The city is spending more than $4.9 million building the new water tower. When it’s complete, the water tower will boost Kearney’s storage to 5.5 million gallons.

A production line at the Musgrave Pencil Co. in Tennessee, shown in 2016. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg News) Scott Johnson, president of the Musgrave Pencil Co. in Shelbyville, Tenn., was ready to ...