info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

City, county sweeten the deal

info2021-04-06T06:57:33-05:00April 6th, 2021|

The Great Bend City Council Monday night approved providing a portion of the local matching funds not to exceed $220,000 for a joint Kansas Department of Transportation cost-share project with Barton County. This covers the portion of SW 40 Avenue known as Airport Road. The grant application calls for a 50-50% match with the state for the $800,000 project to mill and overlay the 2.5 mile stretch. The city and the county would split that total, with the city paying more since 60% of the road falls in the city limits. Two previous 75-25 match (with KDOT covering 75%) applications for [...]

Can Kansas schools require masks? JoCo districts already face challenges under new law

info2021-04-06T07:00:25-05:00April 6th, 2021|

Kansas school districts are bracing for challenges to their requirements that students wear masks, as a new state law empowers parents to quickly sue to overturn local board decisions. In Johnson County alone, Olathe, Blue Valley and De Soto schools have already received complaints as teachers and students navigate the final weeks of the academic year. Educational leaders expect more to arrive under a process they fear could lead districts to abandon such COVID-19 precautions in the face of potentially costly court battles. The pandemic forced district leaders to make agonizing decisions about everything from remote learning and sports participation to quarantine [...]

Daily Amtrak service will return to Kansas in May

info2021-04-06T07:00:58-05:00April 6th, 2021|

Amtrak plans to resume daily service across Kansas beginning May 31, thanks to renewed federal funding. The Southwest Chief route from Los Angeles to Chicago was reduced to three days a week in October in response to falling use during the coronavirus pandemic. But the company said new federal COVID-19 relief funding will allow it to restore daily service on the Southwest Chief and 11 more long distance routes in coming months. The Southwest Chief makes several stops in Kansas, including Kansas City, Topeka, Garden City and Dodge City. Amtrak also announced last week that it plans to eventually add a [...]

Governor Kelly says there are no plans for “vaccine passports”

info2021-04-06T07:01:13-05:00April 6th, 2021|

Governor Laura Kelly says she has no plans to have Kansas issue vaccine passports, which are designed to help inoculated residents travel, shop and dine out more freely. Vaccine passports, which verify people’s immunization status, have become a political flashpoint in the U.S. as they’ve come into use in Israel and under development in Europe. Some Republicans in the U.S. see them as heavy-handed government intrusion. Kelly said Monday that she’s concentrating on making sure people get tested for and vaccinated against COVID-19. The Democratic governor also signed into law a largely symbolic Republican bill requiring public schools to offer full-time, [...]

Local leaders excited about possible Amtrak expansion into Wichita

info2021-04-06T07:02:18-05:00April 6th, 2021|

Back in 2017, Amtrak ran a test train through the air capital. The goal was to gauge interest in restarting passenger service to Wichita after it had been taken off the map in the 1970’s. Ever since then local political leaders have kept in contact with Amtrak. “We've been working on this for quite a while. And it seems to be something that the folks in Wichita really want," Marc Magliari, an Amtrak spokesperson, told KAKE News. Fast forward to 2021 and that service could be coming back. Part of President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan would feature a major [...]

Tiny Kansas town sues oil and gas giant over high prices

info2021-04-05T07:20:46-05:00April 4th, 2021|

This tiny and hard-to-find Kansas town is taking on one of the biggest energy companies on the planet, over February natural gas bills they say would bankrupt the city, the residents, or both. Mulberry, a city of about 500 folks, is suing the mega-corporation BP — formerly British Petroleum — alleging that the company gouged them by raising the price of natural gas to more than 100 times the regular price during an arctic blast that began Feb. 10 and persisted for about the next 10 days. “We feel like it’s a David and Goliath, basically,” said Amy Tucker, the assistant [...]

Kansas is working to connect dozens of communities with trails

info2021-04-05T07:00:53-05:00April 4th, 2021|

An exciting venture is underway in the Sunflower State: the creation of an inter-connected trail system that will link dozens of communities, generate economic activity and entice Kansans to recreate for health and the enjoyment of the outdoors. Old railroad lines are being repurposed as multiuse trails for walking and biking. Several organizations are working on building rail-trails in Kansas. More than 27 rail-trails are either completed or partially completed, and 13 are undeveloped. In fact, 565 miles are completed and 273 miles are under development or planned. The goal is to link these together into a interconnected system. Source: Kansas [...]

Amtrak Going Daily Again In Kansas, Easing Worries About The Future Of Passenger Rail In The State

info2021-04-05T07:01:19-05:00April 4th, 2021|

Amtrak plans to restart daily passenger service on its Southwest Chief route across Kansas beginning May 31. In October, Amtrak cut the line’s daily service down to three days a week because of the pandemic. But the company says new federal COVID-19 relief funding will allow it to restore daily service on the Southwest Chief and 11 more of its long distance routes over the next few months. The Southwest Chief, the only Amtrak service in Kansas, runs from Chicago to Los Angeles and includes local stops in Kansas City, Topeka and Dodge City. For southwestern Kansas communities like Garden City, the route provides a [...]

Arma Community Garden looks to win grant funds

info2021-04-05T07:21:55-05:00April 4th, 2021|

Officials with the Arma Community Garden are asking for the public's votes. The garden is one of more than 300, nationwide - competing for gardens for good grant money. The top 21 vote-getters will receive $5,000 each to help their respective communities provide nutritious food. Since 2019, the garden is Arma has supplied produce to the pantries at the library and the high school. Voting closes on April 7th. Source: KSNF/KODE

Cowley County joins effort to promote counties

info2021-04-05T07:04:05-05:00April 4th, 2021|

Cowley County is joining other Kansas counties in recognition of Kansas County Government during April 2021 as part of National County Government Month promoted by the National Association of Counties (NACo). County government dates to 1634 and no two counties are exactly alike. Counties are diverse in structure and services delivered to the communities vary from one county to another. During the month of April, Cowley County intends to highlight its operations and offer descriptions of services provided to the citizens. Cowley County performs numerous daily services to the public, many which are readily noticeable and many that go unnoticed. Source: [...]

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