info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Chalk the Town colors Hutchinson with positivity

info2023-07-07T11:32:52-05:00July 7th, 2023|

The City of Hutchison, Downtown Hutchison and Kara Vaughn hosted their second day of the 2023 Chalk the Town Event at Carey Park Sunday. The event was inspired by Vaughn’s viral TikTok video. The video gained over 30 million views when Vaughn’s landlord told her to remove her chalk art. In response, Downtown Hutchinson and the City of Hutchinson teamed up with Vaughn to host the two-day event. Participants were able to take part in demonstrations and prize drawings, as well as a scavenger hunt to find chalk creations around the park. Despite her situation, Vaughn says she is excited to [...]

Mission to consider updating tax abatement policy

info2023-07-07T14:18:18-05:00July 7th, 2023|

The Mission City Council is set to consider an updated tax abatement policy later this month. This comes after two developers for separate apartment projects, 58 Nall and Milhaus, asked the city for tax abatements in the last year.... The policy was drafted following a May 31 city council work session and presented to the finance and administration committee on July 5. ... developers who are approved for a tax abatement in Mission would pay 55% of their property taxes to the city. Developers must meet eight criteria in order to qualify for the 45% tax abatement, including a minimum capital [...]

Kansas audit of election security exposes strengths weaknesses of voting systems

info2023-07-07T14:19:03-05:00July 7th, 2023|

The auditing division of the Kansas Legislature reported Thursday election officials in more than a dozen counties studied maintained adequate overall security practices and management of election computers but raised questions about the security of ballots and vote tabulation machines. The objective of the review was to provide a partial picture of Kansas’ election security by comparing practices in Kansas against a set of policies recommended by federal election regulators. “Our results showed Kansas counties have many practices for ensuring the accuracy and security of elections,” the report delivered to House and Senate members said. “They’re also missing or have weak [...]

Desire for Interest on Deposits Is Bad for Main Street Banks

info2023-07-06T09:19:03-05:00July 6th, 2023|

When the Fed started raising interest rates to fight inflation, the conventional wisdom was that it would be a boon for Main Street banks. They were expected to increase the rates they charged on loans faster than those paid to depositors, pocketing the difference. Instead, the opposite is happening. The Fed’s hikes and the failures of a trio of midsize banks are prompting once-loyal customers to pull their money out of checking accounts that pay no interest. Banks are paying much higher rates on the deposits they are retaining, which is eclipsing the benefit of charging more on loans. They also [...]

Anyone missing a pet in the Wichita area? This one is hard to miss Kansas police say

info2023-07-06T09:17:59-05:00July 6th, 2023|

Andover police Lt. Joe Hardy got one of the strangest calls he’s had in his decades in law enforcement Wednesday. “I got a call that somebody had a giant, 10-foot-plus python in their yard,” he said. “I was thinking it would not be a python. So I went out there and I was like, ‘Wow, for once the reporting party is actually totally correct.’” The 10-foot report was conservative. An animal handler who was then called guessed it was more like 15 feet. Andover allows only snakes under 6 feet. Hardy thinks the yellow and white snake is a Burmese python, [...]

Fed sees more rate hikes ahead but at a slower pace meeting minutes show

info2023-07-06T09:16:32-05:00July 6th, 2023|

Almost all Federal Reserve officials at their June meeting indicated further policy tightening is likely, if at a slower pace than the rapid-fire rate increases that had characterized monetary policy since early 2022, according to minutes released Wednesday. Policymakers decided against a rate increase amid concerns over economic growth, even though most members think further hikes are on the way. Citing the lagged impact of policy and other concerns, they saw room to skip the June meeting after enacting 10 straight rate increases. Officials felt that "leaving the target range unchanged at this meeting would allow them more time to assess [...]

A tourism hub in Eudora? City proposes a $40M to $50M entertainment district with a 5,000-seat venue

info2023-07-06T08:36:49-05:00July 6th, 2023|

As Panasonic’s battery plant prepares to supercharge job growth along Kansas Highway 10, Eudora has a plan to electrify the area’s tourism scene, too: a 5,000-seat entertainment venue and a slew of new retail and dining options. The proposed development, which would be just south of K-10 and could cost between $40 million and $50 million, is still early in the planning stages, Mayor Tim Reazin told the Journal-World — so early that it doesn’t even have a name yet. But he and other Eudora leaders have high hopes for this entertainment district project — they envision the entertainment venue hosting [...]

Lawrence’s Historic Resources Code will soon get its first update since being adopted in 1988

info2023-07-06T08:35:37-05:00July 6th, 2023|

The chapter of Lawrence’s city code responsible for creating the local register of historic places and establishing the Lawrence Historic Resources Commission will soon get its first update in more than three decades, and city planning staff hopes those changes will make the code clearer and more streamlined. The Conservation of Historic Resources Code was first adopted nearly 35 years ago in late 1988, and the Historic Resources Commission is now seeking further public feedback before making any changes official. Historic Resources Administrator Lynne Braddock Zollner spoke with the Journal-World Wednesday and detailed a few of them. Source: LJWorld

KANcycle bike sharing expands into Lindsborg, supporting community health and recreation

info2023-07-06T08:17:56-05:00July 6th, 2023|

Lindsborg locals and visitors alike now have a new way to cruise around Little Sweden USA. A bike-sharing program through OCCK Transportation known as KANcycle officially launched in the small town this week. Lindsborg city leaders met for a ribbon-cutting and a celebratory "thank you" to partners who helped expand the program across rural Kansas. KANcycle got its start in June 2019, and now boasts 80 bikes and 16 stations located in Belleville, Beloit, Concordia, Ellsworth, Lincoln, Mankato, Minneapolis, Salina, and now, Lindsborg. The ride-share program aims to provide convenient, affordable access to bicycles as an easy, fun, healthy and eco-friendly [...]

Kansas taxes $874M over estimates

info2023-07-06T08:14:46-05:00July 6th, 2023|

Kansas taxpayers paid more to tax collectors than expected over the past 12 months, and politicians are eyeing tax cuts next year after failing to agree on how to provide tax relief this year. Taxpayers paid roughly $10.2 billion in taxes to Kansas state government in the past fiscal year, with tax receipts to the State General Fund beating original projections by $874 million, according to newly released data from the Kansas Department of Revenue. Source: CJonline

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