Kansas Municipal News
Municipal Bond Trends for February 20, 2025
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.
Treasury yields edge lower as investors weigh the state of the U.S. economy
U.S. Treasury yields were slightly lower on Friday as investors awaited more economic data, and assessed the latest comments from Federal Reserve officials on stubborn inflation and the potential impact of tariffs.
At 4:40 a.m. ET, the 10-year Treasury yield slipped less than one basis point to 4.4896%, and the 2-year Treasury yield was also lower by less than one basis point at 4.2597%.
One basis point is equal to 0.01%, and yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Investors are anticipating some economic releases on Friday including January’s existing home sales figures, which will show the change in the number of residential buildings sold the previous month, and are expected to offer fresh insights about the health of the U.S. economy. The data will be published at 10 a.m. ET.
Investors are also looking out for the S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index, which tracks business activity across the manufacturing and services sectors, due in the morning.
Fed officials are expected to speak throughout the day including Fed governor Philip Jefferson and Fed Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly.
They’re also digesting the latest comments that came from Fed officials on Thursday about the central bank’s rate-cutting plans.
Fed Bank of St Louis President Alberto Musalem said on Thursday that he believes price increases will continue to moderate, but risks of "moving higher seem skewed to the upside." So, policy should "remain modestly restrictive."
Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic expressed a similar view saying, "this is no time for complacency" as inflation could stay elevated, with added pressures from tariffs and immigration policy.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Municipal Bond Trends for February 19, 2025
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 February 18, 2025
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.
City, county have $15.5M to spend fighting opioid use. Here’s an early look at the plan
People in Sedgwick County could see expanded treatment options for substance use as the city and county plan how they will spend $15.5 million in opioid settlement funds. Local officials heard recommendations recently about how the money could help mitigate the opioid crisis in the county. Options focused on expanding substance use treatment services, stigma reduction, overdose prevention and integrated care. Overdose deaths are trending downward in Sedgwick County but are still much higher than other parts of the state. In 2023, 243 people died from an overdose – most fentanyl-related – in the county, according to the health department.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
More details released after cockfighting raid in Mulvane where 400 roosters and hens found
More details were released Friday about a possible cockfighting operation in Mulvane that law enforcement and animal officials raided on Tuesday after a two-year investigation. No one has yet been arrested and names will not be released until charges are filed, Sumner County undersheriff Mike Westmoreland said in an email Friday afternoon. “More than 400 roosters and hens were found living in small wire or wooden structures with little protection from the below freezing temperatures, some without access to clean drinking water,” according to a joint release sent out Friday by the sheriff’s office and Humane World for Animals. “Some of the roosters and hens were suffering from apparent respiratory illness, with eye and nasal discharge. Two roosters found on the property were covered in dried blood, suffering with open wounds.”
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Is enrollment declining in Wichita schools? What’s happening in city and suburban districts
Public school enrollment has been falling in Wichita for years, following a national trend that has left many districts wondering how to best use resources going forward. Since the 2014-15 academic year, Wichita Public Schools has lost nearly 10% of its students, and it’s projecting a similar drop over the next 10 years. This past fall, enrollment sat at 46,154 students — 9.5% less than when it peaked during the 2015-16 school year, according to Kansas Department of Education data. Overall student enrollment in every grade in elementary and middle school, excluding preschool, is down compared to 10 years ago, with the largest drops in kindergarten, first and second grades, an analysis of the data shows.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
This small Kansas town is paying people to move there. Here’s what it’s offering
A small town about a two-hour drive from Wichita is offering tempting incentives for people willing to relocate. Neodesha in southeast Kansas has a population of about 2,300 and is looking for that number to grow through a partnership with the company MakeMyMove. The goal? To bring people back to rural communities. The full incentives package includes up to $15,000 in student loan repayment assistance, 100% Kansas state income tax waiver through 2026, a college scholarship incentive reaching up to $25,000 and more.
