info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Inflation surges 7.5% on an annual basis, even more than expected and highest since 1982

info2022-02-11T07:26:43-06:00February 11th, 2022|

Consumer prices surged more than expected over the past 12 months, indicating a worsening outlook for inflation and cementing the likelihood of substantial interest rate hikes this year. The consumer price index for January, which measures the costs of dozens of everyday consumer goods, rose 7.5% compared with a year ago, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That compared with Dow Jones estimates of 7.2% for the closely watched inflation gauge. It was the highest reading since February 1982. Source: CNBC

Petitioner gathering signatures for ballot question to expand Pottawatomie County Commission

info2022-02-11T07:24:08-06:00February 11th, 2022|

A special question to expand the Pottawatomie County Commission may end up on the November ballot if a petition effort is successful. Doug Kern, who currently sits on the Planning and Zoning board, tells KMAN that he’d like to see the county commission expand from three to five seats. So I thought, if they had five commissioners, then they could talk to each other outside of the commission meetings on Monday morning, without potentially violating that open meetings law. So that’s really what’s motivating me,” he said. A five-member commission would mean two members could talk privately about county business. A [...]

As fires engulf Kansas, volunteer departments don’t have enough first responders

info2022-02-11T07:23:01-06:00February 11th, 2022|

Across vast stretches of the country, the first responders to a fire are all volunteers. But the number of calls for help has tripled in recent decades, even as the National Volunteer Fire Council reports that the ranks of volunteers look decidedly thinner. Then came the pandemic. When an enormous wildfire raced toward his hometown on the high plains of Paradise, Kansas, last December, volunteer fire chief Quentin Maupin put down his farm work and sprang to action. He took the department's 18,000-pound pumper truck out alone. "Normally, our policy is you need two people on a truck, so if you [...]

EPA seeks Kansas community input

info2022-02-11T07:22:23-06:00February 11th, 2022|

The past can sometimes be hard to forget, especially for one southeast Kansas town. Traces of a former zinc smelter plant can still be found in the City of Weir, even after it went out of service in the 1920's. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment began looking into the environmental impact of the former zinc smelter site back in 2004. "That's when the state went out and looked at different areas where there were former smelters and they did different sampling of the soil and the sediment and the water, to see if there were any impacts," said Liz [...]

Topeka homeowners could get $20,000 for home repairs

info2022-02-11T07:21:42-06:00February 11th, 2022|

A grant program in Topeka designed to assist homeowners with bringing their residences up to code has recently received a large amount of funding to benefit local residents. According to the City of Topeka, a total of $750,000 in grant money was received from the Federal Home Loan Bank for the purpose of assisting low-income homeowners in the city. The grant money will be going to the City of Topeka's Property Maintenance Rehabilitation Program, managed by the city's Housing Services Division, which aims to help residents to maintain a safe environment in their homes. "Many of the people we serve are [...]

Winfield residents ask commissioners to reconsider golf cart use

info2022-02-11T07:19:25-06:00February 11th, 2022|

A group of Winfield residents are petitioning the Winfield city commission to review an ordinance regulating the use of golf carts in the city limits. The residents are requesting that the ordinance be revised to allow limited golf cart use on city streets, something allowed in surrounding communities such as Udall, Oxford, Cheney and Wellington, according to Winfield resident Stephen Campbell, one of the people trying to get the ordinance changed. Source: Cowley CourierTraveler

Arkansas City board considers new city entrance signs

info2022-02-11T07:16:43-06:00February 11th, 2022|

While Arkansas City officials work to revitalize downtown, beautification committee members think city entrances could be more inviting, too. Public Information Officer Andrew Lawson said the welcome signs at each major entrance to the city are in poor condition. Wooden arches with local club logos and other community information have had to be taken down due to disrepair. Lawson estimated that those signs were put into place during the late 1990s. During a recent meeting, Beautification and Tree Advisory Board member Candace Hendricks said that she would like to see that signage replaced. The board is looking into costs and hiring [...]

Gardner has a plan for those late on electric bills

info2022-02-11T07:15:30-06:00February 11th, 2022|

Gardner is doing something new this winter with customers who don’t pay their electric bills: shutting off their power for 15 minutes every hour. Utility officials can impose the intermittent shutoffs through new “smart electric meters,” which should be fully deployed by mid-March throughout the city. The intermittent shutoffs were to begin when testing was complete, perhaps as early as mid-February. “The feature allows the city to give utility customers the ability to maintain a livable inside temperature while encouraging them to pay their past-due balance or make payment arrangements,” Amy Foster, business services manager, said by email. Source: Joco 913 [...]

Wyandotte County passes Safe and Welcoming Act, providing municipal IDs for immigrants

info2022-02-11T07:13:52-06:00February 11th, 2022|

The Unified Government of Wyandotte County’s Board of Commissioners passed the Safe and Welcoming Wyandotte Act late Thursday night by a vote of 6-4, a move advocates call a win for immigrants, people experiencing homelessness, elderly residents and the formerly incarcerated. The new measure will provide municipal IDs to residents without legal identification. Yazmin Bruno Valdez, a community organizer for Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation, was among the supporters who attended Thursday's meeting. Valdez is an immigrant who said she lived without legal identification for more than 20 years. ... According to Valdez, 20% of Wyandotte County residents do not [...]

Kansas judge OKs lawsuit that claims gas price gouging by energy titan BP last winter

info2022-02-10T07:23:40-06:00February 10th, 2022|

Residents of the tiny southeast Kansas town of Mulberry have won the first round in a lawsuit claiming energy giant BP gouged them on natural gas prices during the freeze emergency last February. A Crawford County judge dismissed a motion by BP to shut down the lawsuit and ruled Wednesday that several Mulberry townspeople have the right to sue the mega-corporation, formerly known as British Petroleum. “The big issue here is the Kansas Consumer Protection Act and the right of individuals to file a claim,” said James Zakoura, a lawyer representing Mulberry and its municipal gas consumers. “The judge said yes, [...]

About info