The Shawnee Pulse

The Mayor's Christmas Tree Fund has been a holiday-season fixture in Shawnee for more than a decade, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for non-profit organizations in the City. This year, Mayor Mickey Sandifer selected Shawnee Community Services as the sole beneficiary of the fundraiser and they have a specific need your donations will help fund. 

We talk to David Aramovich and Craig Gibson from the Shawnee Community Service...

This month, we talk with Elizabeth Griffith, the Volunteer Coordinator the City of Shawnee. She connects residents and companies who want to help out with residents who need assistance. From small, house-hold maintenance to snow shoveling, the programs she administers helps hundreds of residents each year in Shawnee.

She'll tell us how the programs originally started with help from the community and how they've grown over the years...

Seven days a week, Co-Responders from the Johnson County Mental Health Department team up with the Shawnee Police Department to assist residents in crisis by responding the scene when a mental health call comes in to 911. That's just the beginning of the work they do to help people in the community.

This week, we're talking to Jen Melby, Co-Responder Team Leader, and Haley Carrillo, Co-Responder, about the history of the Co-Respond...

Every single day of the year, firefighters staff each of Shawnee's four fire stations ready to respond to calls 24 hours a day. This week, we sit down with Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Pyle, a 27-year veteran of the Shawnee Fire Department, who started as a volunteer. 

He's seen the department evolve to meet the growing and changing needs of Shawnee. We talk his career path through the ranks, how the department looks different today than...

Join us for a trip back in time, sort of. For this episode of The Shawnee Pulse, we're chatting with Charlie Pautler and Hannah Howard from Shawnee Town 1929. We talk about the museum's own history of how it started and when the City of Shawnee took over management, along with the time period the staff and volunteers work to tell and keep alive in the heart of the City.

Plus, we talk the final events that will happen at Shawnee Tow...

Election season is right around the corner and we're talking to our first guest from outside the City of Shawnee. Johnson County Election Commissioner Fred Sherman joins us to talk about how he landed the job, what his team does leading up to Election Day, and what you can expect on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

Plus, we have a complete rundown of all the important Election season dates including the deadline to register to vote (or u...

Just like you have a budget, whether it be for weekly groceries, monthly entertainment, or buying a new car, the City of Shawnee does, too. When you're talking about all the services the City provides, there's a lot of work that goes into preparing that budget and making sure it covers all the bases for the residents of Shawnee.

Finance Director Sean Rocco joins us for this special edition of the Shawnee Pulse to talk about the bud...

This month, we're chatting with Shawnee Police Chief Sam Larson and getting you ready for National Night Out on Tuesday, August 5 at the Thomas A. Soetaert Aquatic Center. Chief Larson is talking about his career in law enforcement, starting as a patrol officer and working his way up the ranks all the way to the leader of the Shawnee Police Department. 

He'll take us through his time in uniform and the changes he's seen working for...

July is National Parks and Recreation month and what better way to celebrate than a conversation with Tonya Lecuru, Parks and Rec Director for the City of Shawnee. Kate Kinkaid also joins us for the entire conversation as we talk everything the Parks and Rec team does to care for more than 1,000 acres of parkland, two aquatic centers, the Civic Centre, and provide hundreds of programs every year in Shawnee. Find out what free event...

It's National Public Works Week, kicking off a full week of recognizing and honoring all the hard work and accomplishments of Public Works crews around the country and right here in our Hometown with Heart. 

We thought who better to talk all things Public Works than the department director, Kevin Manning! He chats about all the work accomplished by the City's third largest department to keep roads in good condition, stormwater pipe...

One of our favorite events of the summer is just one month away! Assistant City Manager Lauren Grashoff joins us this month to talk Moonlight Market. Find out how this exclusive Shawnee event got its start in the summer of 2021 and what you can expect for the event during summer 2025. From a larger variety of vendors to new look along Johnson Drive, there's a lot to be excited about for this season of Moonlight Market.

Make you pla...

Last week, Mayor Mickey Sandifer presented the 2025 Shawnee State of the City. Take a listen to hear what happened last year in the City of Shawnee and what lies ahead. Plus, the Mayor was joined on stage to talk about the opportunities for businesses in Shawnee and the community's housing market.

This episode was recorded live from the stage audio and there are a couple of points where the audio has issues, so we do apologize in a...

Welcome to the inaugural episode of The Shawnee Pulse, where we take you inside the happenings in the City of Shawnee, Kansas. Each month, we'll bring you interviews with the professional staff in the City government who work hard every day to make Shawnee a great place to live, work, and play. 

We're kicking off this first episode with a topic that should interest all residents: Shawnee's Landfill Voucher program. Deputy City Mana...