News – Page 1274 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

TIF District approved for bare land

info2021-11-17T07:41:32-06:00November 17th, 2021|

Finney County Economic Development Corporation is working with Western Kansas Corridor LLC on the development of property located at the northeast quadrant of the north interchange of U.S. Highway 50/400 and U.S. Highway 83. ... Lona DuVall, President/CEO of the FCEDC said the Western Corridor TIF is ... primarily a way for the developer to pay for the cost of establishing infrastructure in a bare piece of agricultural ground by way of utilities, roads, water runoff, etc. ... the way Kansas law is written in regards to creating a TIF is the city has to make the termination that the property [...]

Lawrence-Douglas County continues discussion of solar farm regulations

info2021-11-17T07:33:44-06:00November 17th, 2021|

As part of its meeting Monday, the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission continued its discussion of new zoning regulations for rural Douglas County for commercial or utility-scale “solar energy conversion systems,” or solar farms. A committee has been working with planners to make revisions to the draft regulations, and committee chair Jim Carpenter said they were taking great care in that process. “We’ve not seen a text amendment come forward like this before that is of such big scale or duration,” Carpenter said. “We are trying to work out the rules here to allow industrial scale solar out in the rural parts [...]

Municipal Bond Trends for November 16, 2021

info2021-11-17T07:31:37-06:00November 17th, 2021|

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS "investment grade" yields. Every issuer's credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.

TikTok 911: Lyon County dispatch draws a crowd

info2021-11-17T07:52:46-06:00November 17th, 2021|

TikTok isn't only for teenagers and milk crate stacking anymore. It's now used by Lyon County first responders. The Lyon County Emergency Communication Center launched its own TikTok feed in late August. It's now approaching 4,800 followers. “See a new side of dispatch,” a Facebook post about the feed said this past week. The first TikTok post was serious, marking “National I Am 911” Day. Other videos are humorous, with several “education bloopers” available. Source: Emporia Gazette

Gov. Kelly Announces Legislature Will Reconvene Nov. 22nd

info2021-11-17T07:24:30-06:00November 16th, 2021|

Governor Kelly announced Friday that she will use her constitutional power to reconvene the Kansas Legislature for a special session on November 22. This after the Legislature filed a petition with 86 signatures from members of the Kansas House and 29 members of the Kansas Senate, surpassing the two-thirds majority needed for a legislative petition. The focus of the special session will be the Biden administrations string of federal vaccine mandates and ways to protect Kansas workers who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Source: Country 101.3 KFDI

U.S. 69 toll lane project to expand, with Overland Park paying an extra $10 million

info2021-11-16T17:05:48-06:00November 16th, 2021|

The Overland Park City Council on Monday agreed to add an additional $10 million in local costs to the U.S. 69 toll lane project, which will now include the reconstruction of the 167th Street interchange. This past spring, the council approved the first phase of the U.S. 69 expansion, to widen the highway to six lanes from 103rd to 151st streets — a $300 million project paid for in part by making one lane in each direction an express toll lane. Drivers could choose to pay a toll for a faster commute. The other lanes would remain free. Now, thanks to [...]

Health officials concerned over COVID-19 uptick as holidays approach, mask mandates end

info2021-11-17T07:27:13-06:00November 16th, 2021|

The rolling average of new COVID-19 cases in the Kansas City area continued to increase for the second consecutive week, raising the concerns of health officials ahead of the holidays. The upswing in cases has health officials concerned what will happen in the coming months as mask mandates have been allowed to expire and people head indoors for the winter months and for holiday celebrations. “When you start taking off masks and you go indoors, people are going to get sick again and we’re going to see the increasing rise of COVID-19 numbers,” said Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at [...]

Lawrence community celebrates new mural at Cottin’s Hardware

info2021-11-17T07:27:39-06:00November 16th, 2021|

A crowd gathered Sunday to celebrate the completion of a new mural at Cottin’s Hardware, 1832 Massachusetts St. Artists Dave Loewenstein, Ardys Ramberg and Missy McCoy got started on the mural, “Tiempo de la Tierra,” on Sept. 7, just after the Lawrence City Commission gave it final approval. Loewenstein, conservation leader Brett Ramey, a member of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, and Haskell Indian Nations University Professor Daniel Wildcat, a Yuchi member of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma, spoke eloquently and with passion about the mural, our community, the global community and the precarious situation our earth is in, Tom Harper [...]

“A Bolder Humboldt” initiative aimed at making the town a vibrant place to live and visit

info2021-11-17T07:28:34-06:00November 16th, 2021|

Ten years ago, Humboldt, Kansas, was a lot like thousands of small towns across the United States. Economic and social shifts had left the once-booming downtown feeling eerily abandoned. Walmart stores had opened up to the north and south of town, “sucking the life out,” as one local man put it. A highway bypass had been built. And, because of mechanization, the many farms in the area required fewer workers. As a result, many storefronts were empty and the town population was dwindling. But the residents of this town of 1900 people didn’t give up. The area economy was actually quite [...]

Save Century II activists want safeguards to prevent renaming the center for money

info2021-11-17T07:28:48-06:00November 16th, 2021|

The Century II Convention and Performing Arts Center will be Century II for the foreseeable future, but City Hall and its recently approved private management company could seek to rename parts of the facility for those who are willing to pay. City Manager Robert Layton said Tuesday that the city would be unlikely to get any bids for renaming the entire Century II, but there could be some opportunities to sell naming rights within the facility. Layton gave that update in response to questions raised by supporters of the Save Century II movement at Tuesday’s council meeting and in an earlier [...]