News – Page 1342 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Water Conference brings in hundreds to Capital City

info2021-09-01T22:32:18-05:00September 1st, 2021|

People from all over Kansas are in Topeka to learn about new innovations in the wastewater and water treatment industry. The 12th annual conference is put on by the Kansas Water Environment Association and the Kansas Section of the American Water Works Association. Attendees brush up on their skills by taking classes, hearing presentations, watching demonstrations of new technology, and participating in contests. Organizers said the end goal of the conference is to get workers educated on new technology so that the people of Kansas can get and dispose of their water efficiently. "Infrastructure is failing across the board, we've got [...]

Goessel, Burns, Marion buck census trend

info2021-09-01T22:30:35-05:00September 1st, 2021|

Goessel, Burns, and Marion seem to have bucked the trend for declining population in Marion County. The Census Bureau has not yet listed 2020 population figures by municipality for communities of less than 5,000 people. However, it has released data arranged by geo-location and geographic boundary that state partner organizations have used to calculate what can be regarded as authoritative, if not final, census data for municipalities of fewer than 5,000 residents. Source: Marion County RECORD

Population growth a benefit for McPherson County

info2021-09-02T06:47:32-05:00September 1st, 2021|

McPherson County experienced growth according to the recently released 2020 Census data. In fact, the population of McPherson County rose from 29,180 in 2010 to 30,223 for the 2020 census. This equals a 3.57 percent increase in residents over the last 10 years. City Administrator Nick Gregory says making sure every resident was counted became a group effort of city and county officials. “We met with the colleges, we reached out to areas that we thought would have a harder time completing the census, we worked with engineering to make sure census had all current addresses, we launched a social media [...]

Jantzen retiring after 39-year career with Moundridge

info2021-09-02T06:47:43-05:00September 1st, 2021|

When Terry Jantzen started working for the City of Moundridge, Elm Street was at the northern edge of town, and the eastern extremity was just east of the high school. The longtime city employee will be clocking in for the last time next week after 39 years of service. A reception is being held in his honor from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 10. “Thirty-nine years is a long time for somebody to be in one place,” Moundridge City Manager Murray McGee said. “There’s a wealth of knowledge there. He’s told us we can call him any time.” Jantzen was [...]

Local Law Enforcement Explains What Happens To Seized Firearms

info2021-09-01T07:37:09-05:00September 1st, 2021|

... the Newton Police Department and the Harvey County Sheriff’s Department ... both do business a little bit differently. Newton, for instance, trades in seized firearms acquired through civil forfeiture with their equipment dealer when purchasing new equipment for the department. “We have these things sitting here, and whatever value we get for them is money the taxpayer doesn’t have to spend,” Newton Police Lt. Mike Yoder said. They work through a company, GT Distributors, based out of Kansas City and trade the seized firearms as well as old department service firearms to lower the cost of purchasing new equipment... The [...]

USD 439 bond passes easily with two-thirds support

info2021-09-01T07:34:28-05:00September 1st, 2021|

Shortly after 9 p.m. on Tuesday, the Harvey County Elections website posted the unofficial results from the USD 439 Special Bond Election. The bond passed with two-thirds of the votes, 319-159. According to the website, registered voters numbered 1,415, which means the 478 ballots cast results in a 33.78% turnout. The bond, which is not-to-exceed $13.8 million, is the first bond passed for USD 439 since the late 1990s. The successful vote authorizes USD 439 to complete several major construction projects that include connecting the elementary and secondary buildings with a secure entrance and a new library/media center, building a new [...]

Pittsburg to buy 192 acres for industrial park

info2021-09-01T07:26:31-05:00September 1st, 2021|

The Pittsburg City Commission this week approved purchasing approximately 192 acres located north of Atkinson and west of Free King Highway for $1.2 million and annexing it into the city for use as a future industrial park. “We only have so much industrial park space in the city,” said City Manager Daron Hall. “We’re very fortunate that we’ve got a lot of growth in the businesses that are in our industrial parks, and the few acres that we have unallocated are currently being sought after. What we don’t have is a very large, new, undeveloped industrial park with rail access, next [...]

Municipal Bond Trends for August 31, 2021

info2021-09-01T07:08:17-05:00September 1st, 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.

Audit report says STAR bonds are not boosting Kansas tourism

info2021-08-31T22:05:18-05:00August 31st, 2021|

A new state audit found that few projects financed with STAR bonds are meeting requirements for bringing visitors and money into Kansas. The audit from the Legislature’s auditing arm was released Monday. Auditors found that only three of the 16 attractions they reviewed met tourism goals by bringing in a significant percentage of visitors from other states. STAR bonds allow municipalities to issue bonds to finance major developments, which are paid through sales tax revenue generated by the project. Among the projects not meeting the benchmarks is the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, including the soccer stadium, strip mall, water [...]

Cherokee County panel adopts 1-year wind farm moratorium

info2021-09-01T07:06:51-05:00August 31st, 2021|

Cherokee County Commission members on Monday unanimously adopted a resolution that establishes a one-year moratorium on wind energy development inside of county limits, saying they want additional information on such operations. “I believe we, as a commission, deserve the time and the right to fact-find,” said Commissioner Lorie Johnson, of District 2. The resolution establishes a moratorium and suspends certain types of improvements regarding wind energy on any land within the limits of Cherokee County for one year, officials said. The wind farm moratorium was approved after Thursday's special meeting at which commissioners met with representatives from RWE Renewables Americas, of [...]