info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

There is every reason to trust your community banks today

info2023-03-17T12:24:55-05:00March 17th, 2023|

Residents of small towns in Kansas might think that the much-talked-about banking crisis, currently in the headlines, might not affect them. For the most part, they would be correct. But bad practices at the Silicon Valley Bank and the Signature Bank found themselves unable to supply money to their depositors who were depending upon their funds to operate private businesses. Quick action by the Federal Reserve and FDIC led to action by the Federal Government to guarantee all deposits in both banks, and hopefully, avoid the same crisis among other lending institutions. While both banks have been seized and placed up [...]

‘We’ve done so much work’: Amtrak potentially making its way through Wichita

info2023-03-17T10:59:57-05:00March 17th, 2023|

The last time Wichita saw an Amtrak train moving through its neighborhoods was in 1979. Over 40 years later the rumble and whistles could be back. "We've done so much work locally and regionally to prepare Kansas, Department of Transportation, and Oklahoma Department of Transportation to agree that they think that this is a worthy solicitation for those two states to join together to pursue," said Sedgwick County Commissioner, Pete Meitzner. Meitzner said financial issues such as ridership and cost caused the cancellation of many routes. He added whenever there is not enough revenue to cover the cost, the states make [...]

Kansas Supreme Court to make rare visit to rural Kansas

info2023-03-17T10:52:08-05:00March 17th, 2023|

The Kansas Supreme Court is set to visit a town in north central Kansas for the first time in its 162-year history. The justices on the Kansas Supreme Court will travel to Concordia to conduct a special evening session on April 11, according to the Kansas Judicial Branch’s website. This visit is meant to help familiarize Kansans with the court, its work and the overall role played by the Kansas Judiciary. The session will last from 6:30 p.m. to around 8 p.m. at the Concordia High School. All members of the public are invited to attend the special session to learn [...]

Emporia residents urged to help set city’s ‘action plan’ during next week’s visioning meetings

info2023-03-17T12:26:03-05:00March 17th, 2023|

Emporians are asked to give their thoughts on community needs and goals during a pair of visioning meetings on the calendar next week. ... This part of the process connected to funding through the US Department of Agriculture’s Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge approved for Emporia back in November. The RDA is working with Atlas Community Studios on the grant, which is being split between Emporia and Tunica County, Mississippi. The USDA expects results of the grant to include an analysis of broadband Internet capacity for homes and businesses, strategy development to improve local housing, new or enhanced cultural and recreational amenities, [...]

Sales tax cut would cost Humboldt

info2023-03-17T12:28:11-05:00March 17th, 2023|

In late February, the Kansas Senate passed a measure, Senate Bill 248, that eliminates the collection of sales taxes on food for cities and counties as well as that charged by the state. The difference to Humboldt would be about $52,000 garnered from its 1.75% sales tax on designated grocery items. Humboldt collected $462,000 in sales tax revenues for 2022. While that may appear negligible, the fact that state legislators can order such a change goes against the people’s will, Humboldt city administrator Cole Herder said. “It’s not good policy. The people of Humboldt voted to have that tax, and now [...]

Lawrence City Commission to consider land purchase, zoning and code exemption for Pallet Shelter Village

info2023-03-17T12:29:02-05:00March 17th, 2023|

Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday will consider a $725,000 land purchase, a contract for $1.11 million of temporary shelters for people experiencing homelessness, and a resolution suspending zoning and code enforcement on that property for a year. The commission in December approved budgeting $4.5 million of American Rescue Plan Act money — federal COVID-19 relief funds — to purchase modular homes from Pallet, a Washington state-based “Public Benefit Corporation.” The modular Pallet homes, which will include a heating and cooling source but no bathrooms, will be part of a “village setting” that includes restrooms, laundry, shower and community gathering facilities and [...]

Western JoCo development at K-10/Ridgeview paves the way to future opportunity

info2023-03-17T12:29:48-05:00March 17th, 2023|

Two decades ago, Ridgeview Road was a humble gravel road in western Lenexa. By 2020, a $30 million extension transformed it into a path of opportunity for 600 acres of all types of development. The area around the Kansas Highway 10 and Ridgeview interchange now is awash in projects either under construction or approved. News that Panasonic Ltd. is bringing a $4 billion, 4,000-job EV-battery plant down the highway undoubtedly will increase interest in the intersection. But the megaproject isn’t what triggered the current activity. “There was natural growth that was coming this way, whether it’s one plant or several companies [...]

Emporia gets a bit more magical

info2023-03-16T12:37:45-05:00March 16th, 2023|

Emporia Main Street, along with several local businesses, have become the new homes for a collection of Fairy Doors. The community is invited to come downtown starting this week and look high and low (well mostly low) around local businesses for some new and colorful installations. Emporia Main Street launched this concept to provide the community and visitors a fun, free activity to do while visiting downtown and surrounding businesses. “We had such a great response to our interactive murals, and we wanted to produce another initiative that would draw people downtown,” explains Jessica Buchholz, Community Development Coordinator for Emporia Main [...]

Burrton considering request for Sunday liquor sales

info2023-03-16T12:37:12-05:00March 16th, 2023|

Lisa Cokeley, owner of The Wet Spot, asked the Burrton City Council to consider making Sunday sales legal at its March 7 meeting. She later explained that the fact that other little towns in the region already allowed Sunday sales meant that it could be a good opportunity for the business she and her husband purchased about a month ago. She said she didn’t know what legal hoops she or the city would have to jump through to make it a reality. “I’ve talked to others who are doing very well on Sunday sales around here,” she said. Source: Harvey County [...]

Commissioners open to changes in how back taxes are collected

info2023-03-16T12:36:23-05:00March 16th, 2023|

The Board of Harvey County Commissioners appeared willing to consider County Treasurer Becky Fields’s request to change how tax foreclosure actions are handled for people who are behind in their property taxes. Fields asked commissioners three times, including the past two weeks, to repeal the charter amendment the county enacted in May 2019 because she said any taxes paid get applied to the most recent tax bill owed. “That doesn’t help them, because it puts them in a tax sale,” she said. Fields said she wanted the county to follow the state statute whereby someone behind on property taxes could pay [...]

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