info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

April Fool’s Day in Lucas, Kansas, will be therapeutic — seriously

info2021-03-30T07:10:14-05:00March 30th, 2021|

After our long winter of COVID-19 despair, what could be better than a chance to come together to experience what is possible? That’s what is on offer on April Fool’s Day in Lucas. Many events will take place outdoors, distancing will be observed inside and face coverings will be required. In fact, a prize will be given for the most creative mask. The annual event began six years ago when Wilson artist Alan Vopat was looking for a place to store his accumulated art, and discovered his cousin was selling a building on Main Street. To celebrate the grand opening of [...]

New Douglass Activity Center opens to the public

info2021-03-30T07:08:35-05:00March 30th, 2021|

The Douglass Activity Center represents more than just a new community center. “Today, history is preserved in the Black community and for all citizens of Manhattan,” Dave Baker, director of the Douglass Center, said on Thursday at the opening of the activity center. The facility is on Yuma Street, an important part of town for Manhattan’s Black community. The history began with the establishment of the Bethel A.M.E. Church by the Exodusters — Black migrants to Kansas — in 1879 and includes the Douglass School, which served as the local school for Black elementary school students prior to desegregation. Source: themercury.com

Riley County commission approves $87,000 payment to Home Depot; discusses local impact

info2021-03-30T07:06:22-05:00March 30th, 2021|

Riley County commissioners discussed the impact on local government entities and taxpayers from recent the Board of Tax Appeals case. County Clerk Rich Vargo presented the impact per the request of other local government entities. Before the BOTA case, Home Depot was being taxed in 2018 over $239,000. That number now is around $150,000, which was the previously reported number the county owed. The county actually owes $87,000 which is the difference between the two values. The costs of the refund will be split three ways: $29,186 from Manhattan, $24,194 from the County, and $33,582 from USD 383, the only school [...]

10-year Treasury yield hits 14-month highs, topping 1.77%

info2021-03-30T07:04:10-05:00March 30th, 2021|

The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield topped 1.77% on Tuesday, as coronavirus vaccine rollouts and planned infrastructure spending boosted hopes of a broad economic recovery, but added to inflation fears. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note jumped to 1.772% at 4:40 a.m. ET, a 14-month high. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond rose to 2.456%. ... The move comes a day ahead of President Joe Biden revealing details of his infrastructure plan. The recovery package will include up to $3 trillion in spending across a swathe of sectors in an effort to bolster the U.S. economy. Source: CNBC - [...]

Local leaders discuss tax rebate program and future of sales tax

info2021-03-30T07:03:11-05:00March 30th, 2021|

The Atchison County and City Commission met for the first time in three years to discuss a pair of hot button topics and the state of the city and county as a whole last Thursday at the Atchison Event Center. The two talking points of the meeting was the renewal of the Neighborhood Revitalization Program before the end of October and the future of the 1% Sales Tax. The tax rebate program is a five-year deal that is set to expire October 31, 2021 after going into action October, 15 2016. The goal of the program is stated to hope to [...]

Municipal Bond Trends for March 26, 2021

info2021-03-29T07:13:19-05:00March 29th, 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.

Remote work isn’t going away. Can it bring a new generation of workers to Wichita?

info2021-03-29T07:12:42-05:00March 29th, 2021|

A focus on attracting and retaining workers to Wichita isn’t new. But the pandemic has spurred urgency for those efforts, as some large companies in major cities like Salesforce and Dropbox transitioned to allow employees to work from anywhere. Wichita’s talent experts are asking: What would make those workers want to move to Wichita? Is that even likely to happen? “I think some people really buy into the idea that there’s gonna be this mass change in where people live and work,” said Scot Rigby, director of development services and assistant city manager for the city of Wichita. “There may be [...]

Kansas opens up vaccinations to all adults starting March 29

info2021-03-29T07:11:26-05:00March 29th, 2021|

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly announced Friday that anyone in Kansas age 16 or older will be allowed to get a coronavirus vaccine starting Monday because the state expects to get enough of the medicine to speed up its inoculation process for the second time in two weeks. Kelly’s announcement means the state will enter the fifth and final phase of its vaccine distribution. The move to make vaccines available to another 400,000 people comes after weeks of criticism from Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature that the effort is not moving quickly enough and not organized enough for people to easily learn [...]

Iolan calls program ‘a godsend’

info2021-03-29T07:11:05-05:00March 29th, 2021|

Thrive Allen County’s transportation program is changing lives. “To me it’s been a godsend,” said Iolan Loren Mitchell, in reference to the local initiative. The 83-year-old said his daughter had been giving him rides to his dialysis treatments in Chanute, but her busy schedule often makes that impossible. Fortunately for Mitchell, while attending dialysis one day, an employee there told him about Thrive’s free, non-emergency transportation program, which is currently being piloted. In no time, he was getting a lift to Chanute pro bono, sometimes multiple days per week. Source: The Iola Register

City of Pittsburg and Crawford County partner to launch new text-to-9-1-1 system

info2021-03-29T07:09:40-05:00March 29th, 2021|

The City of Pittsburg and Crawford County have partnered to purchase a new state-of-the-art emergency call handling and management system that will allow residents to text urgent alerts to 9-1-1. For the last two years, the city and county have collaborated to replace antiquated telephone systems with a Next Gen 9-1-1 solution based on Internet Protocol, which are designed to keep up with the rapidly evolving communication habits of today, such as mobile calling, texting, sharing data, and more. “The new system will allow dispatchers to text with people and help us better locate mobile phone calls,” says Deputy City Manager [...]

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