info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Kansas to participate in program to expand free, reduced-price school meals

info2022-01-06T07:25:48-06:00January 6th, 2022|

Governor Laura Kelly recently announced that Kansas has been selected as one of eight states to participate in a demonstration project utilizing Medicaid eligibility data to certify eligible students for free and reduced-price school meals. “This project will expand free, reduced-priced meals for some of our most vulnerable students,” Gov. Kelly said. “Our kids need reliable access to healthy foods to learn and grow, and this is great news for our state, students and families.” The Kansas State Department of Education is working in collaboration with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) on the project, said Cheryl Johnson, director [...]

After doubling in size, De Soto could strike deal to remake former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant land

info2022-01-06T07:26:08-06:00January 6th, 2022|

De Soto officials are laying the groundwork for Johnson County's largest contiguously owned site to effectively house a new town. It will be a years-long challenge involving a defunct Army ammunition plant that has sat empty, and contaminated, for decades. Thursday evening, the De Soto City Council will consider establishing a tax increment financing district that includes 6,009 acres of the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant, located southeast of a bend in Kansas Highway 10 in western Johnson County. The council voted in November to annex about 6,376 acres — the vast majority of them part of the 9,000-acre former ammo [...]

Treasury yield tops 1.70% as rates continue to spike to start 2022

info2022-01-06T07:27:22-06:00January 6th, 2022|

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield ticked higher Wednesday after the Federal Reserve released a summary of its key December meeting. The 10-year traded at 1.7%, its high of the day, up about 3 basis points. The 2-year rate jumped by 5 basis points to 0.82%. ... The minutes released Wednesday showed that Fed officials began plans to start reducing the amount of bonds it is holding on its balance sheet. Some officials even said that the balance-sheet reduction could start sometime after the Fed starts raising interest rates. The Fed is tapering its bond purchases now and has already indicated to [...]

Employee shortages have hit McPherson harder than Moundridge or Inman

info2022-01-06T00:56:52-06:00January 6th, 2022|

Over a year ago, industries like fast food and entertainment reported a lack of employees, causing some businesses to alter hours, raise prices to accommodate higher salaries, or close down. Then the worker shortages spread, and now it seems that almost every employment sector faces challenges related to not having enough people available to do the necessary jobs. The Topeka Capital-Journal recently reported that the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed a 4.7 percent drop in the number of public sector workers in Kansas translates into around 12,000 vacant jobs. While those numbers may not alarm most readers, showing their practical implications [...]

Growing pains: McPherson struggles to keep up as business booms

info2022-01-06T07:30:14-06:00January 6th, 2022|

The numbers don’t lie, McPherson is continuing to grow, and grow. Its population spiked more than 7 percent to 14,082 total for the 2021 census. Mayor Tom Brown said the city’s competitively low electrical rates, courtesy of its municipally owned McPherson Board of Public Utilities, continues to draw businesses. “We are standing on the shoulders of our forefathers,” he said. That growth has created some stress on the housing market as developers and city leaders struggle to keep up with the needs of its growing population and those posed by temporary workers who may not want to sign a lease. Source: [...]

Derby hires new deputy city manager

info2022-01-06T07:34:48-06:00January 6th, 2022|

The city of Derby has hired Dan Bronson as its new deputy city manager effective Jan. 10. Bronson replaces Kiel Mangus, who became Derby’s fifth city manager on Dec. 10 after the retirement of Kathy Sexton. Bronson comes to Derby from Harvey County, where he has served as the assistant county administrator/director of finance since March 2017. In that role, he reports to the county administrator and helps provide leadership and administrative support to 21 department directors and elected officials and 216 staff. “I’m excited to join the city of Derby,” Bronson said. “Derby is a forward-thinking, growing community, and I [...]

New library in Moundridge will provide more space and flexibility

info2022-01-06T07:37:02-06:00January 6th, 2022|

The renovation of the new library building will be complete months before the Moundridge Public Library will be ready to use it. The building should be ready for use by the end of January, according to head librarian Betsy Davis, but the furniture is on backorder, so she’s looking at a spring move-in date, though she resists providing a prediction any more concisely than the three-month window. Davis said some of the furniture would arrive soon, but she expects the shelving to be the biggest holdup. The community room, one of the aspects of the new library that Davis is looking [...]

Couple converting Hutchinson’s historic Hoke Building into a boutique hotel

info2022-01-05T07:20:10-06:00January 5th, 2022|

The Kansas City couple converting Hutchinson’s historic Hoke Building into a boutique hotel confirmed Monday that they’ve signed a purchase contract on the Landmark apartments building on North Main Street. Mark and Phoebe Davenport said they have been interested in the property at 501 N. Main St. since they drove by it on one of their first visits to the city some 18 months ago. “It got my attention immediately,” Mark said. “I did a double-take driving down Main, thinking, ‘What on earth is this building?’ It’s incredible.” Source: Hutch News

New tool puts Lyon County 911 on faster tracking

info2022-01-05T07:06:14-06:00January 5th, 2022|

If you’re thinking about pulling a “Crank Yanker” trick on Lyon County 911 operators, think again. The Lyon County Emergency Communications Center announced a new tool Sunday to track incoming calls. A Facebook statement said it can “possibly see your 911 call before it even rings into our center.“ The tool is from RapidSOS, a company based in New York. The LCECC says its mapping portal allows dispatchers to have “street view access to a majority of the Lyon County area.” The new tool also can tap into vehicles with Sirius XM technology, allowing operators to obtain data on crashes. Source: [...]

Cyber Vulnerabilities Could Impact Municipal Finance

info2022-01-05T01:29:26-06:00January 5th, 2022|

While cybersecurity risk management has long been on the radar of government IT managers, it’s also attracting the attention of municipal finance organizations. In a Dec. 14 survey by Hilltop Securities, municipal bond credit analysts said they felt state and local governments were unprepared for cyberattacks. A full 63% said they thought governments were “hardly prepared” for cyberattacks, and 30% said they were “somewhat prepared.” Only 6% considered state and local governments “on the way to being prepared, with none of the analysts considering municipalities “very prepared” or even “prepared.” The growing number of ransomware attacks state and local governments are facing [...]

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