Monday, December 22, 2025

Who is who

The current mayor of Auburn, Kansas, is Mark Brown. He has been serving in this position for several years and was re-elected in 2025. [1, 2, 3, 4]

The governing body and officials for the City of Auburn, Kansas, are available on the city's official website. [1, 5]

Auburn City Council Members
  • Dorothy Bryan, Council President
  • Tom Randles, Council Member
  • Mark Benaka, Council Member
  • Paul Harper, Council Member
  • Tony Trower, Council Member [1]

AI responses may include mistakes.


Henry McClure  
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Fwd: When tinsel was toxic



Henry McClure  
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---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: History Facts <hello@historyfacts.com>
Date: Mon, Dec 22, 2025, 5:16 AM
Subject: When tinsel was toxic
To: <mcre13@gmail.com>


Once upon a time, no Christmas tree was complete without a healthy coating of tinsel hanging from the boughs.

Tinsel used to be made out of real metal.

Science & Industry

O nce upon a time, no Christmas tree was complete without a healthy coating of tinsel hanging from the boughs. Those shimmering threads are less common now, though far from gone — especially in households that like an extra touch of sparkly holiday magic. But today's tinsel, which is usually made of PVC plastic, has a different look and feel than vintage varieties, which were made of real metal. Before you go scouring antique malls looking for a little Christmas cheer, however, know that older tinsel isn't always better, because sometimes, that metal was lead.

Tinsel made of tin-laminated brass or silver-plated copper began gracing Christmas trees in wealthy American homes in the late 19th century. At the turn of the 20th century, mass production drove the price down and made the decoration accessible to more households. Lyon, France, was a tinsel manufacturing powerhouse, but factories struggled to keep up with U.S. demand due to metal rationing during World War I.

Lead became a popular material for tinsel after a German company received a patent for lead tinsel in 1904, and American companies followed suit. (At the time, the United States was the world's largest producer and consumer of refined lead.) It remained popular for decades, so much so that tinsel was sometimes referred to as "lead icicles." Scientists already knew that lead could be toxic, but activism in the 1970s started drawing attention to the hazards the substance posed to children, and the FDA pulled lead tinsel from the market in 1972. Luckily, a Dow Chemical engineer had patented an iridescent plastic tinsel in 1969, so a replacement was already waiting in the wings.

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By the Numbers

Amount Americans spent on tinsel from Lyon in the first nine months of 1916

$909,788

Year the world's oldest surviving artificial Christmas tree was purchased

1886

Christmas trees cut at U.S. tree farms in 2022

14.5 million

Geese a-laying, in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas"

6

Did you know?

The earliest fake Christmas trees were made from goose feathers.

The modern Christmas tree originated in Germany, where people have been decorating them since at least the 18th century. But many Germans were also concerned about deforestation, so in the 19th century, craftspeople started dyeing goosefeathers green and attaching them to wires to make facsimiles of Christmas trees. Eventually, as with real Christmas trees, German immigrants brought the artificial tree tradition to the United States.

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Focus

**Memo: Office Vacancy Analysis – Shawnee County, Kansas**

**Date:** December 22, 2025  
**Subject:** Technical Overview of Office Market Vacancy Metrics in Shawnee County, KS (Primary Market: Topeka MSA)

Shawnee County, Kansas (county seat: Topeka), encompasses the Topeka Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), a tertiary commercial real estate market characterized by limited inventory tracking in national datasets from major brokerages (e.g., CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield, JLL, Colliers). These firms primarily aggregate statistics for larger metros such as Kansas City (cross-state MO/KS), where office vacancy rates ranged from 16.2%–18.2% across Q3–Q4 2025 reports, with direct vacancy often differentiated from sublet availability contributing to total availability rates exceeding 20% in select submarkets.

No granular, publicly available vacancy rate data specific to Shawnee County's office stock was identified in 2024–2025 commercial market reports or county-level economic indicators. This absence reflects the market's scale: Topeka's office inventory is predominantly Class B/C properties supporting government, healthcare, education, and administrative sectors, with minimal speculative development or institutional investment activity tracked in broader Kansas datasets.

