info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

City of Manhattan looking for answers with housing issues

info2022-03-08T23:20:24-06:00March 8th, 2022|

The Manhattan City Commission met Tuesday night to hear a presentation which focused on the current housing market situation in the city. The presentation was given by Development Strategies and is part of a larger project by the City of Manhattan to focus on the challenge of ensuring the availability of housing that is suitable to the growing community. A 2019 survey cited by one of the presenters showed housing attainability and rental housing condition were key areas of concern for Manhattan residents. As the presenters on Tuesday pointed out, there are many difficulties standing in the way of average citizens [...]

Johnson County’s co-responder program is growing

info2022-03-09T07:10:16-06:00March 8th, 2022|

Johnson County’s co-responder program is in its 11th year — and it continues to grow. Co-responders are mental health professionals who accompany police officers on 911 calls. By the end of 2022, Johnson County will practically double its number of co-responders, said Tim DeWeese, director of Johnson County Mental Health Center. The impact: Merriam Police Chief Darren McLaughlin said at the Feb. 28 city council meeting that the co-responder program is one of the most impactful things to happen in his 33-year career. Source: Prairie Village Post

Great Bend opts for first responders profit-sharing plan

info2022-03-08T07:46:19-06:00March 8th, 2022|

The Great Bend City Council Monday night rejected two options for bolstering uniformed first responders pensions council members feared were unsustainable using only the sales tax approved by voters in November and could lead to property tax hikes. Instead, they opted for using the sales tax money to create an in-house profit-sharing plan for firefighters and police officers. On the table were three options, said Mayor Cody Schmidt. These included: Switching to Kansas Police and Fire through the Kansas Public Employment Retirement System; augment current Mission Square money purchase plan; or create the new Mission Square profit-sharing plan. ... Under the [...]

Helping new businesses develop

info2022-03-08T07:44:32-06:00March 8th, 2022|

The first Charlie Walker Entrepreneurial Challenge started this week in Salina. Community members can view pitches and see what fellow Kansans think would be a good business for Salina and neighboring towns. Last month, several groups, including Startup Salina, got together and offered a challenge for local residents to come up with a new business, complete with a business plan. The challenge was open to residents of Dickinson, Ellsworth, McPherson, Ottawa and Saline counties who were wanting to start a business. Source: Salina Journal

Municipal Bond Trends for March 7, 2022

info2022-03-08T07:40:37-06:00March 8th, 2022|

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS "investment grade" yields. Every issuer's credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.

Quiet bedroom community east of Wichita wakes up, thanks to a big new development

info2022-03-08T07:34:29-06:00March 8th, 2022|

Andover Mayor Ronnie Price has a friend who has always said, “Andover’s just a road.” “And I couldn’t argue the point,” Price said. “We’ve always been known to be a bedroom community. The opinion was — before me — if you want to shop, you can go to Wichita.” That’s changing, in large part due to the new 110-acre Heritage development. The mixed-use development just east of Andover Road and north of Kellogg already has two housing developments in the works and this week will break ground on Heritage Square, the city’s first 5-story building that will include apartments, public parking [...]

Johnson County neighbors file lawsuit to stop new addict recovery home from opening

info2022-03-08T00:30:23-06:00March 8th, 2022|

A Kansas City nonprofit’s plan to open a home for recovering addicts in an Overland Park neighborhood has sparked a bitter fight between neighbors this year about whether such a program belongs in a residential area. A small group of residents in Shannon Valley Estates, just southwest of College Boulevard and Antioch Road, raised safety concerns about having people in treatment in their neighborhood despite assurances from the group, Artists Helping the Homeless, that the house would be staffed round-the-clock and secured like its other sober homes across the metro. City officials and neighborhood association leaders in Overland Park declined neighbors’ [...]

More than 800 Kansas applicants for remaining $721 million in federal recovery assistance

info2022-03-08T00:13:27-06:00March 8th, 2022|

The state task force working to target $721 million in federal relief dollars into economic, health, connectivity and education investment projects received proposals for $12.8 billion in expenditures — about 17 times available funding. The Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas, or SPARK, advisory panels have been combing through 840 proposals, including 400 tied to $7.9 billion in economic development initiatives. The legislators, business people and state officials on the SPARK executive board plan to narrow the list in April. That report would be forwarded to the State Finance Council, which is comprised of state legislators and Gov. Laura Kelly. Greg Orman, [...]

Former Johnson County court accountant accused of embezzling more than $1 million

info2022-03-08T00:08:44-06:00March 8th, 2022|

A former accountant for the Johnson County District Court Clerk’s Office is accused of embezzling more than $1 million in payments that were made to the clerk’s office over the course of 10 years, according to a federal complaint. Dawna Kellogg, of Paola, Kansas, is accused of running a fraud scheme in which she re-directed payments made to the clerk’s office into her personal account. A criminal complaint outlining the case was filed by federal prosecutors in the U.S. District of Kansas on Friday, alleging eight counts of wire fraud and three counts of filing a false tax return. According to [...]

Shawnee considers legalizing fireworks sales and bringing back city Fourth of July event

info2022-03-08T07:38:11-06:00March 8th, 2022|

Shawnee is exploring ways to legalize the sale and use of fireworks within city borders, while also possibly bringing back a community fireworks show for the first time in more than a decade. After some discussion at its meeting Feb. 28, the Shawnee City Council directed city staff to look into options for fireworks to be legally purchased and fired off, particularly around the Fourth of July. The sale and use of fireworks is fairly restrictive in Shawnee, as it is in most other cities in Johnson County, with the exception of De Soto. Source: Prairie Village Post

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