Are we still repairing manholes like it’s 1925?
A public works case for protecting pavement continuity, moving from crisis response to regular maintenance, and giving good crews better leverage. Look at the front cover photograph of a road crew repairing a manhole in 1925. The hats have improved. … More from our cover sponsor →
Lincoln, Nebraska, revitalizes downtown with large infrastructure and beautification project
The downtown area is getting a major facelift in Lincoln, Neb., along O Street. O Street is not only the main thoroughfare through downtown, it is also a federal and state highway and connects the city to the University of … Continue reading →
How Santa Rosa, Calif. turned catastrophe into a national model for wildfire survival
When wildfire swept into Santa Rosa, California in October 2017, it destroyed roughly 3,000 structures inside city limits. This number represented half of the 6,000 lost across the region. The Tubbs and Nuns fires were, at the time, the most … Continue reading →
Grand Rapids strengthens emergency readiness by bridging language barriers
Grand Rapids, Mich., recently took an important step toward community-wide preparedness by hosting its first Spanish-language emergency response training. On April 9, 2026, 24 Spanish-speaking residents gathered at Iglesia Cambiando Vidas Sedientas, a local church, for a first-of-its-kind emergency preparedness … Continue reading →
Are we still repairing manholes like it’s 1925?
A public works case for protecting pavement continuity, moving from crisis response to regular maintenance, and giving good crews better leverage. Look at the front cover photograph of a road crew repairing a manhole in 1925. The hats have improved. … Continue reading →
Cave City’s relationship building bolstered recovery efforts from tornado
On March 14, 2025, an EF-3 tornado hit Cave City, Ark., around 10:30 p.m., leaving a devastating trail of destruction behind. Mayor Jonas Anderson spoke to The Municipalabout what his city experienced and how it recovered. Anderson said the tornado … Continue reading →
Illegal dumping is a messy problem for municipalities
Illegal dumping is a problem that every municipality has to contend with, whether you live in a tourist area like Dare County, North Carolina, an urban area with some blight like Flint, Michigan or a small town like Milford, Indiana. … Continue reading →
Turning ideas into action: Community solutions for a zero-waste future
When the city leaders of San Jose, California launched the Zero Waste Innovations Grant (ZWIG) program in fall 2025, they were looking for more than new recycling initiatives. They were looking for fresh ideas from the people who experience waste … Continue reading →
Sustainable opportunity: Salem, Massachusetts works toward a greener future
Begun in 2008, as Salem Recycles, to reduce trash tonnage in the city of Salem, Zero Waste Salem — as it was rebranded last year — is dedicated to helping residents reduce, reuse, compost and recycle. According to Alisa Cherkasova, … Continue reading →
Shikha Gupta: Variety & challenges of solid waste service invigorate the Raleigh director
Raleigh, North Carolina’s, director of solid waste services began her work in December. So, eight months later, how does Shikha Gupta feel? “It’s going very well,” Gupta said. “Starting in January meant jumping into a lot of learning all at … Continue reading →
Roswell, New Mexico is a welcoming place for Earthlings and Aliens
In early July 1947, New Mexico rancher W.W. “Mack” Brazel and a young friend were en route to check on their sheep when they came across a wide patch of wreckage consisting of what looked like rubber, tinfoil, paper and … Continue reading →
Top 10 cities for composting
Composting is complicated. As the website LawnStarter.com noted, grass clippings and other organic yard waste are compostable, yet 26 states require yard waste to be sorted out from the compost bin. Cities in other U.S. states, however, are trying to … Continue reading →
New public safety training facility highlights Prattville’s commitment to safety
It is a sad reality that in the current enlightened age, so many tragedies of large-scale proportions still occur. Active shooters haunt school campuses and malls, fires rage out of control at public venues, vehicular accidents take the lives of … Continue reading →
Jefferson City puts focus on abandoned vehicles
Operation Spring Cleanup aimed at managing the increasing number of complaints reported to both the Jefferson City Police Department and the city’s code enforcement, said Molly Bryan, public information coordinator for the city. The capital of Missouri, like many cities … Continue reading →
Iowa City’s compost facility upgrades will increase capacity by over 5,000 tons
With Iowa’s ban on yard waste in landfills for many years, the Iowa City landfill has long had a commercial compost facility for yard waste and, after amending the permit in 2009, for food waste as well. However, it was … Continue reading →
Seeing the storm coming: How Frost Solutions is changing what a winter forecast can do
Article and photos submitted by Frost Solutions For most public works departments, “the forecast” still means a regional outlook from the National Weather Service, maybe a call to a neighboring county and a supervisor’s gut feeling based on how the … Continue reading →
Sideshow Prevention Program draws on collaboration for safer streets
By LAUREN CAGGIANO | The Municipal Sideshows, once a niche activity involving cars spinning doughnuts at public intersections, have evolved into large-scale, organized events that disrupt traffic and pose significant safety risks. Oakland, Calif., has embarked on an inter-departmental initiative … Continue reading →
Cambridge, Mass., Department of Public Works collaboration brings art, information to community
By NICHOLETTE CARLSON | The Municipal The Cambridge, Mass., Department of Public Works and the Adius Arts Initiative teamed up a few years ago in a unique idea to bring art and a large, planned reconstruction project to local neighborhoods. … Continue reading →
Pendleton, Ore., won several sustainability awards
By DENISE FEDOROW | The Municipal The city of Pendleton, Ore., has won several awards for its solar canopy project at the wastewater treatment plant, but Assistant Public Works Director Kyle Willman has no plans to stop with that project. … Continue reading →