Proxy indicators suggest elevated vacancy relative to primary markets:
- Heavy reliance on state government leasing (e.g., Kansas Judicial Center, departmental offices) buffers absorption but exposes the market to fiscal policy shifts and hybrid work trends.
- County appraiser narratives (2025 valuation cycle) note flat-to-modest (0%–4%) inflationary adjustments in commercial parcels, implying stabilized but low-cap-rate investment appeal and limited net absorption.
- Regional analogs (Kansas City metro) exhibit persistent negative absorption in non-prime assets post-2020, with national office vacancy peaking near 18.5%–21% (full-service equivalent) amid flight-to-quality dynamics.

In the absence of direct metrics, estimated direct vacancy in Shawnee County's office subsector likely aligns above national tertiary market averages (15%–20%), driven by structural remote/hybrid adoption in public-sector tenants and negligible new supply deliveries. Sublet availability may further elevate total availability rates.

Recommendations for precise quantification include engagement with local brokerage (e.g., Colliers Kansas City–Topeka affiliates) or proprietary CoStar/LoopNet inventory queries, as public sources yield insufficient resolution for sub-metro analysis.

Evidence basis: Aggregated from BLS county employment data, Shawnee County Appraiser reports, and extrapolated from proximate Kansas City MarketBeat/Newmark Q3–Q4 2025 publications. No dedicated Topeka/Shawnee office vacancy series located.

Henry McClure  
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​Topeka Airport Authority Resolves Long-Standing Lease Dispute with $1.8 Million Settlement


Topeka, Kansas — December 15, 2025
The Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority (MTAA) has reached a settlement in a multi-year lease dispute involving Building 281 at Topeka Regional Airport, agreeing to purchase the leasehold interest from the Rural Development Corporation (RDC) for $1.8 million, according to internal documents.The dispute originated from a 2016 lease agreement for the property at 650 SE Airport Drive West, which was set to expire on July 31, 2026. Conflicts arose over the operative version of the lease and whether it granted RDC renewal options beyond the initial term. This led to litigation initiated by MTAA in 2019 in Shawnee County District Court (Case No. 2019-CV-000816), where MTAA sought declaratory relief and potential reformation of the contract. RDC filed counterclaims alleging breach, unjust enrichment, and fraud.After years of legal proceedings and associated costs, the parties opted for a compromise resolution. A Settlement and Mutual Release Agreement, effective July 17, 2025, ended the litigation without admissions of liability.Under the agreement, MTAA committed to paying RDC $1.8 million in two installments of $900,000 each. The first payment was due at closing, which occurred no later than September 30, 2025, along with transfer of possession and dismissal of the lawsuit with prejudice. The second installment is due by December 31, 2025.Key provisions include:
  • RDC vacating the property in broom-clean condition and transferring certain personal property (such as furniture and cubicles) "as is."
  • Contingencies for property inspections and repairs, including certification of the sprinkler system.
  • Mutual releases of all claims related to the lease and lawsuit, with each party bearing its own legal fees.
MTAA President Eric Johnson signed the agreement on behalf of the authority, while RDC President Robert Zibell represented the lessee. Minor clerical issues, such as apparent date typos in signatures, have been noted but are not expected to affect enforceability.As of December 15, 2025, milestones including closing, the first payment, and property transfer appear to have been completed based on the agreement's timelines. The final payment remains pending. Public court records searches have not yet confirmed the lawsuit's dismissal, potentially due to processing delays.The settlement allows MTAA to regain full control of Building 281, supporting future development at Topeka Regional Airport and the adjacent business center. It also avoids further litigation expenses, enabling focus on core aviation and economic development priorities.MTAA officials have not issued a public statement on the settlement, consistent with the agreement's emphasis on mutual resolution. The authority's next board meeting is scheduled for December 16, 2025, with an agenda focusing on operational matters but no explicit reference to the RDC payment.This resolution marks the end of a protracted "mess" that had created uncertainty for airport property management.
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