Sedgwick County Zoo opens new train ride attraction

24 Sunday, July 24

Sedgwick County Zoo opens new train ride attraction

info2022-07-25T06:33:25-05:00July 24th, 2022|

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Friday for a new attraction at the Sedgwick County Zoo. The Martha C. Buford Safari Express will take Zoo visitors on a 1.3 mile trip, offering never-before seen views from behind the scenes. The Zoo’s president and chief executive officer, Scott Newland, said there are two C.P. Huntington Electric Trains that will provide the trip. He said riders will hear recordings from animal care staff on the conservation efforts going on at the Zoo. Sedgwick County Commission Chairman David Dennis, who is a board member for the Zoo, said the train has been on the wish [...]

24 Sunday, July 24

Edgerton approves ticketing minors on sidewalks

info2022-07-25T06:34:17-05:00July 24th, 2022|

City council approved enforcing prohibition of motorized wheeled devices on city streets, highways and sidewalks through citations at their Thursday, July 14 council meeting. Edgerton’s current city code bans operation of a motorized device with wheels defined by a propelled motor or battery used to transport a person and is not required to be registered with the Kansas Department of Revenue Motor Vehicles Department. These are usually electric mini bikes, electric go carts and more operated by minors. The updated code changes from the Sheriff’s office escorting a child home to giving the minor a citation for a traffic infraction through [...]

24 Sunday, July 24

De Soto approves TIF, setting the table for Panasonic’s incoming megaproject

info2022-07-25T06:34:36-05:00July 24th, 2022|

The De Soto City Council unanimously approved two tax increment financing project plans totaling 605 acres in the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant, clearing a path to provide local incentives to Panasonic Energy Co. Ltd. The first, 309-acre plan area will house a $4 billion, 4,000-job electric-vehicle battery plant, which the Japanese electronics conglomerate this month announced it would build in Kansas, after months of state competition with Oklahoma. The second, 296-acre plan area sits just south and could support a potential $4 billion second phase, should Panasonic opt to expand. Both areas are southeast of 103rd Street and Dual Drive, within a [...]

24 Sunday, July 24

JoCo weighs $15M for infrastructure improvements to support De Soto plant

info2022-07-25T06:34:51-05:00July 24th, 2022|

Next week the Johnson County Board of Commissioners will consider providing $15 million to support infrastructure improvements in De Soto. Earlier this month Panasonic announced it will create a $4 billion electric vehicle battery plant on the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant. The new plant is expected to create 4,000 new jobs paying an average of $30 an hour. Once construction is complete, the plant is expected to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Before work begins on the new battery plant, the board will consider allocating county funds to support the development through road improvements and the [...]

24 Sunday, July 24

Sedgwick County Health Department recommending people wear masks indoors

info2022-07-25T06:35:04-05:00July 24th, 2022|

Due to the high community level rating, the Sedgwick County Health Department is now recommending that people wear masks indoors even if they are vaccinated. The department says that last week the community level in Sedgwick County rose from low to medium and then from medium to high. The amount of confirmed new positive cases has been slowly rising since early march. The department says that there are 844 new cases for the week ending on July 20. For comparison, there were 517 new cases in the same week in June. COVID-19 hospitalization has risen as well. Approximately 200 beds in [...]

24 Sunday, July 24

Bird e-scooters to arrive in Olathe this week

info2022-07-25T06:36:09-05:00July 24th, 2022|

Starting Monday, electric scooters from Bird Inc. will be rolled out across Olathe. It’s part of an agreement with the city government and the shared microtransit provider expected to bring up to 200 scooters to Olathe. The initial disbursement will be about 50 scooters placed around the city. Source: Parsons Sun

22 Friday, July 22

Mulberry PD helps residents beat the heat

info2022-07-22T07:29:29-05:00July 22nd, 2022|

With temperatures holding steady at over 100 degrees for the past few days, Mulberry Chief of Police Joey Adelman has been out with his officers checking on the town’s 424 residents. “I have watched our Chief and his guys go door to door to check on the elderly and less fortunate families during this heat wave to make sure they have what they need,” said Mulberry resident Brad Lawson. “Also, when they get done checking them, they hand out bottles of cold water and food to those out in this heat.” According to Adelman, he and his officers have distributed over [...]

22 Friday, July 22

Red tape threatens rollout of infrastructure package

info2022-07-22T07:28:47-05:00July 22nd, 2022|

The Biden Administration will host a summit this fall to help cities and states in line for federal infrastructure funds avoid the tangle of red tape that is known to stall American projects. As funds begin to flow from the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the government is eyeing ways to manage issues like permitting, community opposition and litigation, which have long driven up the costs and timeline of American infrastructure projects. Those challenges are on top of the current economic hurdles of inflation and a tight labor force.... The summit will focus on improving project delivery and the [...]

22 Friday, July 22

Municipal Bond Trends for July 21, 2022

info2022-07-22T07:24:58-05:00July 22nd, 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.

21 Thursday, July 21

De Soto residents are excited for Panasonic’s battery plant, but ‘this is a big jump for us’

info2022-07-22T07:14:34-05:00July 21st, 2022|

People in De Soto, Kansas, are feeling hopeful about the future of their town after Panasonic announced on July 13 that it will build a $4 billion plant in the town to make electric vehicle batteries for Tesla. Still, they have concerns about the environmental ramifications of the plant and how ready De Soto is to welcome thousands of newcomers. Kansas officials estimate that the factory will bring about 4,000 new jobs to the quickly growing town on the edge of western Kansas City. The state subsidies of more than $829 million — about $200,000 per employee — are tied to [...]