News – Page 78 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

WyCo, KCK officials warn of impacts to public services after sweeping budget cuts

info2024-08-18T11:49:08-05:00August 18th, 2024|

Less than two months after a decision to cap property tax revenue, Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, commissioners passed budgets Thursday with significant cuts to city and county services that will take shape next year. Over the past two weeks, local government leaders identified roughly $15.4 million in spending to carve out. Reductions were necessary, according to top staffers, as costs will naturally rise to meet contractual obligations, employee cost-of-living raises and inflation. No public employees will be laid off or furloughed, according to county administration. Dollars were saved in large part through the reductions of unfilled [...]

A Kansas photographer is documenting sports in every county in the state

info2024-08-18T11:45:11-05:00August 18th, 2024|

Jeff Jacobsen spent decades as a photojournalist and as a photographer for University of Kansas athletics. Since he retired in 2020, he's been working on a project to capture images of sports in all 105 counties in Kansas — and he's almost done. When Jeff Jacobsen retired in 2020 after decades as the athletic department photographer for the University of Kansas, he found himself looking for one more challenge. So he decided to visit every county in the state to document sports. Four years later, the Heart and Soul of Kansas Sports project is nearly complete. Only eight out of Kansas' [...]

Low-income Kansans are going into debt because unpaid traffic tickets rack up interest

info2024-08-18T11:43:42-05:00August 18th, 2024|

Unpaid traffic tickets can end up costing low-income Kansans thousands of dollars when cities send unpaid fines and fees to collection agencies and add interest on top. Critics say the system is unfair to lower income Kansans who already could not afford the initial fine and courts should consider alternatives to monetary punishment. It’s also unclear if it’s even legally allowed under Kansas law. Proponents of the system argue it is legal, and communities need to be able to add interest to make sure some drivers who ignore traffic laws don’t go unpunished. Kansas Legal Services, a nonprofit legal agency, helps [...]

Watch out, pickleball: Growing sport arrives in Kansas City area. More courts are coming

info2024-08-18T11:39:25-05:00August 18th, 2024|

It’s kinda like tennis, kinda like squash. Padel is gaining popularity in the United States, though for decades it’s had a presence in Spain, Argentina, Mexico and several other countries. But until now, the Kansas City area hasn’t had padel courts. Then along came six current and former Sporting KC players. Teammates Roger Espinoza, Andreu Fontas, Uri Rosell, Johnny Russell, Daniel Salloi and Graham Zusi partnered with engineer Jamie Mahoney to create their new venture, La Casa del Padel. Last week, they opened two padel courts at the Overland Park Racquet Club, 6800 W. 91st St. “We were surprised to see [...]

Halstead Market feeds the town for many years

info2024-08-18T11:36:33-05:00August 18th, 2024|

Forty-seven years. That’s how long Russ Friesen of Halstead has worked at and/or owned Halstead Market. He began working there at age 16. “Started out as a carryout boy, and then he went to meat cutting,” his wife and other co-owner Charlene Friesen said. Now, he’s 63. The Halstead couple purchased the business in 2003, and they added a bakery to their endeavor in 2010. The bakery has the scent of sugary treats floating on the air, and there’s an entryway through which people can get to it through the market or they can use the bakery’s front door. There, they [...]

Municipal Bond Trends for August 16, 2024

Henry Schmidt2024-08-18T10:59:26-05:00August 18th, 2024|

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.

Municipal Bond Trends for August 15, 2024

Henry Schmidt2024-08-16T10:18:42-05:00August 16th, 2024|

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.

Ohlsen vs. City of Seneca (zoning reasonableness)

info2024-08-16T09:46:08-05:00August 16th, 2024|

The City of Seneca (the City) and the Board of Zoning Appeals of the City of Seneca (the Board) granted a conditional use permit (CUP) to Ag Partners Cooperative, Inc. (APC) after a public hearing. Brett Ohlsen—the owner of neighboring property—sought judicial review of the Board's decision. The district court found he failed to prove the actions of the Board were unreasonable under K.S.A. 12-760. Ohlsen now appeals the district court's decision and argues this court should overturn the Board's granting of the CUP because its decision was unreasonable. But while Ohlsen points to some instances where the Board may not [...]

JC commission weighs making its own website the ‘city newspaper’ to save money

info2024-08-16T09:26:57-05:00August 16th, 2024|

The Junction City Commission this week considered establishing the city government’s own website as the “city newspaper” to avoid paying for the publication of legal notices. Three commissioners — Pat Landes, Jeff Underhill and Ronna Larson — expressed support for the idea and asked city attorney Britain Stites to provide more information on website visits and how much the city government would save by doing it. Currently, The Junction City Union is the official city newspaper. “What has happened, in the last 20 years, the internet and online publications have affected the paper press,” Stites said. “Not saying it’s good, not [...]

Sedgwick residents lend a hand digging out from major windstorm

info2024-08-16T09:23:35-05:00August 16th, 2024|

A strong summer storm blew through Wednesday evening, with Sedgwick receiving the brunt of the damage. The National Weather Service stated that the storm had winds between 60-70 miles per hour. The Sedgwick Area reported uprooted trees as well as downed power lines. “It pretty well rained down fury over here,” Sedgwick City Administrator Kyle Nordick said. Once the storm moved through the city crews as well as the fire department got to work putting up barricades and dealing with damage. “We got to town at 10:30 and didn’t stop until 3 a.m.,” Nordick said. He added that they got about [...]