info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Council vote halts years-long effort to outsource management of city golf courses

info2022-03-03T00:23:45-06:00March 3rd, 2022|

A decade-long effort to hire a private company to manage Wichita's city-owned golf courses has failed again. In a 5-2 vote, the City Council decided not to contract with Illinois-based Kemper Sports, with vice mayor Becky Tuttle and Council member Bryan Frye casting the votes in favor of the contract. The decision followed about two hours of spirited public discussion, including several local golf enthusiasts who spoke against the move to privatize operations and instead advocated for the city to fill the long-vacant golf director position. Source: Wichita Business Journal

With inflation and Ukraine, Powell must thread a needle on Capitol Hill this week to calm markets

info2022-03-02T07:25:58-06:00March 2nd, 2022|

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is tasked with telling Congress this week that the central bank will be doing more to control inflation at a time when markets expect it will be doing less. With fears over the Russian invasion of Ukraine causing turmoil in the financial world, Wall Street has quietly dialed down its expectations for Fed action. Where markets had been expecting the Fed to raise interest rates up to seven times in 2022, recent pricing now indicates just five moves. That would be the equivalent of bringing the Fed's benchmark short-term borrowing rate up about 125 basis points, [...]

Municipal Bond Trends for March 1, 2022

info2022-03-02T07:19:00-06:00March 2nd, 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.

NLC First Vice President Testifies Before Congress on Success of Local COVID Relief Funds

info2022-03-02T07:14:41-06:00March 2nd, 2022|

National League of Cities (NLC) Vice President Mayor Victoria Woodards of Tacoma, Washington, testified on behalf of NLC before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform in a hearing on the impact of the American Rescue Plan Act’s (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF). In March of 2021, President Biden signed ARPA into law, providing $350 billion to intergovernmental partners, including $45.57 billion worth of assistance for metropolitan cities like the City of Tacoma. This critical investment helped cities manage the public health emergency, address urgent community needs, anticipate long-term impacts of the pandemic, and pave the way for [...]

El Dorado PD’s Project Good Morning offers daily check-ins

info2022-03-02T07:14:54-06:00March 2nd, 2022|

The safety of our community’s citizens is a top priority for the El Dorado Police Department. One of the ways in which the Department strives to achieve this is through Project Good Morning. Project Good Morning is a service provided by the Department to check on those who need extra assistance in assuring their security and independence. Through the program, residents who sign up for the service are offered daily check-ins to be sure they are safe. “If they do not call in by the given time, we try calling them,” explained Police Chief Curt Zieman. “If contact is not made, [...]

Olathe school voters overwhelmingly OK $298M bond issue

info2022-03-02T07:15:27-06:00March 2nd, 2022|

Johnson County voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved the Olathe school district’s request to issue $298.3 million in bonds to replace a middle school building and fund several facility, technology and safety improvements. Unofficial results from the special mail ballot election show the bond initiative passing with 67.7%, or 15,936 votes, in favor, according to the Johnson County election office, while 32.3% voted against it. In total, 22.6% of eligible voters, or 23,542, cast ballots. Ballots were due by noon on Tuesday. The final results will not be determined until after the canvass and after the official vote count is certified by [...]

House eager to overhaul loan program earmarking veterinary graduates for rural counties

info2022-03-02T07:16:08-06:00March 2nd, 2022|

Veterinarian Anna Hickert found a home in central Kansas under a program at Kansas State University allowing graduates to work off college loans in exchange for serving in a rural community starved for big-animal vets. Hickert, a 2020 graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine, landed at a mixed practice caring for livestock such as cattle and horses as well as small animals that include dogs, cats and other pets. Under terms of her loan-repayment program, she can wipe out $20,000 of debt for each year she sticks with a vet practice far, far away from metropolitan areas where salaries exploded [...]

Rent prices in Wichita have risen over 14%, study finds

info2022-03-02T00:36:18-06:00March 2nd, 2022|

A local realtor who says the driving factor behind rising rent prices is a low supply and high demand. Ryan Smith is a managing partner with At Home Wichita Property Management. He claims homes for rent are not staying on the market very long before a new tenant gets the keys. “They moved out Wednesday. I got it on the market on Friday and I had an open house on Sunday and I'm probably going to move somebody in tomorrow,” said Smith. According to a rent report from Apartmentlist.com, since the pandemic began in march of 2020, rent prices in Wichita [...]

Many Kansas school districts remove mask mandates for buses

info2022-03-02T00:34:38-06:00March 2nd, 2022|

As of February 25, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is not requiring masks on buses or vans operated by public or private school systems, including early care and education/child care programs. The change comes as the CDC is going to align with the updated guidance that no longer recommends universal indoor mask-wearing in K-12 schools and early education settings in areas with a low or medium COVID-19 Community Level. At a school's discretion, they may still choose to require that people wear masks on buses or vans. Source: KSN-TV

Shawnee Co. Commission bumps pay for difficult to fill positions

info2022-03-02T00:29:04-06:00March 2nd, 2022|

Shawnee County will pay Department of Corrections workers more after the Shawnee County Commission approved a series of "significant pay adjustments" on Monday. According to the commission, the need to keep and hire "quality" officers required the commission to take steps to approve higher wages. The multi-level base and differential pay program can bring wages for current and new corrections officers up by $6.00 an hour on top of an enhanced base pay rate. In addition to the starting wage for a Corrections Specialist increasing to $20.24 an hour, the Commission also approved: A $1.50 hourly pay differential for all hourly [...]

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