info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

City may take another look at its animal ordinance

info2024-09-20T09:49:54-05:00September 20th, 2024|

A new city of Parsons law that increased penalties for dogs at large that bite people or attack other animals may be revised again in the future. Parsons City Commissioner Tom Shaw on Monday brought up the dog ordinance and said he thought it needed to have more stringent penalties for owners allowing their dogs to run at-large. Now the penalty for having a dog at-large is a $30 fine plus $110 in court costs. That didn’t change when the ordinance was amended earlier this month. The recent ordinance change offered penalties for dogs that bite. If an at-large animal bites [...]

Fed slashes interest rates by a half point, an aggressive start to its first easing campaign in four years

info2024-09-19T09:17:44-05:00September 19th, 2024|

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday enacted its first interest rate cut since the early days of the Covid pandemic, slicing half a percentage point off benchmark rates in an effort to head off a slowdown in the labor market. With both the jobs picture and inflation softening, the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee chose to lower its key overnight borrowing rate by a half percentage point, or 50 basis points, affirming market expectations that had recently shifted from an outlook for a cut half that size. Outside of the emergency rate reductions during Covid, the last time the FOMC cut [...]

Cyber attack on city of Wichita limited to police records, internal investigation finds

info2024-09-19T09:16:08-05:00September 19th, 2024|

A ransomware attack that crippled the city of Wichita’s network for more than a month starting in May was limited to a Wichita Police Department records system, city officials said Wednesday. That means the Russian hacker group — LockBit — that claimed credit for the attack did not access bank card numbers, social security numbers or other private information about city customers or residents — unless the Police Department kept those records as part of an investigation. The breached records include potentially sensitive information about witnesses, victims and suspects in 77,000 police cases. They included incident reports, arrest reports, supplemental reports, [...]

What the ongoing worker shortage looks like in Kansas

info2024-09-19T09:14:49-05:00September 19th, 2024|

Where people in Kansas are moving to most. Fewer Americans moved in 2022, according to the latest Census data, but of those who did, 1 in 5 moved to a different state. Population growth has returned to pre-pandemic norms; Southern states continued to record influxes in population, while the Northeast saw the biggest drops, particularly in New York and Pennsylvania. These trends largely continued into last year, according to United Van Lines’ annual movers study. States with the most outbound moves in 2023 were New Jersey, Illinois, and North Dakota, which moved up 15 spots from the year before. Stacker compiled [...]

City launches survey about downtown

info2024-09-19T09:12:35-05:00September 19th, 2024|

The city’s Choose Newton Main Street is asking residents, visitors and business owners to spend 10 minutes to fill out the online survey. If you provide an email, you will also be entered to win one of four $50 gift cards. According to the city’s release, the survey will prepare them for a visit from Kansas Main Street and Main Street America staff in October, aimed at crafting a “2025 Transformation Strategy,” which will be a plan to revitalize or strengthen downtown Newton’s economy. “The goal is to get community engagement and input for our downtown so that we can set [...]

Savonburg speaks

info2024-09-19T09:10:32-05:00September 19th, 2024|

Residents seek progress on goals from a community conversation hosted by Thrive Allen County. This year's event addressed matters brought up last year , with small steps made toward their top concerns. Savonburg residents want to see more action taken towards their goals for improvement. Since they met a year ago, small steps have been made towards what they deemed the top three concerns at the time — electrical grid improvements, community involvement, and the town’s appearance. A small group of citizens gathered in the community building Tuesday evening to revisit and revise these goals during Thrive Allen County’s latest community [...]

1969 fire truck to retire

info2024-09-19T09:09:13-05:00September 19th, 2024|

A 1969 fire truck is being retired and the Solid Waste Department has purchased a 1996 Ford F350 Brush Fire Truck from the city of Wilson for $14,300. Solid Waste Director Jennifer Hamby asked the Barton County Commission to officially approve the purchase at Tuesday’s commission meeting. The truck was purchased through the Purple Wave online auction site and the funds will come from the budget for the county landfill. There are areas at the landfill that are prone to fires even though the Solid Waste Department has taken measures for fire suppression. Some time back, the department bought an old [...]

Olathe moves ahead with STAR bond district for ‘ultra-accessible’ amusement park, sport arena

info2024-09-19T09:07:37-05:00September 19th, 2024|

Loretto Properties’ plan to build an “ultra-accessible” special incentive district featuring an amusement park, a 5,000-seat multisport complex, housing, retail, dining and a medical facility for individuals with disabilities easily cleared its first hurdle this week. The company — run by Lamar Hunt Jr. and his son-in-law James Arkell — has requested a Sales Tax and Revenue, or STAR, bond district. The total estimate for the price tag of the first planned phase of development at the southwest corner of 119th Street and Renner Boulevard covering about 64 acres costs about $300 million. An official amount has yet to be set, [...]

Prairie Village shuts down big changes to property tax rebate program

info2024-09-19T09:06:23-05:00September 19th, 2024|

One Prairie Village program to provide tax relief for residents is remaining relatively unchanged, despite one councilmember’s proposed updates. The Prairie Village City Council on Monday during its committee meeting effectively shut down a proposal by Councilmember Greg Shelton to change the city’s property tax rebate program to emphasize helping young families. Currently, the property tax rebate program gives eligible residents — based only on income levels — the city’s portion of their individual tax bill back as a way to offer some tax relief. The city council discussed Shelton’s proposal to prioritize families as a way to provide relief for [...]

Hillsboro to aid Peabody on water

info2024-09-19T09:04:57-05:00September 19th, 2024|

Hillsboro City Council agreed Tuesday that Hillsboro water system employees would help Peabody with its understaffed public works department. City administrator Matt Stiles discussed Peabody’s staffing with mayor Lou Thurston, Peabody mayor Catherine Weems, and Hillsboro water superintendent and Peabody resident Morgan Marler. “Peabody has seen a lot of employees leave the organization, which has created a situation where they don’t have the required operators or staff to address their system requirements,” Stiles said. Source: Marion County RECORD

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