Shawnee is finally experiencing winter weather, but when Kevin Taylor, Director of Field Operations for the Public Works Department, sat down to talk to the Shawnee Pulse, the mercury was topping 60 degrees! During the winter months, though, Kevin is always watching the weather since he oversees Shawnee's fleet of 22 snowplows and all the drivers behind the wheel.

Kevin takes us through his career in public works, how snow operations work in the City of Shawnee, and we test Kevin's memory for some of the most memorable snow events he's seen.

To find out more about Shawnee's winter weather operations, check out CityofShawnee.org.

For the final episode of 2025, Shawnee's City Manager Paul Kramer stops by to share his journey through the ranks of municipal government that brought him to Shawnee, plus he looks back at the year that was and looks ahead to 2026 and what's on the horizon for the City.

A special thanks to everyone who joined us for the first year of the Shawnee Pulse. We'll be back in 2026 with more conversations, more insights, and more guests to give you a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to make the City of Shawnee operate.

If you have questions or guests you'd like to hear from, please email us at cityofshawnee@cityofshawnee.org

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 Services Board of Directors about their experience with the organization, the good work it does, and the need to build a new storage space behind the main building to help even more people.

If you'd like to donate to the Mayor's Christmas Tree Fund, you can visit: https://www.cityofshawnee.org/mctf

And, if you'd like to join us for Dine at the Vine on Tuesday, Dec. 2, you can call the Wandering Vine at 913-379-1300 or visit: https://www.wanderingvine.com/mct2025 to reserve your seats now.