News – Page 658 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Kansas hits all-time lowest birth rate

info2023-08-04T10:56:30-05:00August 4th, 2023|

Kansas documented the state’s lowest-ever recorded birth rate for the 2022 year, according to a preliminary report. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s annual report shows the number of births in the state dropped slightly from 2021. Last year’s report documented 34,697 births in 2021, with a birth rate of 11.8 per 1,000 people. The preliminary 2022 report recorded 34,376 births across the state, with a birth rate of 11.7 per 1,000 people. Seven counties accounted for about 60% of the state’s births for the year: Douglas, Geary, Johnson, Leavenworth, Sedgwick, Shawnee and Wyandotte. Unmarried mothers made up 36% of all births with [...]

City Council recommends more WPD power to suspend club licenses

info2023-08-04T10:54:01-05:00August 4th, 2023|

Wichita City Council is recommending ordinances to give police more authority to suspend the licenses of clubs where violence has taken place. This after a shooting at the City Nightz club in Old Town left 11 people injured on Sunday, July 2nd. Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan issued a 30-day suspension of the entertainment license for the club, which had been the site of twelve previous violent incidents in 2023 alone. Three of those incidents involved guns. Sullivan said the shooting wouldn’t have happened if patrons were properly screened before entering the club. City Council claims current licensing ordinances to suspend or revoke [...]

Munis follow global bond sell off, outflows near $1B

info2023-08-04T10:50:53-05:00August 4th, 2023|

Municipals sold off Thursday, following U.S. Treasury losses after more economic data suggested the U.S. economy is strong enough to potentially warrant more rate hikes in the fall. Equities ended down. Ahead of Friday's jobs report, Wall Street is "watching a global bond market selloff get uglier as U.S. stocks waver ahead of massive earnings from Apple and Amazon," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at The Americas OANDA. Coupled with the Bank of England signaling more tightening is ahead, recent economic data has confirmed the U.S. economy remains resilient, he said, which fanned more concerns over Fed policy uncertainty. "Both [...]

Shawnee Names New Finance Director

info2023-08-03T11:49:11-05:00August 3rd, 2023|

The City of Shawnee and City Manager Doug Gerber announced on Wednesday the promotion of Sean Rocco as the City’s new Finance Director following a nation-wide search. Rocco has served as Interim Finance Director since May of this year. “Sean has done an outstanding job taking the City through the 2024 budget process and consistently proved himself to be up to the task of Finance Director through his day-to-day work and in every round of the interview process,” City Manager Doug Gerber said. Rocco joined the City of Shawnee in September of 2021 as Deputy Finance Director, after more than a decade [...]

Park City voters approve sales tax increase

info2023-08-03T10:20:44-05:00August 3rd, 2023|

Voters in Park City have approved a proposal for a one cent sales tax increase to fund a variety of improvements across the city. The proposal was on Tuesday’s primary election ballot, and 58 percent of the voters approved. The unofficial results have 377 yes votes and 272 no votes. The final numbers will be certified during the Sedgwick County vote canvass on August 10th. The one cent increase will be used for the improvement of streets, parks, and city services, as well as community-driven enhancements. Source: 101.3 KFDI

Harvey County Commission extends postponement on renewable energy builds

info2023-08-03T11:49:46-05:00August 3rd, 2023|

The Harvey County Commission unanimously voted to approve an extension on a commercial renewable energy construction moratorium in the county. The vote was held during the commission’s meeting on August 1st. The Commission previously implemented a six-month postponement at its Feb. 21st meeting. The extension will keep the moratorium in place through Dec. 5th, 2023. The extension was requested by the Harvey County Planning and Zoning Advisory Board, which is currently reviewing the County’s Unified Development Code related to commercial renewable energy. Source: 101.3 KFDI

New mural, sculpture being added in Delia

info2023-08-03T11:50:42-05:00August 3rd, 2023|

It’s a warm Saturday morning in the southwest Jackson County community of Delia, where a UTV is busy dragging the ball field near the former Delia school for weeds and the occasional train whistle punctuates the quiet. It’s also a good day to install a steel sculpture on the south outer wall of the school building, and that’s what Rossville High School art teacher Garrett Larson and his three-person crew are doing — attempting to mount the sculpture using an old Case farm tractor with a loader attachment. The sculpture — a depiction of a buffalo on the prairie at sunset — is [...]

Rural Kansas school district spared in lopsided vote

info2023-08-03T10:13:24-05:00August 3rd, 2023|

Residents of a rural central Kansas school district overwhelmingly voted to keep their district intact, defeating an attempt to dissolve the district in anger over a school closure. Unofficial election results from the Aug. 1 primary show 587 people voted in favor of disorganization and 1,179 voters in Central Plains Unified School District 112 voted against the change. “For Tuesday in August, in a heatwave, this was a huge turnout,” said Denise Schmidt, a Claflin resident, educator and member of the United USD 112 campaign. Ellsworth County Clerk Shelly Vopat, who oversees the county’s elections, estimated turnout was about 60%. The county usually sees [...]

Lenexa acquired this historic cemetery last year. What happens now?

info2023-08-03T10:11:27-05:00August 3rd, 2023|

For generations, volunteers with the nonprofit Lenexa Cemetery Association managed the historic cemetery off Pflumm Road and 87th Street Parkway in east Lenexa. The Lenexa Cemetery, founded in 1872, is the final resting place of several prominent Lenexa community leaders through the generations, including members of the Legler family and some Civil War veterans. The city has now taken over the property and is shifting attention towards maintaining and potentially enhancing the site into the future. Over the years, upkeep of the cemetery and its long-term management grew to be a challenge for the all-volunteer cemetery association. Members of the organization’s board [...]

Another move: Sedgwick County thinking of buying this downtown building for admin offices

info2023-08-03T11:51:26-05:00August 3rd, 2023|

Sedgwick County government is considering purchasing Murfin Plaza at 250 N. Water for $7.75 million as the new home for its administrative offices. The County Commission on Wednesday unanimously agreed to pay $25,000 in earnest money. The county has 120 days to inspect the 82,577-square-foot property and determine whether to move forward with the purchase. The government has been leasing space at the Ruffin Building on North Broadway at a rate of $58,502.67 a month since moving out of the county courthouse last year to create more room for courts there. Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle