After an application made following a May 26 city council meeting, the city of Derby recently learned (as of June 2) it will be receiving $132,000 in Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Response Supplement funds through the Kansas Department of Commerce. CDBG-CV funds were made available at the state level through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Derby was one of 66 Kansas cities and counties to be awarded funding. The funds are intended to help local businesses reopen amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Based on employment members, maximum allotments would be capped at $30,000 or $50,000 for each [...]

If you build it, will they come? That seemed to be a prevailing question among the Derby City Council at a special meeting May 28 focused on further expansion of the city’s STAR bond project. Primarily, the council questioned if a new project phase (including construction of a proposed rock climbing gym) would bring Derby closer to meeting the original goal of expanding regional tourism numbers and additional business development. “For Derby, it was more about trying to get attractions here that are family fun so our residents can enjoy them, and it adds to the quality of life for people [...]

Kansas counties had various reactions on Wednesday to Gov. Laura Kelly's decision to give them the authority to determine their own coronavirus restrictions, with some deciding to keep the current rules in place and others effectively allowing most activities to resume. ...Wyandotte, Douglas, Lyon and Coffey counties issued news releases saying they would continue to stick to the governor's plan, while Johnson, Reno, Sedgwick and Ford counties said restrictions on the size of gatherings and how businesses can operate would now be only guidelines. (Read more: DerbyInformer.com - news,news/)

Rose Hill’s summer music festival, which is usually held in June, has been cancelled. The event’s organizer, Gerald Amato, said that “with the uncertainty of public gatherings we faced this year, we decided that this event would not be able to take place this June. There is a lot of planning that takes place, [and] it was very difficult to know when we would be able to have the event.” The music festival will return in 2021. (Read more: DerbyInformer.com - news,news/)

Before the current pandemic situation drove up traffic even further, Derby’s Disc Golf Course at Stone Creek Park was already a prime destination given the number of attractions that appealed to the sport’s enthusiasts. Established nearly two decades ago, it’s hard to imagine the course turning into what it’s be-come, according to avid disc golfer and Derby Parks and Urban Forestry Board member Marty Hunt. “You would be amazed what that looked like before the disc golf course was put in,” Hunt said. “There were two or three old outbuildings. It was basically the dump of a farmer. They hauled off [...]

With the Derby City Council updating its list of priorities in January, city staff has taken on work to address those items. Mostly, though, that was put on hold because of COVID-19 before staff came before the council with a report at its most recent meeting on May 12. Fittingly, the pandemic has jumped to the top of the priorities list for the city – as response is expected to continue for at least two years, according to staff. How to maneuver through that situation becomes a top priority – whether that’s how to structure meetings, further adjusting city services, updating [...]

Labette County will stick to the restrictions in Gov. Laura Kelly’s revised plan for reopening the state’s economy. Under the governor’s original plan, the second phase of reopening could have begun as early as Monday, but on Thursday Kelly announced a delay of that phase and the others proceeding it. Instead, the state will begin “Phase 1.5” on Monday. The additional phase differs from Phase 2 by allowing hair and nail salons and barber shops to open and also keeps the same limitation on mass gatherings as in the first phase, meaning no more than 10 people can attend an event [...]

Working for the city of Derby as a multimedia specialist/graphic designer, Justin Miller has gotten to know the community well and become immersed in the city. That exposure led Miller to an idea – an idea he pursued in his spare time during the current COVID-19 pandemic – that manifested itself in the form of a Derby Coloring Book, officially released May 3 on amazon.com. “Attending different events and everything, I thought with everyone stuck at home it would be fun to create something that maybe people could access easily – familiar places that they had been to – to color,” [...]

The Kansas Legislature will focus on the fallout from the coronavirus when it reconvenes for a single day later this month to wrap up the 2020 session, a leading lawmaker said. A panel of legislative leaders on Wednesday decided that lawmakers will return May 21. The truncated session is aimed at limiting exposure to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. House Speaker Ron Ryckman, a Republican from Olathe, told the Topeka Capital-Journal that it appears no vote will take place on a proposed constitutional amendment on abortion. Ryckman said expansion of Medicaid will likely be discussed, but "we really need [...]

U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) today announced $325 million in relief funding to Kansas health care providers and hospitals. This information was confirmed to Sen. Moran by Vice President Mike Pence this morning. The funding, which will support hospitals fighting COVID-19 on the frontlines, is part of the $100 billion provider relief fund established in the Phase III Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and is being administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). “The CARES Act created a fund to help meet the needs of hospitals and health care providers, and today over $325 [...]