News

Groundwater in western Kansas is a precious commodity. Hays and Russell are back in court to defend a plan to transfer water from a ranch in another county. Western Kansas towns see the writing on the walls. Water is growing more scarce in the region, and for some of the people who live and work there, it’s a problem that needs to be addressed today. Communities are already pouring resources into it, like water transfer projects, water recycling and aquifer recharge attempts. But, as some towns have learned, water is a hard thing to share in the semi-arid area, and courts [...]

When Matt Rehder arrived in Iola in 2021, he inherited a daunting to-do list and nearly five years later, the city administrator is steadily checking it off. Matt Rehder likely doesn’t need a crystal ball when it comes to 2026. That’s because when Rehder began as Iola city administrator in 2021, the position came with a to-do list. Develop more housing. Rebuild U.S. 54. Replace aging infrastructure. Bring in more business. Rehder laughs. Kind of. After all, that’s a pretty tall order. But in his almost five years in the position, he’s earned some notches in his belt. Read more: The [...]

Governor Laura Kelly today announced that $6.7 million has been awarded to five Internet Service Providers through the latest round of the Broadband Acceleration Grant program. These awards will be matched with an additional $6.7 million in private and local investment, resulting in $13.4 million to expand high-speed internet access across eight rural Kansas counties. Together, these projects will deliver reliable service to approximately 1,068 households and businesses, many located in some of the state’s most underserved and hardest-to-reach areas.   Read more: Press Releases Archives - Kansas Department of Commerce

Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland today announced the Office of Rural Prosperity at the Department of Commerce has awarded $337,833 in Strategic Economic Expansion and Development (SEED) grants, supporting 15 quality-of-life projects across Kansas. The awards leveraged more than $744,186 in local contributions, bringing the total investment available for the projects to almost $1.1 million. “Our small towns in Kansas are the heart of this state — they have character, history and most importantly, they have passion for growth,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “Investing in these projects provides opportunities for smaller, rural communities [...]

Gov. Laura Kelly and the Kansas City Chiefs today announced that an agreement has been reached to build a domed stadium and a mixed-use entertainment district, as well as a new team headquarters, training facility and mixed-use development in Kansas. The project will be a massive economic win for the state, with the construction phase alone creating over 20,000 jobs and $4.4 billion in economic impact for Kansas. From there, the stadium will bring over $1 billion in annual impact. The agreement includes two distinct parts: (1) a $3 billion stadium in Wyandotte County, which will open at the start of [...]

This past March, a wildfire caused by high winds and a smoldering brush pile tore through 130 acres in Yates Center, consuming the Yates Center Health and Rehabilitation Center, a senior living facility, and causing nearly $5 million in damage. All residents were safely evacuated, but their home burned to the ground. Dense stands of eastern red cedar trees near the building provided ample kindling for the blaze. “The fire jumped the road and got into the cedars,” Yates Center Fire Chief Brandon Gaulding told KOAM News. “It went through the cedars so fast that by the time we got to [...]

While much of the headlines have been toward the news the Kansas City Chiefs are coming to Kansas in 2031, a theme park based on Mattel products like Barbie and Hot Wheels also is in the works in Wyandotte County. A theme park spotlighting famous toys including the Barbie brand and Hot Wheels is slated to come to Kansas powered by the state’s sales tax incentive for major developments. Bonner Springs officials in October approved a large tax incentive package to help the $540 million development of Mattel Adventure Park in Wyandotte County. The park will be built near an entertainment [...]

Crawford County IT Director Brandon Spaur presented the commissioners with the annual VMware maintenance renewal with a substantial increase in cost. In past years, the annual cost for cyber protection was $1,000 — this year, it skyrocketed to $13,680. Spaur said that one reason for the increase was the purchase of VMware by a larger corporation, BroadCloud, that requires a minimum core count purchase of 190. The county has only required 32. Core count is the amount of processing cores in a CPU and is an indication of how many tasks the CPU can handle simultaneously. Read more: -Morning Sun

The $4 billion development anchored by a Kansas City Chiefs stadium will be made possible by a mammoth incentive district that spans two counties and will divert new sales tax revenue generated there for years to come. A preliminary version of the Sales Tax and Revenue, or STAR bond, district published by the Kansas Department of Commerce shows that essentially all of Wyandotte County and a broad swath of Johnson County will be included. Read more: Wichita Eagle

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer's credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.