News – Page 649 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

One Kansas school bans popular app over privacy concerns

info2023-08-15T23:15:21-05:00August 15th, 2023|

Where do you draw the line with privacy? The Buhler school district has banned one app over privacy concerns for the new year. "As a district, we have blocked this app from all of our devices from our network," said Buhler USD 313 superintendent Cindy Couchman. "And that is due to the privacy concerns that we noticed right away, and our technology director pointed out." Concerns arose after the tech director for the school noticed some apps were sharing a lot of information and making it public. The latest app to get scrutiny is called Saturn - Time Together. Source: KSN-TV

Argonia moves to four day school week, creating challenges for parents

info2023-08-15T23:13:42-05:00August 15th, 2023|

As of Tuesday, there are no classes on Mondays for Argonia Public Schools. Many kids are happy about an extra day off, but some parents now need to find child care. The district's superintendent believes they have taken steps to help with that issue. "One thing we did do, is we have day care available on Mondays for parents that have to work five days a week," said Argonia Superintendent Rustin Clark. The cost of the daycare is $25 for the day, and they will provide a lunch for the children who are attending. Source: KSN-TV

Hays Police Department says not to worry if you see these birds on the ground

info2023-08-15T23:12:29-05:00August 15th, 2023|

The Hays Police Department says not to worry if you see a Mississippi kite on the ground. According to the HPD, many of their CSOs have been responding to multiple calls for young Mississippi kites on the ground. "Reporting parties believe the kites to be injured because they spread their wings to make themselves look bigger to anything that may harm them," the HPD said. The HPD says while they appreciate people caring enough to call, it is the time of year when the youngsters are learning to fly. Source: KSN-TV

Interim chief picked to permanently lead Hutchinson PD

info2023-08-15T23:11:36-05:00August 15th, 2023|

The City of Hutchinson has named a familiar face to lead the police department. Interim Police Chief Brice Burlie has been chosen to permanently serve as chief of the department. Burlie had been serving in the role since June, taking over for a previous interim chief who had been serving in the role since the March firing of former chief Jeff Hooper. Burlie has been with the Hutchinson Police Department for 24 years, where he reached the level of Operations Captain before moving into the interim chief role. He is a graduate of Kansas State with a bachelor's degree in criminology [...]

Lawrence becomes first city in Kansas to pass CROWN Act ordinance banning race-based hair discrimination

info2023-08-15T23:02:48-05:00August 15th, 2023|

The Lawrence City Commission on Tuesday soundly adopted a local ordinance protecting people from racial discrimination based on hair, making Lawrence the first city in Kansas to do so. “This is huge for our community,” Commissioner Amber Sellers said. “This is huge for our state. This is huge for individuals who live here who are trying to thrive and survive here — that they can balance and feel that they can take their nurtured self and bring it out into the community, unapologetically.” The CROWN Act, which stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” combats race-based hair [...]

Municipal Bond Trends for August 14, 2023

Henry Schmidt2023-08-15T07:38:41-05:00August 15th, 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.

Leonardville PRIDE proudly creates fun environment for rural Kansans at annual Hullabaloo celebration

info2023-08-15T00:15:25-05:00August 15th, 2023|

Polished classic cars and vintage tractors lined North Erpelding Street on Saturday, attracting visitors from surrounding communities for the two-day Hullabaloo festival. Just beyond the entrance was another activity took place: the pedal tractor pull. Families stood by, yelling “Go!” and “Push!” in support of their young ones. A theme at the festival was pride. A boy dressed in a black shirt and shorts illustrated this pride as he sprung up off his bike after his pedal tractor pull ride and made his way toward his family. Rylan Hudson, 7, of Riley won first place and celebrated by giving his dad [...]

Hutchinson Zoo marks opening of new Nature Play expansion and Splash River

info2023-08-14T09:29:51-05:00August 14th, 2023|

The Hutchinson Zoo made a big splash in late July when it officially celebrated the opening of Splash River with a symbolic ribbon-cutting ceremony. Splash River is part of the zoo's new Nature Play exhibit, which is a no-cost, safe and welcome place for children and families. The zoo retrofitted the former parking lot into a natural-looking splash river, inclusive play elements and green space. The expansion is adjacent to the North American River Otter Exhibit that opened in the summer of 2020. Zoo officials said the purpose of Splash River is to give children under age 10 a chance to [...]

Kansans need safer roads. Here are some ideas for changing them.

info2023-08-14T09:29:02-05:00August 14th, 2023|

Today’s pedestrian-unfriendly roadways consist largely of suburban streets that have been turned into straight, flat speedways where drivers race along at speeds approaching those on the freeway, often distracted by their phones. This mix of high speeds, heavier vehicles, and distracted driving terrorizes pedestrians and bicyclists. Proposed ideas include shorter blocks, pedestrian refuge areas, increased use of traffic circles, narrower roads, dedicated bicycle lanes and chicanes — those s-shaped curves also used on racetracks. Money from the bipartisan 2021 Infrastructure and Jobs Act is available to help fund these improvements. Source: Hutch News

‘Huge scam’ in rural Kansas town fells fourth U.S. bank in 2023

info2023-08-14T09:06:53-05:00August 13th, 2023|

Heartland Tri-State Bank of Elkhart on July 28 became the fourth U.S. bank to fail in 2023 and the second Kansas bank to fail in three years. David Herndon, Kansas banking commissioner, closed the southwest Kansas bank after it became insolvent because it was “apparently the victim of a huge scam,” he said. Herndon said he doesn’t know what the scam was, but he said other banks in the state were not affected. “Kansas banks are strong and healthy,” he said. “They are well-capitalized, have strong reserves, are profitable and maintain record levels of loan reserves.” Herndon named the Federal Deposit [...]