News – Page 1328 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

‘The Rail’s Always Been Here’ So Kansas Towns Want Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer Line Revived

info2021-09-20T06:50:50-05:00September 20th, 2021|

Sitting in the middle of Wilson Park near downtown Arkansas City is a massive, black steam engine from 1910. The city restored the old Atchison Northern Santa Fe locomotive in 2008. It’s a symbol of the importance the rail industry has played in Ark City’s 150-year history. “Rail is part of what our city was built on,” said Andrew Lawson, the city’s public information officer. “The rail’s always been here.” But, like the rest of south-central Kansas, the town hasn’t had passenger rail service since 1979. Amtrak ended its Lone Star route between Chicago and Houston, leaving a sprawling gap from [...]

Grant could help bring housing to Zarah

info2021-09-20T06:47:12-05:00September 20th, 2021|

At the request of Great Bend Economic Development Inc. to develop affordable housing in downtown Great Bend’s landmark Hotel Zarah building, the Great Bend City Council Monday night will consider applying for a Moderate Income Housing Grant through the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation. GBED is proposing the city apply for the grant on its behalf, GBED President Sara Hayden said. GBED is eying these funds to be used towards the renovations in the multi-story red-brick Zarah at Main and Lakin. She stressed that this grant does not require the city to kick in any funding to proceed. “These are just funds [...]

Municipal Bond Trends for September 17, 2021

info2021-09-20T07:20:13-05:00September 20th, 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.

Univ. of Kansas Hosp. Auth. v. Board of Franklin County Comm’rs

info2021-09-17T09:50:16-05:00September 17th, 2021|

Syllabus by the Court... 2. Under K.S.A. 2020 Supp. 22-4612(a), the obligation of one of the statutorily specified governmental entities, such as the city law enforcement agency, to pay for the medical expenses of an indigent criminal offender is initially triggered by the entity having custody of the indigent offender at the time the decision is made to obtain medical treatment for the offender. 3. A person is in custody when under arrest, although arrest might not always be necessary to establish custody. 4. Applying K.S.A. 2020 Supp. 22-4612 to the stipulated facts, no law enforcement agency had custody over the [...]

Nebraska Furniture Mart Could Win Back $1.5 Million From Kansas City, Kansas, In ‘Dark Store’ Battle

info2021-09-17T07:21:09-05:00September 17th, 2021|

Nebraska Furniture Mart, one of the busiest retailers in the region, stands to get a refund on property taxes it paid on its Kansas City, Kansas, location after winning an appeal to a state tax board. The Kansas Board of Tax Appeals ruled last week that Wyandotte County overestimated the value of Nebraska Furniture Mart’s sprawling location in Village West. If the board’s decision holds up — the county could appeal the decision in court — Nebraska Furniture Mart stands to collect a nearly $1.5 million refund. That refund would come from the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, [...]

Edgerton city leaders weigh in on the incorporation of Golden, Kansas

info2021-09-17T07:20:23-05:00September 17th, 2021|

To prevent the expansion of warehouse development across the Miami County, Johnson County line, homeowners in northern Miami County have petitioned to incorporate the City of Golden, Kansas. "The possibility of annexation and rezoning for industrial development have raised a number of concerns for our citizens. Concerns they believe can only be addressed by city incorporation that would potentially keep Edgerton north of the county line,” County Commission Chair Rob Roberts said. Ahead of the vote to incorporate the city, the Miami County Board of Commissioners are hosting a series of study sessions to get expert testimony about how creating that [...]

Municipal Bond Trends for September 16, 2021

info2021-09-17T06:36:53-05:00September 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.

Wichita looks to install two dams, remove nearly 500 acres from flood plain

info2021-09-16T23:08:17-05:00September 16th, 2021|

In a move intended to remove 212 homes and nearly 500 acres from a flood plain in west Wichita, the City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to seek federal funding to install two dams. The area in question starts at Calfskin Creek west of Maize Road and extends for four to five miles east and three to four miles north and south of Kellogg. After the dams are in place, the homes would no longer be in the flood plain and residents would no longer have to buy flood insurance, said Don Henry, assistant director in public works and utilities. Source: Local [...]

Rural Kansas nurses say strain of new COVID-19 surge has taken a ‘significant toll’

info2021-09-17T06:37:13-05:00September 16th, 2021|

With limited resources, hospitals in rural areas of Kansas have struggled in recent weeks as COVID-19 cases have surged and hospitalizations are on the rise. In Great Bend, nurses say they’re struggling to keep up. One-third to half of the patients coming to the University of Kansas Health System’s Great Bend campus are there for COVID-related reasons, said Peter Mick, an emergency room nurse. “Working in the emergency room the past several weeks, we’ve seen a significant uptick in the number of patients that we see daily,” Mick told The Star in a video interview. Source: Wichita Eagle

Wichita unveils redesigned park honoring civil rights icon at entrance to med school

info2021-09-17T06:37:32-05:00September 16th, 2021|

City officials have begun showing off the planned design of a downtown park being rebuilt as the entryway to Wichita’s new osteopathic medical school, while continuing to honor the legacy of civil rights luminary Chester I. Lewis. The proposed redesign of Chester I. Lewis Reflection Square Park features a small stage, the floor of which will be a tinted concrete rendering of the “redline” map of Wichita. It shows the pattern of segregation in the city caused by overtly racist policies from the 1930s to the 1960s, which limited the places African Americans and immigrants could buy housing. Source: Wichita Eagle