News – Page 1224 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Sedgwick County Reaches Record Number of COVID-19 Hospitalizations

info2022-01-17T20:32:52-06:00January 17th, 2022|

New data released by Sedgwick County on Monday, Jan. 17th, shows 277 patients are currently hospitalized with the virus. Of that amount, 80 are patients with COVID-19 in the Intensive Care Unit. The number of hospitalized patients marks a new record since the pandemic began. In addition, the latest data shows a rolling 14-day average positive test rate of 22.1%–another record high, surpassing the previous percentage from November 2020. Source: Country 101.3 KFDI

“Axe the Food Tax” Bill Formally Introduced on Friday

info2022-01-17T20:31:20-06:00January 17th, 2022|

Kansas House Democrats and Republicans formally introduced the #AxeTheFoodTax bill on Friday, Jan. 14th. The bill cuts the state sales tax on food purchased at Kansas grocery stores and farmers’ markets from 6.5% to 0%. It’s estimated that this would save the average Kansas family roughly $500 per year. Governor Kelly said that if passed, the new tax law could go into effect as soon as July 1, 2022. Source: Country 101.3 KFDI

Record COVID surge closes some schools, invokes mask mandate at others

info2022-01-18T07:23:58-06:00January 17th, 2022|

An unprecedented surge in new COVID-19 cases has canceled classes at Peabody and Goessel and added Marion and Peabody schools to nine others identified as COVID “clusters” statewide. Local school and health officials did not announce the surge to media. It was discovered via routine checking of state data and social media feeds for parents and students. According to state data, the county recorded a record 34 new cases Tuesday — 9 more than the previous single-day record, set the Monday after Thanksgiving this year. Source: HILLSBORO Star-Journal

Billions are at stake in how the government defines a place as rural

info2022-01-17T20:28:50-06:00January 17th, 2022|

A town of 1,000 people feels like a rural place to someone from Chicago. To a person living in a town of 200 people, that population of 1,000 feels almost urban. But what the government defines as rural determines tens of billions of dollars a year in spending aimed at propping up America's small or remote places. Houston, Missouri, a town of 2,500 tucked into the hills of the Ozarks near the Arkansas border, takes pride as the hometown of famous clown Emmett Kelly. It holds an annual festival named in his memory. The residents pride themselves on a small-town, rural [...]

COVID Relief funds used for new internet antenna in Pittsburg

info2022-01-17T20:26:06-06:00January 17th, 2022|

The City of Pittsburg will soon be expanding internet access for local students. City commissioners approved the varience of a new antenna for the DragonNet system. The program went into operation last year in January to provide internet for students in Pittsburg community schools. The new antenna will be located at the USD 250 School Board office, and will be one of three new sites throughout Pittsburg to help areas with limited coverage after the initial rollout. "Almost all of the work that students are doing requires some level of internet access these days. It puts them on an equal footing. [...]

Louisburg extends FLIP program through 2022

info2022-01-18T07:27:03-06:00January 17th, 2022|

The Louisburg City Council at its Dec. 6 meeting approved continuing the Faces of Louisburg Improvement Program (FLIP) for commercial and residential properties through 2022. Business owners and residents can apply to the city when making improvements to the front of their businesses or homes. The council doubled the amount of money that can be reimbursed for a residential project, from $500 to $1,000. A staff report noted almost half of the residential projects made improvements of more than $2,000, with six of those projects making upgrades of more than $3,000 in the past two years. Source: Local News | republic-online.com

Lenexa will prioritize certain homes for popular exterior grant program reimbursing improvements

info2022-01-17T20:22:39-06:00January 17th, 2022|

The city of Lenexa is revising its increasingly popular exterior grant program to prioritize home projects most in need of improvements. After expanding the city’s exterior grant program from a few select neighborhoods to citywide, Lenexa is now revising the program in order to reduce the number of eligible applicants and focus program funding on older homes and those with lower appraised values in order to make the biggest impacts on neighborhoods. In 2021, the city funded 11 of the 356 exterior grant applications it received, according to a city memo. In turn, the program generated more than $100,000 in investment in [...]

‘Take action’: Mayors urge Johnson County to mandate masks during record COVID surge

info2022-01-17T19:04:32-06:00January 17th, 2022|

Several Johnson County mayors want rules that require face masks in public spaces extended to the entire county after municipal leaders approved similar mandates in four cities this week. The new rules come as COVID-19 cases soar to record highs on the back of the highly contagious omicron variant, which is pushing already strained area hospitals and even morgues to the brink. This week the city councils of Roeland Park, Mission, Prairie Village and Fairway each voted to implement a requirement that anyone visiting public spaces wear face masks or pay a $25 fine. Those rules take effect Jan. 18 and [...]

The story behind the renaissance of Humboldt, Kansas

info2022-01-17T19:03:41-06:00January 17th, 2022|

It might not be growing in population, but Humboldt, Kansas is one town that has defied the odds in other ways. Drive around town and there is a coffee shop, a frame shop, a working 19th century cabinet shop that makes high-end furniture, a shaved ice shop, a candy shop and four restaurants. As 2020 dawned, a family restaurant with a microbrewery and a new grocery store were in the offing, along with more building and construction, more businesses coming to town. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, a force that’s been devastating to small businesses across the country. City offices and [...]

Slow return to normal: Employees still needed in Salina, despite drop in unemployment

info2022-01-17T09:18:54-06:00January 17th, 2022|

In Salina, businesses and employers across several industries are looking for workers and many are offering incentives to new hires. The November 2021 labor force and unemployment report, which is the latest available from the Kansas Department of Labor, showed Saline County with an unemployment rate of 2.5%. This rate is a significant drop from the highest during the pandemic, April 2020, which saw the county’s unemployment rate reach 10.7%. For comparison, the report from November 2019 showed a 2.7% unemployment rate. Salina and the north-central Kansas region are doing well with employment compared to other places in the state ... [...]