News – Page 979 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Working for Lenexa: planning for the future of the City

info2022-09-13T07:11:09-05:00September 13th, 2022|

Christa McGaha, planner II with the City of Lenexa Community Development Department, grew up in a small town an hour northwest of Boston where she was close to the Atlantic Ocean, mountains, and scenic outdoor trails. She’s now 1,400 miles from her family but Kansas City has quickly become home. “Moving here by myself was definitely a huge change,” she said. “I always had roommates and I’ve never gone somewhere not knowing anyone. I’m proud of myself for doing it and for making a home here.” When people hear the job title “planner,” they often think of event planning for small or large-scale [...]

Wichita may decriminalize small-time marijuana possession under City Council proposal

info2022-09-13T07:48:37-05:00September 13th, 2022|

The Wichita City Council is poised to repeal the city’s marijuana laws, making the state’s largest city the least restrictive on marijuana possession in Kansas. On Tuesday, the City Council will vote on whether to decriminalize possession of less than 32 grams of marijuana in the city limits. If that passes, marijuana cases could no longer be filed in municipal court. The change would not affect state and federal prohibitions on marijuana. Wichita police could still arrest people for marijuana possession or use it as a reason to search their property. Source: Wichita Eagle

Paola school bond proposal narrowly fails by 77 votes

info2022-09-13T06:48:57-05:00September 13th, 2022|

Paola USD 368’s $40 million bond proposal to make improvements districtwide failed by 77 votes, according to the unofficial final results of the mail-in ballot election posted Thursday, Sept. 8, by the Miami County Clerk and Election Office. Ballots were mailed out Aug. 19 to 8,602 registered voters within the Paola USD 368 boundaries, and 3,094 were returned to the Miami County Clerk’s Office by the noon deadline Thursday, Sept. 8. That puts the voter turnout at 36 percent. There were 1,506 “Yes” votes (48.75 percent) and 1,583 “No” votes (51.25 percent), according to the posted results. Source: The Miami County [...]

Municipal Bond Trends for September 12, 2022

info2022-09-13T07:09:40-05:00September 12th, 2022|

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS "investment grade" yields. Every issuer's credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.

Sedgwick County sheriff deputy completes dunk; NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal to donate 1,000 laptops, shoes to Wichita youth charity

info2022-09-12T07:39:45-05:00September 12th, 2022|

Wichita children are soon to be the beneficiaries of the generosity of Shaquille O’Neal. In his appearance at Koch Arena on Saturday night for a Wichita charity basketball game, the NBA legend and Hall of Famer promised to buy 1,000 laptops and 1,000 pairs of his new “Shaq Attaq” Reebok shoes for Storytime Village, a Wichita-based children’s literacy nonprofit organization, to distribute. The promise didn’t come without a stipulation, however. The catch? In his halftime sit-down interview, the Big Diesel, a children’s book author who made the stop in Wichita to help promote children’s literacy with the local charity, went off-script [...]

Parsons PD faces issues of keeping, recruiting officers

info2022-09-12T07:09:14-05:00September 12th, 2022|

Police and fire departments in small towns such as Parsons face a multitude of problems recruiting and retaining officers and a big portion of that problem is pay. “I’ve got multiple positions open in the police department because I’ve been cherry-picked by private industry and the larger departments who can throw money at my officers,” Parsons Police Chief Robert Spinks. “Is that something new? No.” Spinks said it has been that way for 25 years under three different chiefs of police and various city managers and city commission members. The Parsons Police Department has gone through 100 staff members since 2009, [...]

$4.5 million bond passes issue for Ellis County

info2022-09-12T07:07:14-05:00September 12th, 2022|

Ellis residents Thursday voted in favor of a $4.5 million bond to improve district facilities. The issue passed with a vote of 440-98. Ellis Junior/Senior High School and Washington Grade School will get improvements through the bond. The junior and senior high facility improvements include a new secure entry, renovated science labs, new exterior doors and a partial roof replacement. Source: KSN-TV

Grant Funding Available to Revitalize Downtown Buildings Statewide

info2022-09-12T07:03:45-05:00September 12th, 2022|

Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland announced a second round of Historic Economic Asset Lifeline (HEAL) grants intended for revitalizing downtown buildings in small communities across the state. The HEAL program, which is funded by the Department of Commerce and the Patterson Family Foundation, will invest $850,000 in projects in the Fall 2022 grant round. The HEAL program is designed to bring downtown buildings back into productive use as spaces for: New or expanding businesses; Housing; Arts and culture; Civic engagement; Childcare or Entrepreneurship. ... Information about the HEAL grant program and the online application can be viewed at www.kansascommerce.gov/healfall2022. Source: [...]

Fire hydrant maintenance essential to Holton water quality

info2022-09-12T07:01:56-05:00September 12th, 2022|

Keeping Holton’s water supply and distribution system in excellent shape involves making sure that the city’s 142 fire hydrants are also in good shape, according to Holton Water and Wastewater Superintendent Dennis Ashcraft. Flushing the distribution system also allows Ashcraft’s crew to identify issues with fire hydrants that are in need of repair, such as the hydrant at the intersection of Second Street and Wisconsin Avenue that water employees P.J. Oldehoeft and Cory Miller were recently seen repairing. Source: Holton Recorder

Fed’s Waller sees ‘significant’ rate hike this month, backs data-dependent approach

info2022-09-12T07:01:20-05:00September 12th, 2022|

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller on Friday echoed recent sentiments from his colleagues, saying he expects a big interest rate increase later this month. He also said policymakers should stop trying to guess the future and instead stick to what the data is saying. "Looking ahead to our next meeting, I support another significant increase in the policy rate," Waller said in remarks prepared for a speech in Vienna. "But, looking further out, I can't tell you about the appropriate path of policy. The peak range and how fast we will move there will depend on data we will receive about [...]