Ranson Financial, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

‘Stealing from the kids’: Reward offered for recovery of Jackie Robinson statue

The hunt to find a bronze Jackie Robinson statue and the thieves who stole it from McAdams Park is ramping up. The Wichita Metro Crime Commission and League 42 are offering up to $2,500 for any tip that leads to an arrest, and an additional $5,000 if the statue is recovered. “Our city wants the statue returned. We also want the individuals who robbed our community of a treasure to be held accountable for their actions, and I assure you they will,” Police Chief Joe Sullivan said at a Friday afternoon press conference. One key element of the investigation has been contacting scrap metal businesses from around the region to notify them of the theft. Surveillance footage shows the vandals sawing off the statue at its feet and loading it into a dark-colored, short-bed pickup truck before making off with it early Thursday. “I’m hoping that they didn’t know what they were doing,” Parks Director Troy Houtman said. “If they would just bring it back, no questions asked. We’d move on and repair the statue. Hopefully, they’ll wisen up to do that.” But he said the statue, which is valued at $75,000, will be replaced “one way or another.” “We’re either going to do repairs or replace. We’ve already started investigating on what that’s going to take,” he said. District Attorney Marc Bennett said the window for leniency is rapidly closing.
Source: The Wichita Eagle

Ranson Financial2024-01-29T11:32:23-06:00January 29, 2024|News|

Newest Council Member Brings Grant Writing Experience, Passion To Bentley City Council

A few years ago, Jeff Witherspoon experienced a couple of shootings within a few blocks of their house, so after living in Wichita all his life, Witherspoon and his wife, Rhonda, moved to Bentley. They were already tired of the crime and traffic. So Witherspoon used UbuildIt to build his house and said he chose Bentley, because his biggest challenge in relocating was finding land, and Bentley offered him an affordable lot. Now retired, Witherspoon spent 25 years with Consumer Credit Counseling Service, a nonprofit company, helping people with financial issues. His degrees from Wichita State University include business management and financial planning. Witherspoon said his passion is helping people spend their money more wisely and help them get out of debt. He’s taught some classes at Bentley’s senior center and regularly teaches at nonprofits and schools in Wichita. “It bothers me to see people struggle, and sometimes they struggle for reasons they don’t understand,” Witherspoon said. “There’s people that spend money, and they just feel like that’s the way you’re supposed to do it. But I’m always looking for ways to still survive but to spend less money.” Witherspoon joined the Bentley City Council this month after being elected back in November.
Source: Harvey County Now

Ranson Financial2024-01-29T11:29:32-06:00January 29, 2024|News|

Friends on the Farm gives students a glimpse of agriculture

Area fourth graders attended the 25th annual Friends at the Farm event Thursday at the Finney County Fairgrounds. Carol Deaver, Finney County Farm Bureau Board president, said about 775 fourth grade students attended the event this year from Finney, Gray, Haskell and Kearny Counties. At their first event 25 years ago, they only had 250 students attend, Deaver said. It’s grown considerably since then. Deaver said the goal of the event is to inform students about what happens on farms and ranches in Finney County and southwestern Kansas and how many of the things they use daily originate on a farm or ranch. “Whether a seed or livestock or that kind of thing, people don’t realize all the byproducts that come from out of commodities and livestock raised on farms in addition to food, fiber and energy that we’re all pretty familiar with,” she said. Jennifer Gerber, Finney County Farm Bureau member and County Coordinator, said the event is about helping students make connections between food and where it comes from, it’s what she likes most about the event. She’s gone into classrooms and helped with after school programs and when kids are asked where chocolate milk comes from, unfortunately a lot of times they say brown cows, so she feels events like Friends at the Farm are needed to help people understand where the food comes from.
Source: Garden City Telegram

Ranson Financial2024-01-29T11:26:35-06:00January 29, 2024|News|

LCECC to bring 911derWoman Academy to Emporia next month

The Lyon County Emergency Communications Center will present the 911derWoman Academy: Finding Your Career in 911, from Feb. 6 – 7 at the Anderson Building. 911derWoman Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit started by Sara Weston after the death of her close friend that began as an online support group. The membership of 911derWoman across the world has grown from a group of 100, to over 15,000 women on social media. 911derWoman now not only has a large presence online, but has grown its mission to include educational offerings that are both virtual and in person. According to a written release, the two-day academy will focus on transforming the attendees’ 911 career into a journey of continuous growth and advancement. Attendees will focus on areas of improvement, promotion, and gain the tools, skills, and inspiration to take control, advance their careers and thrive in emergency dispatch.
Source: Emporia Gazette

Ranson Financial2024-01-29T11:18:32-06:00January 29, 2024|News|

Broadband Acceleration Grant makes $10M available

Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland today announced $10 million is available to enhance broadband infrastructure statewide through the Broadband Acceleration Grant program. Grants funded through this program are designed to offset the capital expenses needed to deploy in unserved areas. In its fourth year through the bipartisan Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program (IKE), the Broadband Acceleration Grant program aims to provide high-quality, reliable broadband access throughout the state, prioritizing unserved areas, economically distressed communities, and areas of compelling need. “Empowering communities through broadband infrastructure buildout allows Kansas to lean into our innovative spirit as we grow businesses, keep talent here, and pursue new opportunities,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “The IKE program is a great example of how state agencies, local communities and the private sector provide high speed internet to all Kansans.” During the first three years of this program, high-speed internet has been delivered to 8,000 homes and businesses in 25 counties. The cumulative $15 million generated another $17.5 million in matching funds.
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce

