seeing as much gloom

info2022-08-19T07:16:42-05:00August 19th, 2022|

... while Wichita's homebuilders and residential real-estate market are not immune to inflation and supply chain headwinds — the local market is not in dire shape, according to Wess Galyon, Wichita Area Builders Association president and CEO. "We don't see a sharp downturn coming anytime soon," he said. According to the latest data from South Central Kansas MLS, in July, Sedgwick County experienced a 19.9% year-over-year drop in closed listings (713 for the month). That followed a 10.6% year-over-year drop in closed listings the prior month. But even with that move, Galyon said a slowdown in Wichita would not be to [...]

19 Friday, August 19

Ark City citizens weigh in on small vehicle use

info2022-08-19T07:11:43-05:00August 19th, 2022|

The first draft of an ordinance that would allow the use of golf carts, utility vehicles, micro-utility trucks and all-terrain vehicles on public streets in Arkansas City drew a lot of comments from local citizens during the Tuesday commission meeting. The ordinance permits those vehicles to operate on residential streets but restricts them from Summit Street. Among the commenters, those with more advanced vehicles agreed with the restriction on golf carts but argued that the utility-terrain vehicles, also known as UTV’s, should not be excluded from the city’s main commercial corridor. Source: Cowley CourierTraveler

19 Friday, August 19

Derby takes first step toward updating economic development incentives

info2022-08-19T07:10:19-05:00August 19th, 2022|

The updated policy was presented by staff and spurred on by recent action both in and outside the city limits. Both the city of Wichita and Sedgwick County jointly adopted new incentive policies in 2020, and BG Products presented an incentive request to the Derby advisory board in 2021 that would have been in line with those policies – but not with Derby’s. An exception was made to approve the industrial revenue bond incentives and keep BG Products in Derby, which also started the gears turning on the updated incentive policy. Derby’s policy was last changed in 2011. Source: Derby Informer [...]

19 Friday, August 19

Fed’s Daly pushes back against bets on rate cuts next year

info2022-08-19T07:09:15-05:00August 19th, 2022|

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly said the central bank should raise interest rates "a little" above 3% by the end of the year to cool inflation, pushing back against investor bets that officials would then reverse course. "We need to get the rate up, up to neutral at least, which is around 3%, but likely to restrictive territory — a little bit above 3% this year and a little bit more above 3% next year," she told CNN International in an interview on Thursday. "I really think of the raise-and-hold strategy as one that has historically paid [...]

19 Friday, August 19

Sports betting to begin in Kansas on September 1st

info2022-08-19T07:03:46-05:00August 19th, 2022|

Sportsbooks at the four state-owned casinos in Kansas will begin accepting wagers in person and on mobile platforms starting September 1st, and the sportsbooks will officially open on September 8th. Sports wagering, like all gaming in Kansas, is owned by the state and will be operated by the Kansas Lottery. The Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane, the Boot Hill Casino and Resort near Dodge City, the Hollywood Casino at the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, and the Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel in Pittsburg will be starting sports betting in time for the first professional football game on September 8th. Source: [...]

19 Friday, August 19

Wichita To Vote on Third Party Evaluation of WPD

info2022-08-19T07:02:58-05:00August 19th, 2022|

The Wichita City Council will vote on Tuesday whether or not to approve a third-party agency evaluation of the Wichita Police Department. If the measure is approved, Jensen Hughes will be contracted to provide a thorough review of the department’s culture, administrative processes, procedures, and standards of conduct. This stems from the investigation into “racist, homophobic, and sexist” messages shared between some Wichita Police Officers and Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Deputies, and the disciplinary actions taken. Source: 101.3 KFDI