INK Proudly Supports Amber Alert Enhancements

The Information Network of Kansas is proud to support the KBI and the Amber Alert program.

KBI Director Mattivi wrote a guest article for the Fall issue of Kansas Prosecutor Magazine. The article covers improved technology the KBI uses to deploy the Kansas AMBER alerts.

Governor Announces New Board Appointments

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly announced several appointments to state commissions, council’s and boards. This includes three new members named to the board of directors for the Information Network of Kansas. They include:

Bruce Chladny, Executive Director for the Kansas Association of Counties

Greta Funk, Nortonville Library Director representing the Kansas Library Association

Kyle Niemann on behalf of the Kansas Association of Realtors

The Information Network of Kansas is a quasi-governmental agency tasked with enabling digital access to Kansas state and local government information and services for public use and benefit.

Governor Kelly Announces Administration Appointments

INK Announces 2024 Grant Awards

The Information Network of Kansas (INK) is pleased to announce the award of two grants to the Kansas Department of Commerce and Wichita State University, Public Policy & Management Center.

The INK Board of Directors have approved an award of $374,189.04 for the Department of Commerce to Migrate economic development program data into a centralized Salesforce portal, establishing a new foundation for the public Transparency Database. They also plan to create tools to pull real-time data for the Transparency Database public map showcasing agency investments and an internal mobile app detailing program spending with more detailed information, filtering and data analysis capability.

“Ever since the launch of Commerce’s Incentive Transparency Database in 2019, our agency has been working nonstop to better explain to the public and stakeholders what we do to grow the Kansas economy, how we do it, and why it matters. This award will allow Commerce to reinforce its commitment to open and transparent government, helping Kansans more easily understand and analyze data from our comprehensive database of incentives and grants provided to businesses and organizations across the state,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “We are grateful for the support INK has invested in our efforts.”

The INK Board also awarded WSU Public Policy & Management Center $75,000 to assist with exploring the development of a Statewide integrated data hub for social insights addressing the issue of homelessness. According to Misty Bruckner, Director of the Public Policy and Management Center their project will bring together multiple state agencies to share data to a centralized linking hub to create datasets for addressing complex social questions. The online digital lab will be a resource for researchers and policymakers.

The Information Network of Kansas has provided over $10 million in grants over the years to governmental agencies. Past projects funded through the INK grant program include:

  • Assessment Connect (Kansas Department of Revenue)
  • Statewide Broadband Mapping (Kansas Department of Commerce)
  • Updating the Amber Alert System (Kansas Bureau of Investigation)
  • Online Streaming of Legislative Committee Hearings (Kansas Legislature)
  • Property Tax Estimator Tool (Kansas State University)

The grant program is part of INK’s mission to enable digital access to state and local government information and services for public use and benefit. The grants are made possible from the proceeds generated from the services developed by INK.

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Voting Opens On Kansas Personalized License Plate Design

The Kansas Department of Revenue is excited to announce that voting for the next Kansas personalized license plate design is now open. Starting today, Kansans can visit ksplates.gov to select their favorite design. Voting will run until 5 P.M on Friday, August 9, and the winning design will be announced on Monday, Aug. 12.

“We know how passionate Kansans are about license plates, and this initiative aims to give the public a direct say in selecting a design that will feature on vehicles across the state for years to come,” David Harper, Director of KDOR Division of Vehicles, said. “We look forward to seeing which design Kansans choose for the next personalized license plate.”

The website offers five distinctive design options for Kansans to select from.

Voting on this round of personalized designs is different from the standard license plate designs Kansans voted on last December. To streamline the process and meet production deadlines, KDOR incorporated feedback from last year’s voting to inform aspects of these designs, including a Kansas outline, wheat, and sunflowers.

The winning design will replace the current “Powering the Future” personalized license plate design.

Residents may vote for their preferred design multiple times. Shortly after the voting concludes, the winning design will enter production and be available for purchase in 2025.

The voting website was made possible with help from the Information Network of Kansas.

For more information and to cast your vote, visit ksplates.gov.

INK Director Speaks with City/County Leaders

Information Network of Kansas, Executive Director, Murray McGee recently spoke with local government leaders in Wichita. McGee led a work session at the 2024 WSU City/County Management Summit. He explained the history of the Information Network of Kansas and tools that are available to help local government leaders provide digital access to their information and services for the public. He gave details on the new Assessment Connect program available to assist with the County Appraisal process; Engagement Builder which can be used to create digital forms and applications. The group also discussed new ideas where technology can be utilized to help bring local government services directly to the public through websites and mobile applications.

The Management Summit was presented by the Wichita Sate University Public Policy & Management Center.