News – Page 1094 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Fed’s Mester backs half-point rate hikes in June and July

info2022-05-16T01:37:47-05:00May 16th, 2022|

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester backed raising interest rates by half percentage points at the central bank’s next two policy meetings in order to tamp down surging inflation. “Unless there are some big surprises, I expect it to be appropriate to raise the policy rate another 50 basis points at each of our next two meetings,” Mester said Friday in prepared remarks for a virtual appearance at the International Research Forum on Monetary Policy. Central bankers raised interest rates by a half point at their meeting earlier this month and Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that similar moves [...]

Governor vetoes bill that would limit actions on infectious disease

info2022-05-16T06:57:31-05:00May 16th, 2022|

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has vetoed a bill from the Legislature that would prohibit governing bodies and public officials from taking certain actions related to infectious diseases, such as mask mandates. The bill also limits the powers of the state health secretary related to the enforcement of a quarantine and requiring student vaccinations. Senate Bill 34 was a response to actions taken by local government to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Source: Country 101.3 KFDI

Rural housing grants available to prepare for future cheese plant boom

info2022-05-16T07:04:43-05:00May 16th, 2022|

New state housing development resources have been made available since Governor Laura Kelly this month signed House Bill 2237 allocating $62 million for, among other rural housing support programs, the state’s Moderate Income Housing Program. This is good news for Dodge City and the surrounding regions where rural communities, like those in Clark, Hodgeman and Meade Counties, hope to meet the housing needs associated with the arrival of the Hilmar Cheese Company plant and the dairies destined to be a part of its supply chain. The plant is scheduled to break ground later this year, and with it as many as [...]

Andover construction demand stressing already backlogged industry

info2022-05-16T01:26:16-05:00May 16th, 2022|

It's been exactly two weeks since the devastating Andover Tornado left hundreds of people without homes. Now, as insurance claims get sorted out and finalized, the next step might be a waiting game – trying to find a builder. Andover resident Garrett Owen didn't know where to start after the tornado flattened his house. "I couldn't get to the house. There were trees down everywhere," said Owen. But instead of waiting around, he took matters into his own hands, renting a giant excavator and learning how to use it along the way. "Watching YouTube, and I talked to a couple of [...]

Record-setting Wichita housing market making it tough for Andover victims to find somewhere to go

info2022-05-16T01:23:32-05:00May 16th, 2022|

While many areas of the country are reporting improvements in the housing market, it's the complete opposite here in Wichita. New data from South Central Kansas MLS says the housing supply is lower than it's ever been, leaving people like Andover Tornado victims who need immediate housing nowhere to turn. "That's been a huge need. We have some families that have been displaced and have moved on to other family members, but we've also seen a lot of families that are temporarily housed in a hotel or motel," said Dulcy Palnau with The Salvation Army. Palnau has been working with families [...]

Biden Administration Releases $45B for Broadband to States

info2022-05-16T01:12:00-05:00May 16th, 2022|

The Biden administration on Friday made $45 billion in broadband funding from the bipartisan infrastructure act available to the states, emphasizing that they make sure any internet service that’s built is affordable not only to those with low incomes but to the middle class as well. “The internet is absolutely essential to every American’s success,” Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves told reporters on a call. “That’s why it’s unacceptable that in 2022, millions of Americans are still without it.” In addition, the department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration emphasized in its notice of funding opportunity that states should make the dollars [...]

Deputy commerce secretary: Kansas is moving into a new class in competing for companies

info2022-05-16T07:00:44-05:00May 16th, 2022|

Kansas Deputy Commerce Secretary Paul Hughes on Thursday said that Kansas is moving into an entirely new class of competition for attracting big companies to the state. Hughes spoke at the Flint Hills Regional Leaders Retreat, which was Thursday and Friday at the Manhattan Conference Center. The retreat is an event of the Manhattan, Junction City and Wamego chambers of commerce. Hughes’ presentation comes just weeks after Gov. Laura Kelly announced plans for a new $650 million manufacturing plant to come to Manhattan. But the state is looking at new ways to be competitive in attracting even bigger projects. Source: themercury.com

Shielded for growth: Wichita leaders see promise in cybersecurity

info2022-05-16T01:03:09-05:00May 16th, 2022|

One of the nation’s fastest-growing industries is finding a fast foothold in Wichita. The city in the past year has attracted cybersecurity companies from both coasts, attracted by the cost and availability of talent, and the growth of industry resources locally. And with data security taking on heightened importance in the post-pandemic age of remote work and differentiating resources already in play, local stakeholders see the industry as potentially emerging as one of Wichita’s best opportunities at economic diversification. “I think there has been a lot more awareness around it and intentionality (in attracting the industry),” says Adrienne Korson, director of economic [...]

Lawrence’s police review board approves new task force; conflict between law enforcement and DA’s office not addressed

info2022-05-16T01:00:47-05:00May 16th, 2022|

The Lawrence Community Police Review Board on Thursday advanced a charter to create a new Community-Police Oversight Task Force. The CPRB has long wanted greater authority than the scope that city law currently allows — a scope so narrow that since the board was created in 2018, it has not reviewed a single complaint. The current ordinance only allows CPRB members to review appeals of the police department’s decisions in complaints about bias-based policing. Starting in 2020, at the direction of the Lawrence City Commission, board members began drafting an ordinance that expanded its duties. But an outside consultant’s review of the [...]

Wyandotte County court system still impacted by cyber attack

info2022-05-16T00:59:11-05:00May 16th, 2022|

The cybersecurity threat that’s caused turmoil for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County is nearly a month old. It's left many offices in Kansas City, Kansas, operating without computer systems — “old school,” so to speak — with no word on when computer access will be restored. County leaders first announced that an attack had taken place on April 16. One courthouse worker described this as “a pain.” Two people involved in this county’s judicial process confirmed trouble with their digital network is ongoing. This concern, which as FOX4 has reported, might be a ransomware attack, has Wyandotte County’s court system [...]