Two Kansas cities were recognized by True West magazine as 2026 Top 10 True Western Towns, with one receiving the honor for the second year in a row. Because of its rich heritage, Abilene returned to True West Magazine’s Top 10 True Western Towns list, claiming second place after finishing in seventh last year. Dodge City came in at No. 6.
Read more: KSN-TV
City leaders made adjustments to a controversial utility bill Tuesday night. At the city council meeting on the night of Dec. 2, city leaders agreed to change the name of what you’re paying for retail water services and sanitary sewer services. Currently people in Topeka pay a “readiness to serve” charge. Now, after a vote from the governing body, people will be paying a “base charge.” The readiness to serve charge is a monthly fee for people on all water meters whether it’s used or not. While causing confusion from people in the community, and some even saying it’s not fair, officials have previously said it’s not as much about usage but rather access, and being able to fund the city’s infrastructure in a fair manner. The new base charge will be applicable only to active accounts.
Read more: KSNT 27 News
World Cup in the Flint Hills? Well, not for games — but Wabaunsee County is developing a marketing campaign to attract spectators with the help of the Kansas Department of Commerce. The state is disbursing over $177,000 in tourism marketing grants to 20 entities. On the list is Wabaunsee County Economic Development, which is set to begin a targeted campaign aimed at FIFA World Cup travelers to inform them about the Flint Hills, both in general terms and when it comes to specific attractions. Wabaunsee County is using a better-than-$7,400 grant for this purpose with the World Cup coming to Kansas City in June and July.
Read more: KVOE
Deep Fission says it plans to install a nuclear reactor underground at an industrial park in southeast Kansas. Parsons, Kansas, will be the site of a California startup’s first ever 1-mile-deep nuclear reactor — with support from county commissioners, both Republican Kansas U.S. senators and Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration. Deep Fission will hold a ceremonial groundbreaking on Tuesday at Great Plains Industrial Park. Company leaders hope to receive U.S. Department of Energy authorization and get its nuclear reactor up and running by next Fourth of July.
Read more: The Lawrence Times
The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.
Super Pass pool program holders in northeastern Johnson County will have access to another municipal pool for the 2026 swim season. After dropping out in 2024, Roeland Park will rejoin the Super Pass program next summer. The Roeland Park City Council unanimously approved the move at its meeting on Nov. 17. The program allows pass holders access to any participating city pool, which in 2025 included Fairway, Mission and Prairie Village. Those three cities are set to remain in the program next year, and Roeland Park will be added back. In previous years, Leawood and Merriam also participated in the program but no longer do. Roeland Park Councilmember Emily Hage said she has heard anecdotally that Roeland Park residents appreciated the Super Pass program, and when the city dropped out, residents started buying their pool passes in other communities.
Read more: Johnson County Post
One by one at a city council meeting last month, Olathe residents — most of them retired city employees — came forward to voice concerns about rising health insurance premiums. Nine speakers in all addressed the council at its Nov. 4th meeting. “Ever since we received this information about the 2026 cost increase, we’re trying to figure out how we can afford it,” retired Olathe police officer Damon Bell said. “And to be honest, this is scary.” Health insurance premiums are going up across the U.S., and a high-profile battle over subsidies for those on the federal ACA marketplace led to the recent government shutdown. But in Olathe, another factor is at play. The city recently announced that it is sharply reducing its contribution to health care premiums for retired city employees next year — a decision that some of those impacted say is making them think twice about their retirement.
Read more: Johnson County Post
A two-story house, pointy at the top and painted red like a child’s drawing, is in the spotlight in Leavenworth. It stands out for its warm color, popping against the foliage wrapping it. Just under its peak, a large yellow butterfly hangs from a shingle. Matching the black, barnesque door are dark holes where windows used to be. The siding and shutters are peeling. Boards cover upper-floor windows and have been up long enough to grow mold. The vegetation surrounding the building threatens to swallow it whole. The nicknamed “Butterfly House” isn’t known today for its storybook facade; it’s an example of a big problem plaguing Kansas: abandoned, dilapidated buildings rotting in communities in desperate need of affordable housing. Knowing this, members of the Kansas Housing Advocacy Network decided to experiment.
Read more: KLC Journal
As the first snowflakes of the winter dusted Hutchinson on Monday morning, City of Hutchinson Public Works Director Cecil Weible and his crew stood prepared to keep the city’s roads clear and ice-free. “We had all of our equipment ready before everyone went home for Thanksgiving, and we had people out this morning looking for slick spots,” Weible said. Fortunately, Monday morning’s snow was not only small in its amount but it was a light snow, which precluded city crews from having to pretreat city streets ahead of its arrival, he said. “With a snow like this, the wind will blow most of it off the roads,” he said. When snow hits the city, City of Hutchinson Public Communications Manager Jessica Woodyard encourages residents to visit the city’s website at https://www.hutchinsonks.gov/517/Snow-Removal for the latest information on road conditions and snow removal.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune
Mayor Brad Finkeldei said he believes downtown Lawrence will be transformed, the city will expand west of Kansas Highway 10 and more development is coming in the next year or two. Finkeldei, first elected to a four-year term in 2019 and reelected in 2023, previously served as mayor in 2021. Traditionally, the person who receives the most votes in an election will serve as vice mayor for the first year of their term, then as mayor the following year. The candidate who received the second most votes in the election follows as the next vice mayor. The new commission — which includes Finkeldei and Commissioners Mike Dever and Amber Sellers, plus newly sworn Vice Mayor Mike Courtney and Kristine Polian — stuck with tradition Tuesday evening. In his remarks, Finkeldei said he believes two projects that will be “the two largest single drivers of sales tax in this community in the past 50 years” will come online soon in the new convention center at KU’s Gateway District and in Costco on what is for now the far northwestern edge of Lawrence.
Read more: The Lawrence Times
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