County commissioners want to learn more about legal ramifications if they start a land bank. They don’t want to see the county collect a bunch of unwanted property they’ll have to take care of, and would rather wait until developers show interest. Jonathan Goering, Thrive Allen County’s economic development director, is ready to move forward with plans to start a land bank. Commissioners, though, aren’t quite as enthusiastic. They’re concerned the county could end up with a surplus of unwanted property they’ll have to maintain, and they could lose some property tax revenue. Goering assured them they have options to control [...]

Attorneys representing the city of Olathe argued the Kansas Supreme Court’s derailment of an annexation pact between Spring Hill and Olathe could jeopardize similar alliances among municipalities guiding development throughout Kansas. On the contrary, said lawyers for the city of Spring Hill, the type of open-ended annexation truce adopted in 2006 by the neighboring cities in Johnson County shouldn’t be construed to unfairly bind elected officials of those cities. The Spring Hill argument was that voters shouldn’t be perpetually disenfranchised by policy decisions of city council members who served more than 15 years ago. Source: The Iola Register

The July 4 holiday brings about food, fun and the obligatory fireworks. Exactly when residents can shoot off their firecrackers — and how late they can do so — depends on where they live. Fireworks are legal to shoot in Iola from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. through Sunday, and then from 9 a.m to midnight on Monday, Independence Day. In LaHarpe, fireworks can be shot from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. through Sunday, and from 10 a.m. to midnight on Monday. Thursday is the first day fireworks are legal for shooting in both Humboldt and Moran.  Humboldt’s fireworks are allowed from [...]

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said there’s “no guarantee’’ the central bank can tame runaway inflation without hurting the job market. Speaking Wednesday at a European Central Bank forum in Sintra, Portugal, Powell repeated his hope that the Fed can achieve a so-called soft landing — raising interest rates just enough to slow the economy and rein in surging consumer prices without causing a recession and sharply raising the unemployment rate. “We believe we can do that. That is our aim,’’ he said. But the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he said, had made the job mor2e difficult by disrupting commerce and [...]

Iola City Administrator Matt Rehder said Allen County and its cities should invest more in economic development. He suggested Iola, Humboldt and the county each invest the equivalent of 1 mill into the fund. Iola and Allen County should be investing more in economic development, City Administrator Matt Rehder said Monday. Rehder proposed to Iola City Council members the city increase its annual economic development investment from $20,000 to about $50,000, utilizing a tax increase for the funding. ... Iola wouldn’t be the only local entity to pay more for economic development, Rehder offered, suggesting Allen County and Humboldt do the [...]

Kenny Arbuckle had a plan for what he would do if a tornado was headed toward his home. He’d roll his wheelchair into the garage, where he had a chain connected to a pipe which was secured in cement. “I’ll just chain myself to that and ride it out,” he thought. His neighbors had other ideas. A group of Good Samaritans, including area businesses, joined forces to build a tornado shelter on Arbuckle’s property. Arbuckle is disabled because of a muscle wasting disease and spends all of his time in a wheelchair. The shelter was intended not only to make sure [...]

Iola’s old Elm Street water tower hasn’t been used for years, aside from being home to a couple of antennas and an occasional gathering spot for turkey vultures. Max and Candice Grundy want to change that. The Iola artists — transplants from Utah, by way of Los Angeles — have proposed turning the old piece of city infrastructure into a one-of-a-kind tourist destination. The Grundys want to convert the tower into a high-rise Airbnb, complete with an observation deck to provide a 360-degree panoramic view of Iola and surrounding countryside. “There’s so much natural beauty here,” Max Grundy said. ‘The sky [...]

Chanute City Commissioners sold 11 lots just south of its airport to be developed into housing, according to the Chanute Tribune. Darin Luebbering of Advanced Systems Homes purchased the lots for $5,000 apiece. “It’s not going to be a problem to build these houses,” Luebbering said, adding that state funding and incentives makes it particularly attractive to build now. Luebbering said he expected to build the homes, three to four at a time, within 18 months. The lots have already been developed with utility connections and streets. The city has plans to add another 13 lots at a later time. Source: [...]

By a 2-to-1 margin, USD 258 voters approved a $17.45 million school bond issue in a special election held Tuesday. With fewer than 20% of voters taking advantage of the opportunity to weigh in, the vote was 255 in favor of the measure to 124 opposed. The district has 1,917 registered voters. Source: The Iola Register

Health department officials tackled a lot of extra responsibilities because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rebecca Johnson, director of the Southeast Kansas Multi-County Health Department, told county commissioners on Tuesday. Johnson submitted her department’s annual budget request, asking for $115,000 from Allen County. That’s the same amount received last year. With her request, Johnson also provided an update on the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic forced her staff to take on numerous additional duties, but the department received state and federal grants to offset much of the costs of that increased workload. Source: The Iola Register