info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Lawrence may become first city in Kansas to protect Black residents from hair discrimination

info2023-08-23T11:01:09-05:00August 23rd, 2023|

According to a CROWN 2023 Workplace Research Study, approximately two-thirds of Black women change their hair for a job interview, and 41% change their hair from curly to straight. “We know that the traditional white standard of beauty is one that is centered in professional settings, and that is something that Black women and men have had to conform to, and that takes them out of their identity of who they are,” Lawrence City Commissioner Amber Sellers told KCUR's Up To Date. Sellers was one of the commissioners who voted to adopt the CROWN Act, which stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for [...]

SEED Grants Available to Invest in Rural Quality-of-Life Initiatives

info2023-08-23T10:59:13-05:00August 23rd, 2023|

Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland announced today that $275,000 will be available through a second round of Strategic Economic Expansion and Development (SEED) grants. The SEED program supports economic development and revitalization efforts in smaller counties across Kansas through investments in quality-of-life initiatives. “SEED grants help improve community appeal and have already been game-changing for more than 60 cities across the state,” said Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland. “The Kelly Administration is committed to developing community assets and investing in new opportunities that will support growth in rural areas throughout Kansas.” The grants will be [...]

Hollywood studio comes to Kansas: Pure Imagination will set up a $40M site at K-State Salina campus

info2023-08-23T07:49:32-05:00August 23rd, 2023|

Officials from across the state were in Salina on Tuesday morning as a $40 million partnership was announced between Kansas State University and an independent Hollywood studio. Kansas Lt. Gov. and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said Pure Imagination Studios is partnering with K-State to bring a 58,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art, advanced spatial computing and learning studio to the university’s Salina Aerospace and Technology Campus. ... Named the Kansas Advanced Immersive Research for Emerging Systems (K-AIRES) facility, Toland said the studio is set to employ more than 100 people in “high-wage, highly-skilled positions.” Source: Hutch News

Landlords’ lawsuit against City of Lawrence over source of income, immigration status will continue, judge rules

info2023-08-22T08:15:06-05:00August 21st, 2023|

A lawsuit arguing that changes to the City of Lawrence’s nondiscrimination ordinance, which now prohibits landlords from refusing to accept rental applications based on source of income, are unconstitutional is set to continue following a ruling Monday in Douglas County District Court. Along with preventing landlords from refusing applications from tenants who receive rental assistance such as Section 8 housing vouchers, the amended nondiscrimination ordinance approved by the Lawrence City Commission in February also makes it unlawful to discriminate based on someone’s status as a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking or stalking, and based on someone’s immigration status. [...]

Property taxes could be fully refunded for some Wichitans next year

info2023-08-21T00:38:34-05:00August 21st, 2023|

The City of Wichita is considering a temporary program to knock property taxes down to zero for seniors, lower-income families and disabled veterans who qualify. The City wants to piggyback on a state program that offers a 75% property tax refund. People already receiving the state refund would be able to apply for an extra 25% refund from the City of Wichita, which would fully cover property taxes. The 25% refund was added in an amendment to the proposed budget for 2024 this week, but it won't be set in stone until the City holds a final public hearing Tuesday and [...]

Public Transit: Countywide Transportation Program in Bourbon County

info2023-08-21T00:37:39-05:00August 21st, 2023|

In the coming weeks, folks in Bourbon County will have a source of public transportation. "Right now currently there's only one option for public transportation and that's through a taxi service here in Fort Scott," said Rachel Carpenter, HBCAT Director for the Center of Economic Growth. On August 28th, the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team will partner with the Southeast Kansas Community Action Program to bring a county-wide public transportation service to Bourbon County. "Transportation has always been an issue, especially wheelchair-accessible transportation. We've been serving Crawford County, Pittsburg, Neosho County for several years and we've been looking to get back [...]

New funds released to preserve history in Kansas small towns

info2023-08-21T07:29:35-05:00August 21st, 2023|

Governor Laura Kelly announced Friday that new federal funding will be going toward preserving the history of rural Kansas towns. A total of $750,000 will be used to preserve historic properties in the downtown areas of Kansas' rural communities with populations under 30,000, according to a press release from the Office of the Governor. Thirteen subgrant programs across 12 states received funds through the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants, including the Kansas Historical Society's State Historic Preservation Office. “Kansas is home to many historical and cultural sites that tell the story of our state’s and our nation’s past,” Kelly said. “Thanks [...]

Committee recommends City of Lawrence nix sustainability board, consolidate others

info2023-08-21T00:35:25-05:00August 21st, 2023|

A committee’s revised plan to update the city’s many boards recommends that the Sustainability Advisory Board and Public Incentives Review Committee be dissolved, among numerous other changes. Over the last several months, the Board and Commissions Structure Committee has been tasked with limiting the number of city advisory boards, committees, commissions and task forces to 10, not counting those that are required by state statutes. In a previous draft recommendation, the committee suggested consolidating 13 boards down to five and nixing another. The update comes after an online questionnaire and two listening sessions. Source: The Lawrence Times

Lawrence community memorializes victims of Quantrill’s Raid as 160th anniversary approaches

info2023-08-21T00:33:38-05:00August 21st, 2023|

Lawrence community members gathered at the Watkins Museum of History Saturday morning for the annual reading of the names of known victims who died in Quantrill’s Raid. Monday, Aug. 21 will mark 160 years since the proslavery forces attacked the town, largely considered an antislavery stronghold, killing between roughly 160 and 200 people and destroying much of the property. The town quickly rose from the ashes as the people rebuilt. Anthony Boynton, writer and member of B.L.A.C.K. Lawrence, gave an original reading during the event. He said it was a poem written from the perspective of someone who knows history has [...]

Why the Era of Historically Low Interest Rates Could Be Over

info2023-08-21T07:33:09-05:00August 21st, 2023|

Despite the Federal Reserve’s raising interest rates to a 22-year high, the economy remains surprisingly resilient, with estimates putting third-quarter growth on pace to easily exceed its 2% trend. It is one of the factors leading some economists to question whether rates will ever return to the lower levels that prevailed before 2020 even if inflation returns to the Fed’s 2% target over the next few years. ... At issue is what is known as the neutral rate of interest. It is the rate at which the demand and supply of savings is in equilibrium, leading to stable economic growth and inflation. ... [...]

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