In the first quarter of 2022, the state of Kansas had nearly 10,000 past-due mortgages. Six of 10 of those mortgages were at least three months late and considered seriously delinquent, according to Marilyn Stanley, the program director for the Kansas Homeowner Assistance Fund. A new $56.6 million statewide program funded by the federal American […]
Celia Hack
Hack covers local government for The Wichita Beacon. She is a Report for America corps member. Follow her on Twitter @CeliaHack.
Posted inHousing, Local Government
Animal control, paved streets, water fountains: What City Council members want in the 2023 budget
As budget season approaches for the city of Wichita, the mayor and City Council members must decide: How should they spend taxpayer money? The Wichita Beacon asked each council member and the mayor to list their top three budget priorities for this year. Investment in neighborhoods and their infrastructure, especially in the center of the […]
Posted inLocal Government, Wichitans You Should Know
Why Reggie Davidson is the city of Wichita’s 2022 Public Service Award winner
For Reggie Davidson, working as recreation superintendent for the city’s Park and Recreation Department looks different every day. Some days, he may be at city hall, working in the office. Others, he’s at a golf course or a city pool. But his favorite days are when he gets to fill in as a camp counselor […]
Posted inLocal Government
Five out of five Sedgwick County commissioners agree: Employee pay a top budget priority
It’s budget season for Sedgwick County. This year, that means that the county’s five commissioners must grapple with how to run the local government as nationwide economic challenges, including rising inflation and an increasingly tight labor market, prevail. The Wichita Beacon asked each commissioner to list their top three budget priorities for this year. All five […]
Posted inLocal Government, Wichitans You Should Know
‘Don’t treat them different’: One formerly homeless Wichitan on what the city needs
It started with a recipe he concocted on his own — Southern-style barbecue chicken spaghetti. But pretty soon, Joseph “J.W.” Harris was spreading the cooking gospel to his neighbors and friends at The Studios, a permanent-housing apartment complex for people experiencing homelessness. In April, he led his first cooking class at the complex on North Topeka […]
Posted inLocal Government, Wichitans You Should Know
Why Jonathan Marr is Sedgwick County’s 2022 Public Service Award winner
From Seattle to Baghdad to the Marshall Islands, Jonathan Marr has worked as a firefighter all over the globe. But Marr, deputy director for Sedgwick County Emergency Management, moved to Wichita in 2019. And he’s made his mark since doing so. After becoming deputy director in 2020, Marr conducted in-depth research into the county’s aging […]
Posted inLocal Government
It’s been a year. What has Wichita’s land bank accomplished so far?
In May 2021, the Wichita City Council created the city’s first-ever land bank — a city-owned and operated entity aimed at reducing blight and vacant properties. The land bank aims to acquire distressed properties or vacant lots and rehabilitate them. Its main priorities? Neighborhood revitalization and affordable housing, which are key as home and rental prices in […]
Posted inLocal Government
Wichita’s budget passes in August. Here’s how you can get involved in shaping it now.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect a change in schedule to the budget process. The proposed budget will now be presented to the City Council on July 12 instead of July 19. Wichita’s annual budget may struggle to grab your attention. But behind jargon that might take your breath away — mill levy, […]
Posted inLocal Government
Does a muggy May mean a hotter summer in Wichita?
Sweltering. Muggy. Burning up. Last week, high temperatures in Wichita blew past 70-degree norms, reaching into the 90s. And the city broke records for how warm it was at night, according to Vanessa Pearce, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wichita. “It’s definitely higher than what the normal would be,” Pearce said. Why […]
Posted inLocal Government
Rising rents, reluctant landlords complicate housing search for people with rental aid in Wichita
This story idea came from The Wichita Beacon’s Community Engagement Bureau. Learn more about it here. Editor’s note: We updated this story on May 16 to include additional information from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Norman Doll started looking for a new apartment last year. Doll has advanced heart disease, agoraphobia and […]