Source: Wichita Eagle
Winfield considering goats to manage vegetation
The City of Winfield is considering the use of goats to help manage vegetation around Island Park, according to information presented at Thursday’s work session. The process would involve hiring a company the brings in a herd of goats, pens off a portion of the land where the goats will graze for a couple of days, then moving the pen and the goats until all of the land has been grazed, Winfield public improvements director Patrick Steward said to commissioners. “It’s relatively low risk, and other communities have had a positive response,” Steward said about using goats as vegetation control.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
Lawrence school district reaches 8 inclement weather days; still unclear whether makeup time will be needed
Lawrence Public Schools will be closed for a second day in a row this week because of snow and continued freezing temperatures in the forecast, making for eight total days canceled so far this year. The Kansas State Department of Education forgives local districts the same number of inclement weather hours or days they build into their calendars and use. Wednesday will mark the district’s eighth inclement weather day so far in the 2024-25 school year, the first four happening during the first week classes resumed after winter break.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Kansas lawmakers consider expanding window for fireworks sales
A proposed Senate bill would permit year-round fireworks sales from permanent retailers and expand the window around the Fourth of July for pop-up vendors. Senate Bill 199 would allow temporary vendors to sell fireworks from June 20 to July 7. Currently, sales are restricted to June 27 to July 5. Jake Marietta, who owns Jake’s Fireworks — a family-owned business since 1938 — testified Tuesday before the Senate Commerce Committee in support of the bill, explaining that sales at his pop-up fireworks tent can drop by as much as 50% with just one day of rain. Marietta said he was excited by the possibility of extending the sale time to two weekends, which are peak sales times.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Disruptive public commenting has reached a crisis point for some in public office
For the first time since a pair of public commenters began routinely disrupting government meetings in Lawrence, an official has mentioned the possibility of terminating public comment, at least temporarily. On Monday night, Lawrence school board president Kelly Jones — after an approximately 30-minute standoff with commenter Michael Eravi, who was refusing to obey board rules — said that the time had come to discuss whether public commenting in its current form had simply become too disruptive. Nothing in state law requires that governing bodies hear public comment at their meetings, and local entities have grappled for years now with how to run efficient, civil business meetings in the face of routine disruptions and the flouting of decorum rules.
Source: LJWorld
Municipal Bond Trends for February 14, 2025
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.
Decades-old Johnson County bar to close for city project: ‘Can’t fight the government’
Mary Armstrong knew that the I-35 and Santa Fe corridor project in Olathe would eventually displace her bar, Double Nickel. She said she attended a public meeting about the project last year, though she was under the impression that she would have more time at her current 189 Rogers Road digs. “They made it sound like it would be a while out,” she said. “Surprise. It’s not.” In December, she was given a 90-day demand letter from the city ordering her to vacate the rented space.
Source: KC Star Local News
Hopes for more Fed rate cuts dim as Powell notes hot CPI means ‘we’re not quite there yet’
A Federal Reserve interest rate cut won’t be coming until at least September, if at all this year, following a troubling inflation report Wednesday, according to updated market pricing. Futures markets shifted from the expectation of a June cut and possibly another before the end of the year to no moves until the fall, with a minimal chance of a follow-up before the end of 2025.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Muni advocates won’t give up tax exemption without a fight
Republican legislators have placed tax-exempt bonds on the regulatory chopping block — as the cost to renew expiring provisions of President Donald Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act continues to grow — putting municipal leaders in the eye of a storm. Public finance advocates are flocking en masse to Capitol Hill in an effort to convince representatives of how significant the exemption is for the markets, amid efforts to return tax-exempt advance refunding and lift the ceiling on bank-qualified debt.
Source: The Bond Buyer
Sumner County deputies move in on suspected cockfighting operation
Sumner County deputies and Humane Society workers went to a home near Mulvane on Tuesday to shut down a suspected cockfighting operation. Sumner County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Tyler Carmichael told KFDI’s news partners at KWCH that an investigation has been going on over the past couple of years, and more information will be released later this week. Sheriff’s detective Andrea Wagner said there were a significant number of animals at the home, discovered when a search warrant was executed.
Source: 101.3 KFDI
2 mostly rural fire districts in fast-growing southern Johnson County are merging
Johnson County Commissioners voted to merge two largely rural fire districts last week after a discussion of whether the move represented “taxation without representation.” In a unanimous series of votes, commissioners combined Fire District 1 in the southwest corner of the county and Fire District 2, which covered the southern central and eastern areas. The new district will be known as Consolidated Fire District 1.
Source: Johnson County Post
Amazon to build in Salina and hire 100 or more workers
The Salina area is about to get more job opportunities. Amazon will build a distribution facility and generate at least 100 new jobs. The goal is to open the facility late this year. The Salina Airport Authority made the announcement Thursday. It says Amazon bought 20 acres in the Airport Industrial Center Subdivision No. 3. The company will build a 90,000-square-foot last-mile distribution facility at 1850 W. Water Well Road, southwest of town.
Source: KSN-TV
Emporia one step closer to allowing drinking on downtown streets
Revelers in Emporia may soon be able to barhop on Commercial Street with beers in their hands. The Emporia City Commission has approved an ordinance to establish a Common Consumption Area, allowing people to drink alcohol outdoors within a designated area of the downtown district of this college town, so long as the beverages are purchased from participating vendors.
Source: KSN-TV