The FOMC voted not to raise interest rates from their anchor near zero, a move also expected by the market. The tie between interest rates and tapering is a vital one, and the statement stressed that investors should not view the reduction in purchases as a signal that rate hikes are imminent. “We don’t think it’s time yet to raise interest rates,” Powell said. “There is still ground to cover” before the Fed reaches its economic goals. He added he wants to see the labor market “heal further, and we have very good reasons to think that will happen as the delta variant declines, which it’s doing now.”
Source: CNBC

The real news out of the Federal Reserve on Wednesday was not in what it did, but in what Chair Jerome Powell didn’t do. … The thing that Mr. Powell didn’t do was give any hint that persistently high inflation in recent months was leading him to rethink his patient approach to raising the Fed’s interest rate target. Rather, he repeated his longstanding belief that high inflation was mostly caused by disruptions in global supply networks and other ripple effects of the pandemic — problems that the Fed can’t do much about.
Source: NY Times

The citizens of Salina have made their voices heard and voted yes to enact a new ordinance in the city. The ordinance, which will limit the Salina City Commission’s power to impose restrictions on businesses and citizens during a declared state of emergency, was passed by a 5,005 to 3,809 vote Tuesday night. Though a majority of voters chose yes, the ordinance still has the possibility of not being enacted. In addition to placing it on the ballot following a petition, the city commission also sent the ordinance to the Saline County District Court for summary judgement.
Source: Salina Journal

It appears the Reno County Commission will expand to five members after nearly 54% of Reno County voters casting ballots approved the change on Tuesday. But, while the election outcome was clear, when and how the change occurs may be a subject of future debate. Under a plan adopted by the current county commission which put the issue on the ballot, the expansion won’t physically occur until 2023, when the two new seats are filled. That’s because the commissioners wanted to fill them with candidates running for election, rather than the governor appointing them, as is the standard practice.
Source: Hutch News

Garden Rapids at The Big Pool is now an award winning pool. Jennifer Cunningham, Garden City assistant city manager, said the pool was awarded the World Waterpark Association’s Leading Edge award at the Garden City Commission meeting Monday. Cunningham said she didn’t realize how big of a deal the award was until she and Aaron Stewart, Garden City Parks and Recreation director, got to the WWA’s annual Symposium & Trade Show, which ran from Oct. 19-22 in San Antonio, Texas. All of the other projects on the slate cost between $30 million and $50 million, one of them was in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which looked like something out of a magazine, Cunningham said. Garden City was the only municipality receiving this award.
Source: GC Telegram