Florence preserving its hometown heritage

When Bob Gayle moved away from Florence in 1978, he never thought he’d return. He came back 33 years later, to make things in his hometown better. Over the years he was away working as a diesel mechanic, returning to Florence made him sad. Ultimately, someone needed to make things better. That’s why he decided to return. “We’ve got a lot of history in this little burg, and if we don’t preserve the history, we’re not going to have it,” he said.
Source: HILLSBORO Star-Journal

Ranson Financial2022-06-27T07:57:07-05:00June 27, 2022|News|

Carlyle community builds shelter for resident

Kenny Arbuckle had a plan for what he would do if a tornado was headed toward his home. He’d roll his wheelchair into the garage, where he had a chain connected to a pipe which was secured in cement. “I’ll just chain myself to that and ride it out,” he thought. His neighbors had other ideas. A group of Good Samaritans, including area businesses, joined forces to build a tornado shelter on Arbuckle’s property. Arbuckle is disabled because of a muscle wasting disease and spends all of his time in a wheelchair. The shelter was intended not only to make sure Arbuckle stays safe, but also to thank him for his generous offer to serve as a host site for a community storm shelter.
Source: The Iola Register

Ranson Financial2022-06-27T07:55:53-05:00June 27, 2022|News|

Family proposes turning the former Iola water tower into a high-rise Airbnb

Iola’s old Elm Street water tower hasn’t been used for years, aside from being home to a couple of antennas and an occasional gathering spot for turkey vultures. Max and Candice Grundy want to change that. The Iola artists — transplants from Utah, by way of Los Angeles — have proposed turning the old piece of city infrastructure into a one-of-a-kind tourist destination. The Grundys want to convert the tower into a high-rise Airbnb, complete with an observation deck to provide a 360-degree panoramic view of Iola and surrounding countryside. “There’s so much natural beauty here,” Max Grundy said. ‘The sky is so radiantly blue and the grass is so vividly green. The landscape can be so amazing, and you’d be able to see it from a high perspective.”
Source: The Iola Register

Ranson Financial2022-06-27T07:52:56-05:00June 27, 2022|News|

Flags to be Flown Half-Staff June 29th for Fallen Linn County Firefighter

In accordance with Executive Order 20-30, Governor Kelly directs flags be flown at half-staff at all state grounds, buildings, and facilities on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, in honor of Linn County volunteer firefighter Joshua Haynes of Rural District 1 Fire Department, who suffered fatal injuries while battling a fire in Pleasanton, Kansas. “I am directing flags statewide be flown at half-staff to honor Joshua Haynes, a volunteer firefighter from Linn County,” Kelly said. “My deepest condolences are with Joshua’s loved ones and the Linn County community during their time of loss. His bravery and service to our state will never be forgotten.”
Source: 101.3 KFDI

Ranson Financial2022-06-27T07:50:53-05:00June 27, 2022|News|

Building the disc golf capitol of the world

Let’s go to the disc golf capitol of the world. We could travel around the globe looking for such a designation, or we could go directly to… Emporia, Kansas. … What has caused the sport of disc golf to grow? “It really is inclusive,” [Doug Bjerkaas] said. “When I go to the course, I see families with elementary school kids up to a couple of ladies in their 80s,” he said. “Regardless of your skill level, you can play with other people and have fun.” … It is also less expensive for a community to install a disc golf course. This means there may be several courses in larger cities, but it has also made it possible for disc golf courses to be installed in rural places such as Olpe, population 519; Neosho Rapids, population 229; Admire, population 140; and Elmdale, population 40 people. Now, that’s rural.
Source: Andover American

Ranson Financial2022-06-27T07:50:38-05:00June 27, 2022|News|

Snow Cones with Gardner Police

Over 500 snow cones were served to local residents who came out to support the Gardner Police Department Thursday June 9 at the Dollar General on Moonlight Road. The family friendly event welcomed everyone with a patrol car to see and touch, a drone and patrol bicycle. K9 Handler Officer Anderson and K9 Zeus greeted attendees with Officer Weathers showing off the department’s drone and Patrol Bicycle. Community Policing Officer John Stimatze, Student Resource Officer Davidson and Patrol Officer Weathers also enjoyed snow cones with the public.
Source: Gardner News

Ranson Financial2022-06-27T07:44:39-05:00June 27, 2022|News|

Supply chain issues hit Hutchinson area fire departments

Nearly four months after a wildfire destroyed dozens of homes in Hutchinson, the Hutchinson Fire Department chief says the department will have to wait even longer to replace damaged equipment. One of the HFD’s brush trucks valued at $250,000 was destroyed in the Cottonwood Complex Fire in March 2022. The biggest difficulty in replacing that truck is purchasing the base frame or chassis. While the department currently has four base frames on order, what would normally take three to four months to replace now has an estimated wait time between six months to two years. “In my 34 years on the job, I’ve never seen this extent,” Chief Steve Beer said.
Source: KSN-TV

Ranson Financial2022-06-27T07:39:21-05:00June 27, 2022|News|

City of Lawrence sees dozens of vacant houses as potential way to create more affordable housing

As climbing prices intensify the City of Lawrence’s need for more affordable housing, city leaders are interested in looking to a new option: the dozens of houses sitting vacant in Lawrence neighborhoods. City staff recently recommended the creation of a vacant structure ordinance to the Lawrence City Commission, among several other potential policy changes, and a few commissioners indicated Tuesday they were interested in further exploring the idea. The local nonprofit Tenants to Homeowners recently began piloting a program that seeks to repair and rent out vacant homes, and representatives said such an ordinance would be significant for affordable housing. Housing Administrator Lea Roselyn later told the Journal-World that vacant structure ordinances are common tools that a lot of municipalities use, not only to benefit affordable housing but neighborhoods overall.
Source: LJWorld

Ranson Financial2022-06-26T16:31:35-05:00June 25, 2022|News|

Municipal Bond Trends for June 24, 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 Financial2022-06-26T08:12:26-05:00June 25, 2022|News|

Finney County continues researching bird mitigation options

The Finney County Commissioners had a follow-up discussion on nuisance bird mitigation Monday… The large bird population can cause damage to the area with feces accumulation from roosting, which causes a human health and safety hazard; damage to HVAC systems, electrical substations and power stations; damage to vegetation including trees and landscaping within city limits; lost crop yields; and economic loss for feedlots, dairies and granaries throughout the county. They are also noisy…. the purpose of the discussion Monday was to see if … commissioners are interested in continuing looking into funding sources, partnerships, acquiring information from the community members and businesses, etc.
Source: GC Telegram

Ranson Financial2022-06-26T08:12:45-05:00June 25, 2022|News|