info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Trial basis: Prairie Village is willing to check out this e-scooter for a year

info2021-09-16T07:07:35-05:00September 16th, 2021|

Bird electric scooters are coming to Prairie Village on a one-year trial basis, but only because Mayor Eric Mikkelson broke a 6-6 tie on the City Council earlier this month. On Sept. 7, Mikkelson cast the deciding vote to approve an agreement with Bird Rides Inc., whereby the company will deploy a minimum of 50 scooters that can be operated between 4 a.m. and midnight daily. Operators must be at least 18 years old, have a driver’s license and generally follow the traffic rules that apply to bicycles. Either the city or the company can end the agreement with 30 days’ [...]

Olathe program shines light on various cultures

info2021-09-16T07:07:44-05:00September 16th, 2021|

Music, food and dancing are things every culture has its own twist on doing. A new program series put those front and center recently, as it aimed to foster better cultural understanding between neighbors in Olathe. The Know Your Neighbor series, a partnership between the Indian Creek Library and the Olathe Human Relations Commission, kicked off its first program with a presentation about Indian culture. Although the library has hosted cultural presentations before, none has been as in-depth or sustained as this series. Source: Joco 913 News

EPA conducting clean up project in Pittsburg

info2021-09-16T07:06:03-05:00September 16th, 2021|

A clean-up project by the EPA is underway in Pittsburg. It’s taking place on a field on East 4th Street, across from the Mission Clay Products property. Crews are working to remove contaminated soil. City leaders say the land isn’t far from the old smelter sites, and they became concerned when the church that owns the property started allowing people to play soccer there. Source: KSNF/KODE

Seely to retire as McPherson City Clerk

info2021-09-16T07:05:34-05:00September 16th, 2021|

McPherson City Clerk and HR Officer Tammy Seely has announced her retirement. The city commission was notified of her plans to retire on Oct. 1, during their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday morning. “Last Tuesday, our city clerk, Tammy Seely, provided me her notice of retirement from the city of McPherson,” Nick Gregory, city administrator said. “Tammy has been a hard-working, tremendous asset to the city of McPherson over the 16½ years in many different capacities.” Seely began her work with the city in February 2005 as deputy city clerk. Source: McPherson Weekly News » Feed

Johnson County school districts deal with ‘unprecedented’ classified staff shortages

info2021-09-16T07:04:53-05:00September 16th, 2021|

The school year is underway, but many classified staff positions remain unfilled within the four public school districts serving northern Johnson County. The shortage of classified workers is hindering some district operations at the start of a school year already plagued by the spread of the Delta variant, contentious disagreements over school mask requirements and the challenge of catching up on educational ground lost through online learning. Officials in Blue Valley, Olathe, Shawnee Mission and USD 232 in De Soto all reported experiencing a higher number of classified staff vacancies in their district compared to recent years. Source: Prairie Village Post

Douglas County Commission approves homelessness resources, discusses options for federal funds

info2021-09-16T07:04:36-05:00September 16th, 2021|

The Douglas County Commission approved $125,ooo toward emergency local homelessness prevention at Wednesday’s meeting. This allocation comes from American Rescue Plan funding and will go toward rent and utility assistance. The request came from the Douglas County Housing Stabilization Collaborative, a community program originally formed by Family Promise of Lawrence. The DCHSC plans to allocate $100,000 toward rent and $25,000 toward utility assistance. Following this summer’s expiration of the eviction moratorium, Gabi Sprague of the DSHSC said the community is seeing the effects. Data has been hard to collect, they said, but at least 70 households between housing service providers in [...]

Municipal Bond Trends for September 15, 2021

info2021-09-16T07:02:51-05:00September 16th, 2021|

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.

For decades, this police helicopter was a familiar sight in Topeka skies

info2021-09-16T07:09:49-05:00September 16th, 2021|

For 38 years, a police helicopter was a familiar sight in the skies above Topeka. ... Patrol officers liked having the "eye in the sky," saying its presence made them safer and aided them in finding lost children or people who were in danger. When it appeared in 1982 that a softball tournament at what is now Topeka's Felker Park would have to be canceled because of wet field conditions, an officer flying the police copter hovered over the infields to blow them dry, enabling the games to go on. Source: CJonline.com

Two Kansas counties are coming together to address teen suicides

info2021-09-16T07:06:50-05:00September 16th, 2021|

They’re the two biggest counties in our state, and both are working to find a solution. It’s a campaign called #ZeroReasonsWhy. After seeing a dramatic rise in teen suicides in Johnson County, superintendents of the six school districts came together to work towards a solution and created the campaign. The message is that there are zero reasons why the community can’t empower, educate, and advocate for teen mental wellness. It is peer-led. Student ambassadors work to start the discussions in their high school and normalize mental health. Source: KSN-TV

USDA Launches Resource Guide to Help Rural Communities Seeking Disaster Resiliency and Recovery Assistance

info2021-09-15T14:11:07-05:00September 15th, 2021|

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Justin Maxson today unveiled a resource guide as part of National Preparedness Month to help rural communities seeking disaster resiliency and recovery assistance. This guide follows the Biden-Harris Administration’s announcement of the American Jobs Plan, which targets investments to support infrastructure in communities that are most physically and financially vulnerable to climate-driven disasters.... The resource guide outlines USDA Rural Development (RD) programs and services that can help rural residents, businesses and communities impacted by disasters and support long-term planning and recovery efforts. A resource matrix categorizes RD programs that [...]

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