info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

New Pott Co. commissioner is confident in new, expanded board

info2025-01-29T09:25:13-06:00January 29th, 2025|

Pottawatomie County Commission Chair Terry Force tried Monday to alleviate any concerns or anxiety about the new board. After thanking every one for attending, he said, “This is a learning time for us all. It’s an anxious time for some group leaders and employees (wondering what) four brand new commissioners are going to do to us. Rest assured. This group here has a diverse background. A lot to offer. “Collectively this will be an extremely good and effective board,” he continued “I don’t know of anyone with an agenda. We just want Pottawatomie County to be the best place to live [...]

Leawood pet owners with only 2 fur babies no longer have to license them

info2025-01-27T13:57:18-06:00January 27th, 2025|

...councilmembers weighed the costs of administering the annual license tags and the burden to residents and decided that the revenue from the tags and late fees fell short of supporting the cost of running the program. Source: Johnson County Post

Topeka officials want Manhattan, Lawrence to join its metro area

info2025-01-27T13:56:28-06:00January 27th, 2025|

Topeka officials on Friday pitched an idea to Manhattan area leaders: Why not join forces make one big metropolitan area?... The benefit is showing a higher population to be able to compete for businesses and economic development projects or programs that might have a higher population cutoff than any of those cities has on its own. Source: themercury.com

Kansas tuberculosis outbreak is now America’s largest in recorded history

info2025-01-27T13:54:16-06:00January 27th, 2025|

As of Jan. 17, public health officials reported that they had documented 66 active cases and 79 latent infections in the Kansas City, Kansas, metro area since 2024. Most of the cases have been in Wyandotte County, with a handful in Johnson County. Source: CJonline

Treasury yields drop as investors look for safety after AI sell-off in stocks

info2025-01-27T09:42:57-06:00January 27th, 2025|

U.S. Treasury yields fell on Monday as investors sought out safe-haven assets amid a massive stock market sell-off. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped seven basis points to 4.557%, while the 2-year Treasury yield was last trading at 4.225% after falling close to five basis points. One basis point equals 0.01% and yields move inversely to prices. Stocks tumbled on Monday, with the Nasdaq Composite being hit hard by a large decline in the technology sector. Last week, Chinese AI startup DeepSeek released an open source AI model that reportedly outperformed OpenAI’s in several tests. The company said it launched the large-language [...]

Johnson County park district will end bike rental program

info2025-01-27T09:41:23-06:00January 27th, 2025|

The “cruiser” style bicycles that were for rent at three Johnson County parks will be going away this year, as the park district board mulls how to replace a service that consistently lost money. The governing board voted to cancel the contract with BikeWalkKC for the program that allowed visitors to rent bikes by the minute at Shawnee Mission, Heritage and Meadowbrook parks. Park staff will bring back options for other bike services — which could include mountain bikes — at the board’s March meeting. Rental revenues have not covered the operating costs of the program for every quarter since the [...]

Panasonic is hiring for new De Soto plant, hopes to be ready for production this spring

info2025-01-27T09:40:12-06:00January 27th, 2025|

A little over two years ago, local, state and federal officials gathered in a dirt lot on a windy day to celebrate construction beginning on Panasonic’s new electric vehicle battery facility in western Johnson County. Officials gathered again earlier this month to celebrate the plant — only this time inside the 4.7 million-square-foot facility. But there’s still a ways to go before the facility is fully operational. As of this month, Panasonic is just slightly behind its previously stated hiring goals, and it’s still unclear if it will meet its anticipated timeline for opening. Source: KC Star Local News

Single-family home construction in Lawrence continues to decline as home prices rise

info2025-01-27T09:38:40-06:00January 27th, 2025|

Construction of single-family homes in Lawrence continued to decline in 2024, reaching a new low with only 57 permits granted by the city. After averaging in the mid-100s for years, single-family home construction dropped off considerably in 2022 and fell even lower last year. “It’s just been even worse than what we would have anticipated,” said Bobbie Flory, executive director of the Lawrence Homebuilders Association. At the same time, sale prices for single-family homes have continued to rise. Source: The Lawrence Times

Kansas House looks to cut property tax that funds public schools by $800M over five years

info2025-01-27T09:37:27-06:00January 27th, 2025|

Public school advocates are asking lawmakers to proceed with caution as they consider slashing the statewide property tax that directly funds public education. Legislation in the House would lower the state rate from 20 to 18.5 mills in the next fiscal year, which starts June 1, and then freeze the annual tax collections at the current level for future years. The Kansas Department of Revenue estimates the impact would be $823.6 million over five years, assuming property values grow by 5% each year from 2026 to 2030. Debate Wednesday in the House Taxation Committee centered on concerns that the Legislature would [...]

Mystery odor in Galena sparks concern among residents

info2025-01-27T09:35:43-06:00January 27th, 2025|

A suspicious odor is in the air in the city of Galena. It has residents puzzled, and city leaders working to get to the bottom of it. City officials and residents say the odor is more potent in the early morning and in the late evening. “Smells like a combination of gas and rotten eggs and whatever else. I don’t know,” said Alumbaugh. Galena mayor Ashley Groves says for months the city has worked hand in hand with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help solve the mystery. Source: KSNF/KODE

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