Merriam approves redevelopment of former Kmart site

The City of Merriam has approved the redevelopment of a former Kmart building. The former Kmart site, located at 8703 Shawnee Mission Parkway, just east of Interstate 35, has sat vacant since the store closed in 2013. Plans for the $136 million mixed-use project include four restaurants, two apartment complexes, retail space and a parking garage. The developer was asking for $30 million in incentives to help subsidize the project. The existing Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers and Krispy Kreme in the northwest corner of the property will remain, as will the La Petite Academy in the southeast corner of the property.
Source: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF

Ranson Financial2022-07-12T22:32:08-05:00July 12, 2022|News|

Lenexa considers redesigned Indian Trails Aquatic Center

A new design for the Indian Trails Aquatic Center in Lenexa that prominently features a lazy river, slides and diving boards has begun to take shape as the city considers how to increase attendance and cost recovery at its four swimming pools. What’s going on? City councilmembers recently took a look at a conceptual plan offered by architectural firm Confluence. The plan is the product of more than four years of study and public input that also included a survey of 430 school children. According to the answers from students at five elementary schools, the top most requested feature was a lazy river, followed by slides and diving boards. And also – good food at the concession stand.
Source: Prairie Village Post

Ranson Financial2022-07-13T08:01:37-05:00July 12, 2022|News|

Dodge City eliminates enrollment fees for all students K-12

Some Kansas families will not have to pay enrollment fees this school year. On Monday, the Dodge City Board of Education voted in favor of eliminating them for all students in Kindergarten through 12th grade, effective immediately. This includes fees for textbooks and learning materials. The superintendent says the decision came after a discussion about the large number of families who qualify for free or reduced meals, adding that this could help ease the financial burden for many. “I’m certain that it will be appreciated far and wide by a large majority of our community, and it has to benefit families, especially in the times we’re dealing with now. And we care very much about all of our families, and we want to do the best we can,” said Fred Dierksen, USD 443 Superintendent.
Source: KSN-TV

Ranson Financial2022-07-12T22:19:50-05:00July 12, 2022|News|

Lawrence parks host honeybee rescue program that finds safe homes for swarming bees

High in a tree in Lawrence’s South Park, a wooden box is secured to a branch, offering a home for honeybees that would otherwise have trouble finding one. The swarm rescue boxes have recently been placed in 16 City of Lawrence parks, so far helping to catch and relocate 17 swarms of honeybees. Leading the effort is Robert Brooks, who has a Ph.D. in entomology, or the study of insects, and proposed the bee rescue program to the city and volunteers his time to the project. A single swarm can contain thousands of bees, and Brooks said the program is helping to save and relocate valuable and endangered pollinators.
Source: LJWorld

Ranson Financial2022-07-12T07:52:23-05:00July 12, 2022|News|

Finney County Museum’s Flea Market Festival draws vendors, community

The 13th annual Finney County Historical Museum’s Flea Market Festival was well attended. The Historical Society’s largest event of the year was held Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. just south of the museum inside Lee Richardson Zoo. Steve Quakenbush, executive director of the Finney County Historical Museum, said he estimates approximately 3,000 people came through the gates on Saturday. A little past the four-hour mark, Quakenbush said it seemed like the crowd was turning over periodically and they were seeing more and more people.
Source: GC Telegram

Ranson Financial2022-07-12T07:49:51-05:00July 12, 2022|News|

Municipal Bond Trends for July 11, 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.

Ranson Financial2022-07-12T07:43:40-05:00July 12, 2022|News|

Fed’s Bostic confident economy can handle another jumbo rate hike

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said the U.S. economy can cope with higher interest rates and repeated his support for another jumbo move when the central bank meets later this month. “Right now I’m pretty comfortable,” he told reporters in a conference call Monday. “I’m confident that the economy will be able to withstand this next move. I would support a 75 basis-point” increase. Policy makers pivoted to aggressively lifting interest rates this year as they work to tame the hottest inflation in four decades, a shift they acknowledge could slow U.S. economic growth and weaken the labor market.
Source: The Bond Buyer

Ranson Financial2022-07-11T23:30:21-05:00July 11, 2022|News|

Fed’s George warns raising rates too fast risks ‘oversteering’

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George, who dissented last month against the central bank’s jumbo 75 basis-point increase in interest rates, cautioned that rushing to tighten policy could backfire. “Communicating the path for interest rates is likely far more consequential than the speed with which we get there,” she said Monday in a speech to the Mid-America Labor/Management Conference in Lake Ozark, Missouri. “Moving interest rates too fast raises the prospect of oversteering.” George, whose vote at the June meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee was the first dovish dissent of her career, said she understood the desire to raise rates rapidly to dampen surging inflation but was concerned it could do more harm than good.
Source: The Bond Buyer

Ranson Financial2022-07-11T23:28:22-05:00July 11, 2022|News|

City, board to discuss potential change in building codes

On Tuesday, July 12, 2022, the City of McPherson Building Inspection department will meet with the McPherson Construction Advisory Board of Trades and Board of Appeals. The meeting, aimed at discussion of moving from the 2009 International Building Codes to the 2018 codes…
Source: McPherson, KS – News Flash

Ranson Financial2022-07-12T07:39:16-05:00July 11, 2022|News|

Wichita police use Narcan to save woman’s life after fentanyl overdose

For the fourth time since Wichita police started carrying Narcan, officers have saved the life of a person overdosing on fentanyl. The department said on Facebook that an officer responded just after 12 a.m. Friday to an overdose call in the 400 block of S. Webb Rd. The officer got to the scene before EMS and found a 29-year-old man who said that he and a 26-year-old woman had taken fentanyl. The officer found the woman unresponsive and not breathing in a hotel room. The officer administered Narcan, saving the woman’s life. “The Wichita Police Department wants to remind everyone the dangers of illicit drug use,” WPD Facebook post says. “Especially regarding an increase of counterfeit fentanyl pills being brought into our community.”
Source: KAKE – News

Ranson Financial2022-07-11T23:24:35-05:00July 11, 2022|News|