News – Page 1433 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Lawrence and Topeka mayors are hitting the road – to learn from Arkansas

info2021-05-13T17:30:44-05:00May 13th, 2021|

Topeka and Lawrence have been flirting with each other for decades. “Lawrence put a ring on it,” said Topeka Mayor Michelle De La Isla after singing her version of “Single Ladies” by Beyoncé. De La Isla’s version of the song was encouraging all the “single cities” in northeast Kansas to get together, which is happening as De La Isla and Lawrence Mayor Brad Finkeldei prepare for a road trip. The two mayors were joined by members of the Lawrence Chamber and the Greater Topeka Partnership to announce a joint trip to learn from the Arkansas cities of Bentonville, Fayetteville and Rogers. [...]

Scott County ranks No. 3 in median income

info2021-05-14T07:06:28-05:00May 13th, 2021|

Johnson County and the urban northeast corner of Kansas have built a reputation for being one of the wealthiest zip codes in the nation. While there’s money in technology and the related industry, Kansas is still an agricultural state, so it should be no surprise that one can also find high-income counties much farther to the west. Scott County is in the No. 3 spot in Kansas when it comes to median income, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Median income - which is the mid-point and not average - for Scott County is $80,900 per household. [...]

Topeka & Lawrence teaming up with ‘Stronger Together’ prosperity partnership

info2021-05-14T07:06:36-05:00May 13th, 2021|

The City of Topeka and the City of Lawrence will team up under a new effort called “Stronger Together” which will explore ways the cities can prosper together, the Greater Topeka Partnership announced Thursday. The announcement came at a 1:30 p.m. press event at the GTP’s downtown Topeka offices. The two cities will look into more collaboration and opportunities to benefit the public in both areas. As the first step in this partnership, GTP said Topeka Mayor Michelle De La Isla, Lawrence Mayor Brad Finkeldei, Greater Topeka Partnership CEO Matt Pivarnik and Lawrence Chamber of Commerce CEO Bonnie Lowe will all [...]

Wind Surge, city leaders call home opener success

info2021-05-14T07:06:48-05:00May 13th, 2021|

The City of Wichita and the Wichita Wind Surge said the team's Tuesday home opener at Riverfront Stadium was a big success, despite the team's loss. The Wind Surge lost Tuesday to Amarillo's Sod Poodles in the first game of a six game series. Organizers said Wednesday that the ballgame saw nearly 8,000 people in attendance and nearly sold out the stadium. "We're just so excited to get to do it again tonight and tomorrow," said Katie Woods, the marketing director for the Wind Surge. Woods said the team had spent months of planning, and brought more than 400 workers in [...]

Legislature may not have the right to tell Sedgwick County how to spend its COVID aid

info2021-05-13T07:24:23-05:00May 13th, 2021|

The state Legislature wants Sedgwick County to turn over about $35 million to compensate businesses for restrictions put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the county may not have to, officials say. Senate Bill 273, passed early Saturday morning in the final hours of the legislative session, would require the county to set aside 35% of its funding from the American Rescue Plan Act for a state-run business compensation program. The county will receive about $100 million through ARPA, meaning it would need to set aside about $35 million of that, said county Chief Financial Officer Lindsay Poe Rousseau. But [...]

Municipal Bond Trends for May 12, 2021

info2021-05-13T07:18:29-05:00May 13th, 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.

Burrton third graders bring local history to life

info2021-05-13T07:08:10-05:00May 13th, 2021|

A group of third graders at Burrton Elementary School are turning into quite the young history buffs. They can spout off names, dates and other facts about their town history that they’ve been learning, recently. The students just finished building a model representing downtown Burrton in the late 1800s and early 1900s. “We tried to make buildings about where they were, but we learned that there were fires, so some of these buildings maybe weren’t in a certain spot after the fire happened, but it’s pretty true to it,” teacher Michelle Armendariz said. Source: Harvey County Now

Topeka’s JEDO approves more than $5.8 million dollars for Downtown Topeka Innovation campus

info2021-05-13T07:08:34-05:00May 13th, 2021|

Topeka's Joint Economic Development Organization board approved a project that is estimated to produce 20-40 full-time jobs to the capital city. The board approved up to $5.871 million to develop and build an innovation campus in downtown Topeka. JEDO will partner with BioRealty, Inc. According to Katrin Bridges, SVP of innovation at GO Toepka, the campus will have world-class facilities which will include wet labs, co-working and meeting spaces, office space for launching business research and innovation and even a rooftop space for events. It will be a 60,000-70,000 square foot facility. The total estimated cost of the campus is around [...]

Manhattan talks changes to sidewalk, easement regulations

info2021-05-13T07:09:44-05:00May 13th, 2021|

The construction of encroachments into public easements will no longer be permitted, according to the newly created Manhattan Development Code. The topic came up during the Manhattan City Commission meeting Tuesday, during which officials discussed proposed changes to subdivision standards. “When we have utility failures or need maintenance for a utility line and there are fences in the way or all sorts of other things in the way of our utility easements, it becomes a costly and cumbersome process for both the city and those homeowners and business owners,” Chad Bunger, assistant director of community development for the City of Manhattan, [...]

Land use law expert affirms City of Golden petition is valid

info2021-05-13T07:11:11-05:00May 13th, 2021|

A petition to establish the city of “Golden” in Miami County has gained another level of validation as the county moves closer to the June 23 public hearing on the matter. The Miami County Clerk’s Office verified that the petition, filed April 9, had enough valid signatures to meet the state statutory requirement. County commissioners wanted to ensure the document also met all other statutory requirements before going through a hearing process — to avoid the potential for a legal challenge to the petition’s validity in the future. The County Commission sought the legal services of a Topeka attorney who specializes [...]