info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Why Shawnee Mission Teachers – Already The Best Paid In Kansas – Are Asking For More Money

info2020-01-09T06:54:39-06:00January 9th, 2020|

Negotiators for the Shawnee Mission School District and the teachers union are at an impasse and will now present their cases to a neutral party. On one side are teachers who feel overworked and underpaid. On the other side are school administrators who say the union’s demands will ultimately put the district in the red. It’s a dispute with deep roots in the Great Recession and all the years Kansas seriously underfunded schools, happening amidst a national conversation on teacher pay. “We've reached a critical point,” said Samantha Feinberg, an English teacher at Shawnee Mission East. “We need the district leadership [...]

County’s bill for autopsies tops $10,000

info2020-01-09T07:02:56-06:00January 9th, 2020|

Marion County spent $10,216 in 2019 to have autopsies conducted in Kansas City and Wichita but there is no good alternative, said Karen Selznick, an assistant in Marion County Attorney’s office. According to Marion County’s 2019 reports, there were three autopsies conducted at Frontier Forensics Midwest in Kansas City, which cost $5,150 between them. “It’s just something we have to do,” Selznick said. “We’ve recently had a rash of them, but it doesn’t normally work that way.” (Read more: PEABODY Gazette-Bulletin)

Another push to save Century II, but will it help?

info2020-01-09T06:55:05-06:00January 9th, 2020|

In an effort to help save Century II, a local group is petitioning to gain more than 5,000 signatures in hopes of moving the process one step forward. From buttons to yard signs and even t-shirts, Century II supporters are now pushing harder to save one of the city’s icons. “This is our chance to make a stand,” said Celeste Racette with Save Century II. (Read more: KSN-TV)

Pott. County Sheriff aiming to improve community outreach, launching new social media page

info2020-01-08T19:15:18-06:00January 8th, 2020|

Pottawatomie County Sheriff Shane Jager (left) and Undersheriff Doug Adams (right) appeared on KMAN’s In Focus on Wednesday morning. (Brandon Peoples/KMAN) Some changes are on the horizon for outreach efforts for the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office. Shane Jager was promoted in November by the Pottawatomie County Republican Party from Undersheriff to Sheriff, replacing Greg Riat who resigned to take a position on the county commission. Jager is serving the remainder of the term and has filed for re-election as Sheriff in 2020. Jager has worked with the department since 1993, spending 15 years as the Undersheriff before his promotion. One of [...]

Topeka City Council OKs ordinance regarding panhandling

info2020-01-08T19:06:54-06:00January 8th, 2020|

Topeka’s city government will ban pedestrians — including panhandlers — from interacting with people in vehicles at 23 of Topeka’s most dangerous intersections, though not at any other crossings. City council members voted 8-1 Tuesday evening to approve an ordinance putting those rules in place. Council members Sandra Clear, Sylvia Ortiz, Tony Emerson, Mike Padilla, Brendan Jensen, Neil Dobler, Jeff Coen and Mike Lesser voted in favor of the proposal. Councilwoman Karen Hiller voted against it. Hiller said she couldn’t support the ordinance because she questioned whether it would really “advance anything” in terms of safety. She said she wasn’t aware [...]

Saline County to pay $800K up front for new road equipment

info2020-01-08T19:05:23-06:00January 8th, 2020|

In a unanimous vote during its 9 a.m. Tuesday meeting, the Saline County Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of the 2020 Caterpillar 150 units from a bid by Foley Equipment. The bid includes a trade guarantee for the machines, meaning that in five years or 7,500 hours of use, Foley will guarantee a trade value to the county of over $500,000 total for the three machines. According the request for action document, although there is a high up-front cost to purchase the equipment, the total cost when taking the trade guarantee into account is only $309,297. (Read more: News - [...]

Leawood council signs off on final development plan for Ranch Mart North, paving way for major work to begin

info2020-01-08T18:59:32-06:00January 8th, 2020|

The Leawood city council this week approved final development plans for a major revamp of the northern portion of Ranch Mart Shopping Center at 95th Street and Mission, paving the way for substantial construction work to being in the coming weeks. The council approved a 1% community improvement district sales tax application in April 2019. Funds from that CID, which will increase the sales tax from 9.1% to 10.1% for purchases at stores in the center north of 95th Street starting July 1, will provide an estimated $13.45 million toward the total project cost of $47 million. Trip Ross of Cadence [...]

Abrupt closure shocks some Basic Energy employees in Pratt

info2020-01-08T18:57:48-06:00January 8th, 2020|

Basic Energy Services, LP with corporate offices in Ft. Worth, Texas, shut down their Pratt pumping operation mid-December, laying off the entire work crew of an estimated 25 employees. “It was a shock and unexpected. I didn’t see it coming,” said Darrell Martinez of Pratt, who had been employed as a Basic Energy Services driver for seven years. Rocky Pierce, also of Pratt and another of the laid-off employees, said the shutdown didn’t take him by surprise, given the current economics of the oil field industry. The shutdown affected 13 Basic Energy drilling operations in six states, with the Pratt and [...]

City Approves Sales Tax, New Development For Baseball Stadium Area

info2020-01-08T18:55:25-06:00January 8th, 2020|

Visitors to Wichita's new baseball stadium should expect to pay a little more for some purchases made there. The Wichita City Council on Tuesday approved a 2 percent sales tax within a newly established Community Improvement District, or CID, encompassing the area around the stadium and parts of the east bank of the Arkansas River. Revenue from the additional sales tax in the district will pay for the $75 million baseball stadium and riverfront improvements. The city is also using Sales Tax Revenue (STAR) bonds, tax increment financing and general obligation bonds to fund the project. (Read more: RSS Feed)

Municipal Bond Trends for January 7, 2020

info2020-04-16T08:06:51-05:00January 8th, 2020|

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 Advisors.

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