News – Page 546 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Power back on for most of Emporia after ‘equipment failure’

info2023-12-08T10:44:38-06:00December 8th, 2023|

The lights are back on for nearly 3,000 Evergy customers in Emporia after an "equipment failure" took power offline for more than two hours Thursday afternoon. The outage, caused by a downed power line, knocked power out for 2,739 customers in Emporia according to the Evergy Outage Map. The outage was first reported just before 3:30 p.m. The outage stretched along U.S. Highway 50 from just west of Prairie Street and east to Sylvan Street, along parts of 12th Avenue, down Commercial Street, and south on Highway 99 past the David Traylor Zoo. As of 5:40 p.m., about 56 customers were still reported to [...]

Proposed overnight homeless shelter in Butler County causes controversy over location

info2023-12-08T10:42:50-06:00December 8th, 2023|

For years some in the Butler County community of El Dorado have had no choice but to live on the street. But that could change when the El Dorado City Commissioners vote on a special permit for a proposed new building. The Butler County Homeless initiative applied for the new building. However, the Planning Commission recommended to the City Commission 7 to 1 to deny the application. But one homeless man we spoke to could use an overnight shelter in El Dorado. “I had a shower today, the first time I had a shower in three months,” said Richard Clark. Clark [...]

Plan would turn former Kansas prison into tourist attraction

info2023-12-08T10:40:46-06:00December 8th, 2023|

It’s a place where thousands of men paid for their crimes. One Leavenworth County city hopes to rescue an old prison from the wrecking ball and turn it into a tourist destination and a testament to local history. City leaders in Lansing hope to save a large section of the Lansing Correctional Facility, the state’s oldest penitentiary, which has roots that date back to the 1860s. The Kansas Department of Corrections still uses some of the campus. Plans to demolish the old state pen may go on hold for history’s sake. “There’s so much history here. Just like they saved Alcatraz,” Debra Bates-Lamborn, president [...]

Fort Scott officials working to maintain local ER access

info2023-12-08T10:39:17-06:00December 8th, 2023|

Fort Scott officials are still working to make sure Bourbon County residents still have local access to an emergency room after December 20th. That's the date Ascension Via Christi has given for when they'll cease operations of the emergency room in Ft. Scott. Fort Scott Mayor Matthew Wells said they've been working with U.S. Senator Jerry Moran's office to give the current facility the Rural Emergency Health Care (REH) designation. When an eligible facility converts to an REH, it allows them to provide emergency department services, observation care, and additional outpatient medical and health services that don't exceed an annual per-patient average [...]

Topeka City Council votes to extend interim city manager’s contract

info2023-12-08T10:38:23-06:00December 8th, 2023|

The Topeka City Council approved multiple items at its Dec. 5 meeting. City leaders voted to extend the contract of Interim City Manager Richard Nienstedt. He will stay in this position until a permanent city manager can be hired. Nienstedt has held the position since June, following the sudden departure and later termination of former City Manager Stephen Wade. The city has enlisted the help of a recruiting company from Texas to fill the role. The council also signed off on a street project near the Oakland neighborhood. The voted unanimously to spend $1 million for mill and overlay work on Northeast [...]

Uniontown SD receives hydroponic farm from Leafy Green Farms

info2023-12-08T10:35:37-06:00December 8th, 2023|

Last week the Uniontown district received a hydroponic farm from Leafy Green Farms. The district is partnering with Leafy Green Farms for five years to have a hydroponic farm classroom on campus so students can learn how to grow organic vegetables. This is a phase one initiative to place a hydroponic farm at ten schools in southeast Kansas. The project is a partnership between Leafy Green Farms and Community Green Farms. Leafy Green Farms is providing everything the school needs for the first three months of operations, including training, all equipment, seeds, and nutrients. Superintendent Vance Eden says they're planning to use [...]

Municipal Bond Trends for December 7, 2023

Henry Schmidt2023-12-08T10:34:59-06:00December 8th, 2023|

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS "investment grade" yields. 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.

Bel Aire finds manager at City Hall

info2023-12-08T10:45:48-06:00December 8th, 2023|

Bel Aire looked no further than City Hall to find its next city manager. The city council on Dec. 5 chose current finance director and assistant city manager Ted Henry to replace Ty Lasher on April 1. Henry has served as the city's finance director for seven years. Mayor Jim Benage said the governing body's confidence in Henry and its familiarity with him made the decision not to spend money searching for other potential candidates an easy one. Lasher's final day will be March 29, 2024. Lasher has been considering retirement since 2022 and was asked to give the city a [...]

Matt Jensby to lead City of Kechi

info2023-12-08T08:25:09-06:00December 8th, 2023|

Matt Jensby has been named Kechi's new city administrator. Jensby replaces Kamme Sroufe following her resignation this fall. Jensby served as the police chief in Maize for 18 years after growing up in Valley Center. He is a 1990 Valley Center High School graduate and worked for the Valley Center Police Department for three years before transferring to Maize in 1996. Jensby said he witnessed incredible growth in Maize while working in the city and was inspired to pursue a second career in public administration. Source: Ark Valley News

Committee working to revise Lawrence’s Land Development Code talks incentives, energy

info2023-12-08T08:15:22-06:00December 8th, 2023|

While members of the Land Development Code Update Steering Committee didn’t take a look at any new sections of the revised rules for how Lawrence should grow on Thursday, they did participate in plenty of discussion about incentives and energy. ... Those topics, in part, included a discussion of what types of zoning incentives could work in Lawrence. That resulted in a decently-sized list, including ideas like providing more options for developers through less linear incentives, waiving system development charges for affordable housing projects and offsetting the costs for developers creating open spaces or other public amenities. Source: LJWorld