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A new partnership between Fort Hays Tech Northwest and the Goodland Police Department may help speed up investigations for the department. ... The school says the agreement will establish a fully functioning fingerprint lab at the Goodland Police Department. Source: KSN-TV

The Villalobos family has been raising chickens in their backyard for five years. "So, at the start of COVID, we got chickens. We decided to hedge against some security. As everything started locking down, we wanted the kids to have something to do for fun, and it also gave us eggs," Jeremy Villalobos said. Source: KSN-TV

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer's credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

Gov. Laura Kelly on Thursday signed seven more bills, bringing to 29 the number of pieces of legislation that she has signed into law this year. So far, she has vetoed four bills, including two on Monday. She has been overridden twice so far, with the Legislature scheduled to return April 10 for more veto override votes. She has allowed three bills to become law without her signature. Source: Sunflower State Journal

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Friday that he expects President Donald Trump's tariffs to raise inflation and lower growth, and indicated that the central bank won't move on interest rates until it gets a clearer picture on the ultimate impacts. In a speech delivered before business journalists in Arlington, Va., Powell said the Fed faces a "highly uncertain outlook" because of the new reciprocal levies the president announced Wednesday. Though he said the economy currently looks strong, he stressed the threat that tariffs pose and indicated that the Fed will be focused on keeping inflation in check. Source: Bonds

Should Wichita’s mayor have more power? Or should an unelected city manager continue to be the city’s most powerful official? As it stands, the mayor is the only official elected citywide. But she has no executive powers and can’t enact her agenda without the support of three other council members, who represent smaller districts. The city manager, who is appointed by the council, prepares the budget, chooses department heads and manages the daily operations of the city government. Source: Wichita Kansas Local News, Crime & More |

The upcoming Rural Living Resource Fair will seek to connect community members with experts and resources designed for rural living, including a range of local vendors. The event, hosted by K-State Research and Extension Douglas County, is set for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 12 at the county fairgrounds. It’s free and open to all, and no registration is required. Local experts will be present to speak on topics such as zoning and codes; well and pond management; prairie, wildlife and woodland management; brush clearing and noxious weed control; land preservation and more, according to a news release announcing the [...]

Five of the six southwest Kansas counties reporting measles cases have seen kindergarten vaccination rates drop, one showing a 24 percentage point dip over a four-year period. Vaccination rates are one focus of many Kansas county health officers and medical experts as they work to educate against misinformation about vaccines in the hopes of staving off a growing measles outbreak. As of April 2, Kansas has 24 confirmed measles cases in Grant, Gray, Haskell, Kiowa, Morton and Stevens counties, with one case added in the past week. Source: Wichita Kansas Local News, Crime & More |

Gov. Laura Kelly on Friday signed a bill that's intended to create a better climate for keeping hundreds millions of dollars invested in Kansas banks. The legislation adopts a new strategy to encourage local governments to deposit their funds in banks based in Kansas. The bill is intended to ensure taxpayer dollars are invested in local communities, increase economic activity in the state, and provide Kansans access to additional capital to finance investments in their home, business, or community. Source: Sunflower State Journal