Helping new businesses develop

The first Charlie Walker Entrepreneurial Challenge started this week in Salina. Community members can view pitches and see what fellow Kansans think would be a good business for Salina and neighboring towns. Last month, several groups, including Startup Salina, got together and offered a challenge for local residents to come up with a new business, complete with a business plan. The challenge was open to residents of Dickinson, Ellsworth, McPherson, Ottawa and Saline counties who were wanting to start a business.
Source: Salina Journal

Ranson Financial2022-03-08T07:44:32-06:00March 8, 2022|News|

Municipal Bond Trends for March 7, 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 Financial2022-03-08T07:40:37-06:00March 8, 2022|News|

Quiet bedroom community east of Wichita wakes up, thanks to a big new development

Andover Mayor Ronnie Price has a friend who has always said, “Andover’s just a road.” “And I couldn’t argue the point,” Price said. “We’ve always been known to be a bedroom community. The opinion was — before me — if you want to shop, you can go to Wichita.” That’s changing, in large part due to the new 110-acre Heritage development. The mixed-use development just east of Andover Road and north of Kellogg already has two housing developments in the works and this week will break ground on Heritage Square, the city’s first 5-story building that will include apartments, public parking and commercial spaces. Construction also will begin on Heritage Plaza, a kind of a Main Street gathering spot with restaurants, service businesses and a town square that’s meant to be Andover’s first downtown.
Source: Wichita Eagle

Ranson Financial2022-03-08T07:34:29-06:00March 8, 2022|News|

Johnson County neighbors file lawsuit to stop new addict recovery home from opening

A Kansas City nonprofit’s plan to open a home for recovering addicts in an Overland Park neighborhood has sparked a bitter fight between neighbors this year about whether such a program belongs in a residential area. A small group of residents in Shannon Valley Estates, just southwest of College Boulevard and Antioch Road, raised safety concerns about having people in treatment in their neighborhood despite assurances from the group, Artists Helping the Homeless, that the house would be staffed round-the-clock and secured like its other sober homes across the metro. City officials and neighborhood association leaders in Overland Park declined neighbors’ requests to intervene, citing the federal Fair Housing Act’s protections for recovery homes, which prompted a weeks-long dispute between residents about the future of the nonprofit’s project.
Source: Joco 913 News

Ranson Financial2022-03-08T00:30:23-06:00March 8, 2022|News|

More than 800 Kansas applicants for remaining $721 million in federal recovery assistance

The state task force working to target $721 million in federal relief dollars into economic, health, connectivity and education investment projects received proposals for $12.8 billion in expenditures — about 17 times available funding. The Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas, or SPARK, advisory panels have been combing through 840 proposals, including 400 tied to $7.9 billion in economic development initiatives. The legislators, business people and state officials on the SPARK executive board plan to narrow the list in April. That report would be forwarded to the State Finance Council, which is comprised of state legislators and Gov. Laura Kelly. Greg Orman, a member of the executive board of SPARK, said the four advisory panels should define a set of investment principles and outline which projects connected to those objectives.
Source: Kansas Reflector

Ranson Financial2022-03-08T00:13:27-06:00March 8, 2022|News|

Former Johnson County court accountant accused of embezzling more than $1 million

A former accountant for the Johnson County District Court Clerk’s Office is accused of embezzling more than $1 million in payments that were made to the clerk’s office over the course of 10 years, according to a federal complaint. Dawna Kellogg, of Paola, Kansas, is accused of running a fraud scheme in which she re-directed payments made to the clerk’s office into her personal account. A criminal complaint outlining the case was filed by federal prosecutors in the U.S. District of Kansas on Friday, alleging eight counts of wire fraud and three counts of filing a false tax return. According to court records, Kellogg was employed as an accounting supervisor between April 2003 and June 2017. Her role gave her control over the court’s finances, including management of the accounting department, collecting funds from county systems and depositing funds into the clerk of court’s trust account.
Source: KC Star Local News

Ranson Financial2022-03-08T00:08:44-06:00March 8, 2022|News|

Shawnee considers legalizing fireworks sales and bringing back city Fourth of July event

Shawnee is exploring ways to legalize the sale and use of fireworks within city borders, while also possibly bringing back a community fireworks show for the first time in more than a decade. After some discussion at its meeting Feb. 28, the Shawnee City Council directed city staff to look into options for fireworks to be legally purchased and fired off, particularly around the Fourth of July. The sale and use of fireworks is fairly restrictive in Shawnee, as it is in most other cities in Johnson County, with the exception of De Soto.
Source: Prairie Village Post

Ranson Financial2022-03-08T07:38:11-06:00March 8, 2022|News|

Senate expands incentive to lure urban dwellers into rural areas

The Senate on Monday agreed to expand a development incentive enticing residents to move from urban parts of the Kansas to rural areas as part of program intended to keep the state from draining population. The chamber approved a bill extending the state’s rural opportunity zone program to Kansans who move from Douglas, Johnson, Leavenworth, Sedgwick, Shawnee, and Wyandotte counties to rural areas that have lost population. The program has already been under scrutiny with a 2020 study suggesting it has not boosted the state’s population like it had been hoped while lawmakers have expressed concern that it has gotten overly big.
Source: Sunflower State Journal

Ranson Financial2022-03-08T07:38:39-06:00March 8, 2022|News|

Senate approves $157 million tax bill

The first major piece of tax legislation cleared the state Senate on Monday, offering a package of tax credits and property tax cuts that are believed to be worth $157 million in the first year. The Senate tax package included elements of several bills tied together, including tax credits for teachers buying school supplies and a general tax break on school taxes.
Source: Sunflower State Journal

Ranson Financial2022-03-07T23:59:20-06:00March 7, 2022|News|

Senate bill mandates limit on local governments, school boards amid public health threats

The Senate Judiciary Committee plowed into a bill Monday mandating state-imposed limits on actions of cities, counties, school boards and higher education institutions in a health emergency that was so complex it took more than 30 minutes for a legislative staff member to summarize. The Kansas Chamber, attorneys filing lawsuits against during the pandemic and individuals irritated by city or school board actions praised the bill. It was denounced by organizations representing city and county governments, public education and proponents of child vaccinations. A House member suggested references to religious freedom in the bill could be stricken, because worship was constitutionally protected.
Source: The Lawrence Times

Ranson Financial2022-03-08T07:39:58-06:00March 7, 2022|News|