PCiRoads uses custom equipment for Minneapolis stormwater project
Minneapolis features a busy and lively downtown area that’s home to nearly 57,000 residents along with 216,000 employees each week, per mplsdowntown.com. The city has consistently topped more than $1 billion in new construction permits over the past 11 years … More from our cover sponsor →
Municipalities showing mercy with amnesty programs
Some municipalities are finding that showing a little mercy to their residents via amnesty programs is paying off for them. Cities like Reading, Pa., and Green, Ohio, enacted amnesty programs on real estate taxes, and Richmond, Va., was considering … Continue reading →
City uses splash pads to introduce children to nature
For the city of Little Rock, Ark., nature is a high priority when it comes to children’s growth. A book written by Richard Louv in 2005, called “The Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder,” … Continue reading →
USS Lexington Museum, Corpus Christi, Texas
She was pronounced dead at least four times, but she was a fighter and became a decorated war hero when she was barely a year old. Finally retired in 1991, she now rests in well-deserved quiet repose in Corpus Christi, … Continue reading →
A ‘complex’ situation: Johnsonville, S.C., opens new municipal complex
City halls are structures that play a variety of roles in a community. In addition to serving as the headquarters for local government officials, it is the place where bills are paid, plans are laid and decisions are made. While … Continue reading →
Buffalo Grove restructures public works to spark innovation
A suburb about 30 miles north of Chicago, Buffalo Grove, Ill., is a relatively young United States village with a population of a little more than 40,000. It was incorporated in 1958. Thus, much of its infrastructure is just over … Continue reading →
Kalamazoo County’s new animal shelter better serves pets and community
During a job interview 21 years ago, then job applicant Stephen J. Lawrence was asked a typical interview question: Where did he see himself in five years? His answer: As director of Animal Services and Enforcement, overseeing an upgraded facility … Continue reading →
Bay City’s airport is key to furthering tourism-based economy
Keeping a city alive and well when the economy makes a major shift requires generous touches of both creativity and courage. So, when Bay City, Mich., began the shift from an industrial economy to a tourism-based economy, city officials … Continue reading →
ABLE Project provides tools for intervention and officer well-being
Often, when an incident escalates out of control, the human tendency is to avoid stepping in. However, inactive bystandership can have disastrous consequences, particularly in policing. With this in mind, Georgetown University, in conjunction with the New Orleans Police … Continue reading →
M Top 10: Best cities for locavores
You might be wondering what a locavore is. Well, they are people who prefer to mainly eat foods sourced from their local region, and as LawnStarter.com notes, interest in locally sourced foods has only grown during the pandemic. “But not … Continue reading →
Pierre votes yes to water rate increase in exchange for park-based water treatment facility
The people of Pierre, S.D., voted for an increase on their water bill. The increase of nearly 40% was a stipulation of a project to build a new water treatment facility — to be uniquely situated in a municipal riverside … Continue reading →
Eminent domain: Last resort option to further public projects
Municipal construction projects are a necessary part of any city’s growth and development, whether new roads and sidewalks or sewer lines and other necessary improvements. However, there are times when projects require the acquisition of private property. Typically, a … Continue reading →
Charging Ahead: Fleet Electrification Takes Center Stage
Municipal fleet managers have been on the front lines of the electric vehicle revolution since the first modern passenger EVs began sharing our roads in the mid-1990s. While the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendment and subsequent emissions regulations on automotive … Continue reading →
City pools and beaches adapt to COVID
Swimming is a favorite summertime activity, but when the COVID-19 pandemic stretched into June, July and then August last year, cities nationwide faced unique challenges when it came to staffing their municipal pools and beaches. Many simply closed altogether. … Continue reading →
Rock Creek Fire District receives ladder truck through DOD firefighter program
In January, the Rock Creek Fire Protection District in Kimberly, Idaho, received a 2003 Pierce Ladder Truck through the Department of Defense Firefighter Property Program, free of cost. This apparatus would typically cost around $1.3 million new or around $500,000 … Continue reading →
Drone usage in law enforcement likely to increase
For police departments across the nation with drone units, their usage is likely to increase as additional benefits are being realized during the current COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, officers could use drones to retain social distancing on an initial call … Continue reading →
Port Neches seizes river of opportunity
It’s not unusual for a city to make use of its natural resources, like a riverfront. What is unusual, perhaps, is how exactly the city of Port Neches, Texas went about its riverfront development. In 2005, two tracts of … Continue reading →
Student firefighter program allows recruits to serve while pursuing a degree
A student firefighter program started in 1985 by the Manhattan Fire Department in Kansas continues to grow and challenge local college students today. From the very beginning, the program has created a connection between the fire department and Kansas … Continue reading →
Partnerships become key when serving an amusement park
When a person thinks about the local fire department, images of fighting building or brush fires, rescuing victims from a rushing river or educating school children about fire safety often come to mind. But in a municipality where there … Continue reading →
