News – Page 597 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Topeka ahead of nation’s ‘murder capital’ with per capita homicide count

info2023-10-18T09:12:40-05:00October 18th, 2023|

Topeka police recently marked a grim new milestone for the Capital City with the announcement that the all-time homicide count has been broken. In 2023, the Topeka Police Department is investigating 31 homicide cases with the most recent being reported on Oct. 15. This broke a previously established record set in 2017 for 30 homicides. As Topeka reaches this new record, how does it stack up when compared with other cities in Kansas along with other U.S. cities with traditionally high homicide counts? Earlier this year, Chicago was named the "murder capital" of the U.S. with 697 homicides in 2022. The [...]

Was private info accessed in Kansas courts security breach?

info2023-10-18T09:11:30-05:00October 18th, 2023|

A security breach is prompting a statewide shakeup for Kansas courts. The Kansas Supreme Court issued a new order on Monday, putting all electronic filings and payments on hold. All filings for courts will have to be on paper or by fax, with paper filings to be hand delivered or sent by mail. "Reverting to a paper process, it is going to be a little slower after we've relied on technology for so long," Lisa Taylor, a spokeswoman for Kansas Capitol Bureau said. "Hopefully, this won't last too terribly long, we're hoping to find out what's wrong and fix it." The [...]

Municipal Bond Trends for October 16, 2023

Henry Schmidt2023-10-17T09:16:42-05:00October 17th, 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.

Push to ‘deconsolidate’ Wyandotte County Unified Government threatened

info2023-10-16T14:32:47-05:00October 16th, 2023|

Key political leaders in Wyandotte County threaten a push to deconsolidate the Unified Government if they don't see changes. Kansas City, Kansas Mayor Tyrone Garner gave a laundry list of complaints saying the UG could be on the path to bankruptcy by 2028. The mayor of Edwardsville, Carolyn Caiharr, said starting in November they're forming citizen focus groups to hear from resident on ideas including deconsolidation. "If the Unified Government had been working as promised, I personally don't believe we would have inherited a billion dollars’ worth of debt," Caiharr said. Garner shared a long list of complaints with the current [...]

Rising rates shouldn’t scare off issuers

info2023-10-16T13:51:18-05:00October 16th, 2023|

Cities and states should "keep calm and issue bonds" despite sticker shock from rising interest rates and a volatile municipal bond market. That was the message from panelists speaking Thursday at the Government Finance Officers Association's annual MiniMuni event, a three-day online event for issuers. The rise in rates "makes our jobs as debt managers that much trickier and that much more painful," said Paul Chatalas, capital markets manager for the state of Illinois. But there's a silver lining, Chatalas said. "Volatility creates opportunity for the investor and opportunity for the investor is not necessarily bad for the issuer," he said. [...]

The Wichita projects supported by 14 community improvement districts

info2023-10-16T13:51:46-05:00October 16th, 2023|

Perhaps you've spotted the signs or noticed the extra tax on your receipt. Fans who buy Wind Surge merchandise at Riverfront Stadium, for example, will notice an extra 2% sales tax, outside of the usual 7.5% rate. Similarly, there's also an added 1.5% sales tax at Chicken N Pickle. That's because there are 14 community improvement districts across the Wichita area that are leveraging an additional sales tax — anywhere from 1-2% — to support certain commercial development projects. A CID is an incentive program that provides funds to a development project through the levy of additional sales tax within the district boundaries, [...]

Places to go, sites to see, tales of yore keep Atchison tourism on the Kansas Map

info2023-10-16T10:21:07-05:00October 16th, 2023|

For the curious, history lovers, adventurists, and naturalists near and far, they might tell Atchison is the place they like to go for good time experiences. Kansas Tourism recently announced that the Atchison Area Chamber of Commerce was recently awarded a $10,000 Marketing Grant in the 2023 Tourism Marketing Grant Awards Program. The grant awards announced on Aug. 28, are designed to assist local tourism or attractions in new or first-time innovative marketing initiatives. Atchison Chamber is one of the 22 projects that the Kansas Tourism Award will provide funding throughout the state to enhance and expand advertising efforts to attract [...]

Security breach in Kansas court network system

info2023-10-16T10:16:28-05:00October 16th, 2023|

The Kansas Supreme Court issued an order today declaring all court clerk offices inaccessible for electronic filings through Sunday, October 15th. This order comes after the court's network experienced interruptions on Thursday. Courts remain open according to the news release issued by the Kansas Judicial Branch on Thursday. The courts will continue to accept paper filings and fax filings. By declaring the courts inaccessible for efiling purposes, certain filing deadlines may be extended under applicable rules and statutes. Source: KSNF/KODE

With funding for Kansas schools higher, the attorney general wants to close their lawsuit

info2023-10-16T10:14:48-05:00October 16th, 2023|

Kansas’ Republican attorney general asked the state’s highest court to reward the GOP-controlled Legislature for following through on a decade’s worth of court-mandated education funding increases by making it harder for local school districts to force higher spending in the future. Attorney General Kris Kobach’s office wants the Kansas Supreme Court to close a lawsuit that four school districts filed against the state in 2010. The request was filed Wednesday by Tony Powell, a former state Court of Appeals judge who now serves as Kobach’s solicitor general. The state Supreme Court issued seven rulings from 2013 through 2019 requiring the Legislature to increase [...]

Thousands of local governments fail to report how they’ve spent COVID-19 relief funds

info2023-10-16T14:29:00-05:00October 16th, 2023|

States and local governments have spent about 45% of the $350 billion given out through one federal COVID-19 relief program, but tracking that money has been difficult and 4,268 local governments – about 14% – have yet to submit reports on how the money was used. The U.S. Department of the Treasury hasn't publicly released the names of the small local governments that have failed to report back on what they did with the money because it doesn't want to put "undue pressure" on them, according to a report released Wednesday. When Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, [...]