News – Page 56 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

State offers $3 million to complete Sand Creek dream

info2025-01-15T09:42:37-06:00January 15th, 2025|

The State of Kansas called Newton and wanted to give $3 million to connect the two sections of its bike path. The catch? The Kansas Department of Transportation needed an answer by Jan. 15. The city’s first meeting after the offer was on Jan. 14. The project would connect the Sand Creek Trail from where it ends south of First Street at the Sand Creek Dam to where it picks up at SW 14th Street. From there, it runs near the new wetlands park and through the Sand Creek Station Golf Course. Completing the trail has been on the city’s list [...]

Sedgwick has a trio of attorneys to work with

info2025-01-15T09:40:52-06:00January 15th, 2025|

Sedgwick’s new city attorney, Jennifer Hill of McDonald Tinker Law Firm in Wichita, brings with her over 20 years of civil litigation work for governmental entities and another four years of experience as a city attorney. Hill, a Wichita native, began practicing law in her hometown in 2003 and joined McDonald Tinker in 2005. Working with Hill in Sedgwick will be Associate Attorneys Scott Ufford and Matt Gorney. Hill said that Ufford and Gorney will handle the prosecution docket and the monthly city council meeting on the first Wednesday of each month. Hill will attend the second monthly meeting on the [...]

Municipal Bond Trends for January 13, 2025

Henry Schmidt2025-01-14T10:01:45-06:00January 14th, 2025|

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.

‘Life and death’: Rescuers use tractors and a helicopter to reach people stranded in snow

info2025-01-13T09:57:11-06:00January 13th, 2025|

A volunteer fire chief picked up a stranded, terminally ill man with his tractor and delivered him safely to a hospital. A Kansas Highway Patrol helicopter rescued motorists stuck in the snow. It all happened near Hope, Kansas, which got around 15 inches of snow during last weekend’s winter storm. “It was life and death,” said Billy Lininger, who was on the way to the emergency room with his wife and son when they got stuck in the snow and called Dickinson Co. Fire District No. 2 Chief Chad Lorson. “My kid might not have made it if it wasn’t for [...]

Frontenac reviews new ordinance on shipping containers

info2025-01-13T09:53:52-06:00January 13th, 2025|

The Frontenac City Council held their first meeting at their new time on Wednesday evening, which is now at 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month. On the docket was a new ordinance concerning large shipping containers like what is often found on construction sites. In recent years, these containers have become popular building material for new homes. Frontenac says they are not up to residential code and cannot be used for that purpose. Source: Morning Sun

A Bond Selloff Is Rocking the World. You Might Want to Take the Other Side.

info2025-01-13T09:52:50-06:00January 13th, 2025|

Wall Street is really worried about bonds. It might be time to buy some. On Friday, a jobs report that blew past expectations pushed yields on 10-year Treasurys to 4.772%, the highest close since Nov. 1, 2023, and those on 30-year paper to 4.962%. What is spooking markets, however, is that much of the recent rise in yields doesn’t appear to reflect expectations of stronger economic growth. Rather, it might be the result of investors applying a higher discount or “term premium” to hold long-term bonds, estimates by the Federal Reserve suggest. Some analysts attribute this to the possibility of Donald [...]

Should Cities Open Their Own Grocery Stores?

info2025-01-13T09:51:26-06:00January 13th, 2025|

By now, most people are familiar with the concept of food deserts — areas where residents lack ready access to fresh foods. Should local governments step in to operate grocery stores in neighborhoods that don’t have them? Aside from ideological questions over whether governments should get involved with operating retail establishments, there are a number of practical hurdles that are difficult to overcome. Source: Governing

Kansas landowners are renting out yards as puppy playgrounds

info2025-01-13T09:49:38-06:00January 13th, 2025|

Sniffspot, a short-term rental website and app, lets property owners rent out their yards or other spaces as private dog parks. So far there are about 200 Sniffspots in Kansas, but the number is growing. More than 40% of Kansas households have a dog, but not everyone has a place where dogs can run, explore and burn off energy. Enter Sniffspot. The website and app lets people list their backyards or other spaces to rent by the hour as puppy playgrounds. The site began in 2018 in Seattle, where David Adams lived with a couple of energetic mixed-breed dogs named Toshii [...]

City develops policy for pets of homeless people in shelter

info2025-01-13T09:47:25-06:00January 13th, 2025|

The City of Wichita said a policy at the emergency winter homeless shelter will allow for pets to be housed for a period of time during severe winter storms and cold snaps. The issue came up during a discussion Tuesday at the regular City Council meeting, after Wichita police reported that 76 out of 110 homeless people contacted by the Homeless Outreach Team had refused to go to shelter during the past weekend’s winter storm. Vice-Mayor Maggie Ballard said people don’t want to be separated from their pets and more work needs to be done to get the word out on [...]

Leon eliminates dog and cat permit fees

info2025-01-13T09:45:57-06:00January 13th, 2025|

The City of Leon City Council voted on January 6 to eliminate permit fees for dogs and cats in an effort to alleviate costs for residents and encourage them to spay/neuter their animals to reduce population. Previously Leon required dog and cat owners to permit each animal at $5 per animal if they were spay/neutered and $15 per animal if they weren’t spay/neutered. Residents often spoke to the council on rising cost of living expenses and felt they were being nickel and dimed after the water rates were raised to support new infrastructure. Jodie Laidler, City/Court Clerk for the City of [...]