News – Page 807 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Residents of Lawrence’s Pinkney neighborhood concerned about plans for homeless shelter site

info2023-03-20T07:15:06-05:00March 19th, 2023|

Residents of Lawrence’s Pinkney neighborhood and staff at a nearby preschool are questioning the site where the city plans to place a “village” for people experiencing homelessness, and how the project would be managed. The city has its sights set on the former location of Veritas Christian School, 256 N. Michigan St., for its Pallet Shelter Village. The land purchase and project, estimated at $1.84 million and to be paid from federal COVID-19 relief funds, is now on a timeline to provide temporary cabin-style sheltering for up to 75 people starting this July, pending Lawrence City Commission approval. Source: The Lawrence [...]

Local businesses playing a role in Hutchinson economy after recent layoffs

info2023-03-19T22:15:35-05:00March 19th, 2023|

Recent closures and layoffs in Hutchinson have brought up questions about the local economy and the future of the town. The director at StartUp Hutch says that local businesses are often overlooked in how they drive the local economy, and those businesses are providing jobs that are different than those at a corporation. Jackson Swearer says the local businesses are typically run by people right there in the community, having an impact on more than just their customers. Source: KSN-TV

Fed poised to approve quarter-point rate hike next week, despite market turmoil

info2023-03-17T13:43:02-05:00March 17th, 2023|

Even with turmoil in the banking industry and uncertainty ahead, the Federal Reserve likely will approve a quarter percentage point interest rate increase next week, according to market pricing and many Wall Street experts. Rate expectations have been on a rapidly swinging pendulum over the past two weeks, varying from a half-point hike to holding the line and even at one point some talk that the Fed could cut. However, a consensus has emerged that Chairman Jerome Powell and his fellow central bankers will want to signal that while they are attuned to the financial sector upheaval, it's important to continue [...]

Municipal market contemplates fallout from banking crisis

info2023-03-17T13:42:18-05:00March 17th, 2023|

"The failure of Silicon Valley Bank along with Silvergate Bank and the Signature Bank of New York has created what is possibly an inflection point in the bond markets," John Mousseau, president and director of fixed income at Cumberland Advisors, wrote in a commentary Wednesday noting the flight to quality. "The effect on the fixed-income markets has been nothing short of astonishing." The crisis cut a wide swath across the market with ... daily shifts in tax-exempt movement sometimes aligned with Treasury fluctuations and sometimes against. Some believe regional banks could face intensified scrutiny that stands to impact their role in the [...]

One year after the first rate hike, the Fed stands at policy crossroads

info2023-03-17T11:15:45-05:00March 17th, 2023|

The Federal Reserve is one year down its rate-hiking path, and in some ways it’s both closer and further away from its goals when it first set sail. Exactly one year ago, on March 16, 2022, the Federal Open Market Committee enacted the first of what would be eight interest rate increases. The goal: to arrest a stubborn inflation wave that central bank officials spent the better part of a year dismissing as “transitory.” In the year since, inflation as measured by the consumer price index has come down some, from an 8.5% annual rate then to 6% now and trending [...]

Central Topeka Grocery Oasis to lease land for planned grocery store

info2023-03-17T11:15:02-05:00March 17th, 2023|

A new agreement for a grocery store in central Topeka has been established. After the former Dillons, 1400 S.W. Huntoon closed its doors seven years ago, it left residents of the central Topeka neighborhood with nowhere to shop for fresh produce. GraceMed Capitol Family Clinic, purchased the then-vacant building and opened the facility almost two years later. Residents said Dillions served as the only full-service grocery store in the entire central Topeka area. The Capital-Journal reported in 2021 that leaders of Central Topeka Grocery Oasis Group and GraceMed were working on a location for a new grocery store, and they were [...]

Derby officials say limited information was accessed in January system breach

info2023-03-17T11:13:56-05:00March 17th, 2023|

Derby officials said a limited amount of information may have been accessed during a computer system breach that was discovered in mid-January, but there’s no indication that this information was misused. The city discovered a computer network disruption on January 14th, and this affected some systems. The disruption affected email services and caused utility bills to go out late. City officials said the information that was affected included residents’ names, addresses and personally identifiable information. There is no evidence of actual misuse of this information and there’s no indication that it will be misused in the future. As a cautionary step, [...]

There is every reason to trust your community banks today

info2023-03-17T12:24:55-05:00March 17th, 2023|

Residents of small towns in Kansas might think that the much-talked-about banking crisis, currently in the headlines, might not affect them. For the most part, they would be correct. But bad practices at the Silicon Valley Bank and the Signature Bank found themselves unable to supply money to their depositors who were depending upon their funds to operate private businesses. Quick action by the Federal Reserve and FDIC led to action by the Federal Government to guarantee all deposits in both banks, and hopefully, avoid the same crisis among other lending institutions. While both banks have been seized and placed up [...]

‘We’ve done so much work’: Amtrak potentially making its way through Wichita

info2023-03-17T10:59:57-05:00March 17th, 2023|

The last time Wichita saw an Amtrak train moving through its neighborhoods was in 1979. Over 40 years later the rumble and whistles could be back. "We've done so much work locally and regionally to prepare Kansas, Department of Transportation, and Oklahoma Department of Transportation to agree that they think that this is a worthy solicitation for those two states to join together to pursue," said Sedgwick County Commissioner, Pete Meitzner. Meitzner said financial issues such as ridership and cost caused the cancellation of many routes. He added whenever there is not enough revenue to cover the cost, the states make [...]

Kansas Supreme Court to make rare visit to rural Kansas

info2023-03-17T10:52:08-05:00March 17th, 2023|

The Kansas Supreme Court is set to visit a town in north central Kansas for the first time in its 162-year history. The justices on the Kansas Supreme Court will travel to Concordia to conduct a special evening session on April 11, according to the Kansas Judicial Branch’s website. This visit is meant to help familiarize Kansans with the court, its work and the overall role played by the Kansas Judiciary. The session will last from 6:30 p.m. to around 8 p.m. at the Concordia High School. All members of the public are invited to attend the special session to learn [...]