Ranson Financial2024-01-29T11:15:42-06:00January 29, 2024|News|

County discusses possible zoning

At Friday’s county commission meeting, the possibility of zoning the entirety of Crawford County was discussed as a way to combat the building of solar and wind farms within the county. As of now, three-quarters of the county is not zoned, meaning any developer that wants to build such a farm can do so with little interference from the county. Commissioners discussed asking for a moratorium to delay construction of wind and solar farms. According to County Counselor Jim Emerson, a moratorium can only be used to create zoning ordinances, or at the very least, to pass regulations that address some issues. Several neighboring counties are considering the same. Passing zoning laws can allow the county to outright ban the construction of farms in the county. The issue is that zoning laws are very unpopular with Crawford County residents. When broached in the past, the issue was met with angry residents packing the courthouse.
Source: Morning Sun

Ranson Financial2024-01-29T11:11:46-06:00January 29, 2024|News|

Long time, no see

After nearly eight months of restoration, the two-story building known as “Gay Parita” has returned to the town of Carona, which is nestled at the north end of Cherokee County, just five minutes west of Scammon. Under building owner John Parsons’ leadership, the Gay Parita, which has been vacant for decades, is restored to its former state. From the mid-1930s to the mid-1970s, the Gay Parita served as a destination for dance and music lovers from across the Four-State area and beyond. Parsons said in restoring the iconic night spot, he is seeking to bring back its historical relevance. Carona was initially one of the many settlements that sprang up during the coal mining era in southeast Kansas, where immigrants came in the late 1800s, seeking employment in the mines. One of the many immigrants seeking a job included Pete Ferraro, who immigrated from Italy in 1901, according to James M. Green’s historical account from 1985 of the Gay Parita Ballroom. Ferraro soon opened a grocery store that burned down before building another during the prohibition years. In 1934, Ferraro entered a partnership with Frank (Chee Chee) Parise, building a huge ballroom for $11,000. The two inserted a local newspaper advertisement announcing a contest for the new ballroom’s name. The name “Gay Parita” was chosen and the opening night of the ever-popular event center was June 23, 1934.
Source: Morning Sun

Ranson Financial2024-01-29T11:09:29-06:00January 29, 2024|News|

Kansas communities receiving $1.4 million in rural economic development grants

21 projects across Kansas will receive almost $1.4 million in funding from the Historic Economic Asset Lifeline (HEAL) grant program. The program, which receives bipartisan support from Governor Kelly and the Kansas Legislature to provide annual allocations, aims to help rural communities revitalize downtown buildings and create safer downtowns with more job opportunities. Projects being funded in this round of awards include upper-story housing, child care facilities, retail businesses, and restaurants. In addition, the projects will receive more than $3.4 million in private local matching funds. “Vibrant, safe downtowns spur economic growth by attracting businesses and jobs and establishing community pride,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Investments like this bring life back into these communities and are instrumental to their long-term success.” The Kansas Department of Commerce’s Office of Rural Prosperity, Community Development Division, and Kansas Main Street collaborate on HEAL to revitalize underutilized and dilapidated downtown structures where the cost to rehabilitate exceeds the limit that conventional financing can cover. Downtown landmarks that get new life breathed into them through HEAL are transformed into spaces that serve multiple purposes. Projects are to be completed within two years.
Source: KAKE News

Ranson Financial2024-01-29T11:05:06-06:00January 29, 2024|News|

New fire engine arrives in Holton

It’s been almost 25 years since Holton’s volunteer fire department welcomed a new fire engine with a high aerial ladder for fighting fires from above. But shortly after 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, a brand-new fire engine with a 109-foot aerial ladder — 44 feet longer than the aerial ladder on the fire department’s previous “first-out” fire truck — arrived in Holton, and members of the fire department were on hand to welcome it. “We’ve been wanting a new aerial for about 10 years,” Holton Fire Chief Scott Baum said on the arrival of the new fire engine, purchased through Hays Fire and Rescue Sales and Service of Hays and built by Rosenbauer Motors of Wyoming, Minn., where Baum and four other firefighters visited earlier in the week to give the new fire engine it’s final inspection. On Thursday, after a long and arduous two-day drive through snowpacked Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri, that “new aerial” was backed into a rear bay at Holton’s Public Safety Building by Greg Moody of Hays Fire. Baum said he plans to get Holton’s firefighters trained on all aspects of the new fire engine before making it the department’s “first-out” vehicle. In the meantime, the department’s current “first-out” truck, a vehicle with a 65-foot aerial ladder in service since 1999, will remain in service. “We’ve got some training coming up,” Baum said. “We’re going to go over the aerial operations and the general operations of it all, and then as a department, we’re going to train on it and make sure that we’re knowledgeable on all the parts.”
Source: Holton Recorder

Ranson Financial2024-01-29T11:00:41-06:00January 29, 2024|News|

Salina remains proactive with ‘forever chemicals’

Substances that are commonly referred to as “forever chemicals” show up in everyday items and as they are now being found in drinking water systems across the United States, cities like Salina are taking steps to figure out what’s next. … Martha Tasker, director of utilities for the City of Salina, said the city’s public water supply system was first tested for PFAS in 2014, with results returning as “non-detect,” but at the time, they were testing in parts-per billion, and since then the standards for testing have changed.
Source: Salina Journal

Ranson Financial2024-01-28T08:41:07-06:00January 28, 2024|News|

About Ranson Financial

‘Stealing from the kids’: Reward offered for recovery of Jackie Robinson statue

Newest Council Member Brings Grant Writing Experience, Passion To Bentley City Council

Friends on the Farm gives students a glimpse of agriculture

LCECC to bring 911derWoman Academy to Emporia next month

Broadband Acceleration Grant makes $10M available

County discusses possible zoning

Long time, no see

Kansas communities receiving $1.4 million in rural economic development grants

New fire engine arrives in Holton

Salina remains proactive with ‘forever chemicals’

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