Municipal News & Jobs

Leading tech news publication PCMag just released their ranking of 50 best work-from-home cities in America and Pittsburg, Kansas made the list. The COVID-19 pandemic sparked a remote work boom, driving many North Americans to find new, more affordable homes. But if you can work from anywhere, where should you go? That’s the question PCMag set out to answer. The magazine searched for cities with affordable housing, great gigabit internet connections, plus remote-friendly lifestyles, and Pittsburg passed the test with flying colors. “Our list started by looking at towns where people have and use gigabit broadband, and the work Craw-Kan and now Optic have done to put Pittsburg in the fast lane caused it to bubble up on our list,” says PCMag Analyst Sascha Segan.  “Combine that with the presence of PSU, low housing prices, a walkable layout, and plenty of parks, and the city came up as a hidden gem.”

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.

Water flows freely and easily in parts of Kansas. But in other locations, the splash and splatter of a river is far less frequent. A heavy downpour, though often prayed for by farmers, is rare. Edwards, Ellis, Russell and Stafford counties sit at the bullseye of a major water issue. A wildlife refuge needs water for its migrating birds, farmers need water to manage their crops, industry needs the commodity to increase capacity and local municipalities, Hays and Russell, need water for their citizens. In January, with the help of U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, by actions of the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Aurelia Skipwith, said Rattlesnake Creek funding will be used for the development of a watershed plan for the Rattlesnake Creek Basin, which flows into Quivira. NRCS will work with stakeholders to assess the existing resources, evaluate conservation alternatives and develop a plan to conserve and protect the area’s resources, but they will not give the refuge’s senior water rights to them.
Source: Hutchison News.

The yield of the 30-year U.S. Treasury bond pushed past 2% Monday for the first time since February 2020, before the coronavirus pandemic roiled government-debt markets. The move comes amid a recent surge in yields of longer-term Treasury bonds compared with short-term debt, as traders bet that government stimulus will accelerate a rebound in economic growth. Bond investors closely watch the differential between interest rates on short and longer-dated Treasurys as a bellwether for growth and inflation, both of which can push bond yields up as the Federal Reserve raises short-term rates and investors demand higher returns to lend out capital.
Source: Wall Street Journal.