Sedgwick County commissioner with personal knowledge of Ukraine asks for prayers for the people

The chairman of the Sedgwick County Commission has a unique perspective on the situation in Ukraine. Commissioner David Dennis is a veteran. He says he spent three years in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus. During the Board of County Commissioners meeting Wednesday, he asked the people of Sedgwick County to keep Ukraine in their prayers. “What is going on over in Ukraine right now is absolutely tragic,” he said. “They are some of the finest people that I have ever met.” KSN spoke to him after the meeting about his remarks. He said the conflict in Ukraine hits close to him and many Kansans. “Here in this state alone, we’ve got about 4,000 Ukrainians. We have about 1,000 here in Sedgwick County,” Dennis said. “They are people that have a very large love of their country just as the United States has a love of our country, and they’re fighting for their freedom right now against a despot.”
Source: KSN-TV

Ranson Financial2022-03-03T01:49:53-06:00March 3, 2022|News|

Horse in Wichita Police Department Mounted Unit dies

In a Facebook post from the Wichita Police Foundation on Tuesday, they announced the death of Scout, a saddlebred paint gelding who had been serving with the Wichita Police Department Mounted Unit since 2014. “Scout was fearless, not afraid of anything. Rode him in some tough situations on patrol, and he always did great. He was my horse until I retired,” said retired Wichita Police Department Sergeant and former Unit Commander Clark Bolan.
Source: KSN-TV

Ranson Financial2022-03-03T01:42:59-06:00March 3, 2022|News|

Wichita City Council approves SAFER Grant application for fire department staffing

Wichita City Council is asking for millions of dollars to help the Wichita Fire Department (WFD). This SAFER Grant would add somewhere between 36 and 39 firefighters to WFD’s staff. The additional staff would be added to two brand new ladder truck companies as well as supplement other ladder companies that are currently running with a three-person crew. “It’d be the added bonus that we’re really needing to continue to serve the citizens as we’re accustomed to and making the efforts to make sure that we have everybody safe,” WFD Battalion Chief Jose Ocadiz said. While going from three to four firefighters on a truck doesn’t sound like a huge difference, it makes an impact.
Source: KSN-TV

Ranson Financial2022-03-03T00:58:55-06:00March 3, 2022|News|

Baxter Springs welcomes back former officer as new police chief

Law enforcement in southeast Kansas is getting a brand new face — but it’s one that’s pretty familiar in a different part of the Four States. It’s the new police chief for the Baxter Springs Police Department. Brian Henderson is in just his first week on the job, but it’s a career he’s familiar with. “January 1996 was my start date,” said Henderson. The first time Brian Henderson was hired by the Baxter Springs Police Department as a reserve officer. Now he’s back in a much different role. “So it’s coming back home for me, after serving citizens of Joplin for 20 years. And I’m excited to be starting a new chapter in my career, but also coming back to a great and wonderful community to serve as police chief.”
Source: KSNF/KODE

Ranson Financial2022-03-03T00:57:01-06:00March 3, 2022|News|

Amelia Earhart Memorial Airport receives KAIP funding

Thirty-six projects have been selected for Kansas Airport Improvement Program (KAIP) funding for the purpose of planning, constructing or rehabilitating public use general aviation airports. “Grant programs such as the Kansas Airport Improvement Program make projects like these possible, and we are very fortunate to have been awarded three grants. It is a competitive program so I think these awards really speak to the progress that has been made with the airport,” Clinton McNemee said. The airport received $38,000 for design of the; primary apron expansion; $89,396 for construction on the new runway and $328,500 for construction of the primary apron.
Source: News | atchisonglobenow.com

Ranson Financial2022-03-03T00:51:49-06:00March 3, 2022|News|

New e-scooters arrive in Overland Park

Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog took a ride on a Bird scooter Tuesday afternoon around downtown to celebrate the official launch of a two-year pilot program for the electronic devices. The program is similar to other rental scooter programs in the metro, including in neighboring Prairie Village. The vehicles are electric and can be unlocked for relatively short rides with an app and an account. The pilot was approved by Overland Park City Council unanimously in early February.
Source: Prairie Village Post

Ranson Financial2022-03-03T07:42:11-06:00March 3, 2022|News|

Douglas County Commission to allow mask mandate to expire

As new COVID-19 cases have continued to drop in Douglas County, commissioners on Wednesday evening were set to let a countywide mask mandate expire. An emergency health order with a countywide mask mandate went into effect Jan. 7 as the county was seeing a rolling 14-day average of new cases nearly double previous pandemic spikes. That number eventually reached more than four times the previous records from November 2020, but new cases began to drop within two weeks of the mandate going into effect. Early last month, the commission had considered an option of a loosened mandate that would have required masks only for indoor gatherings where more than 500 people were present. Instead, they opted to extend the mandate until Wednesday, March 2.
Source: The Lawrence Times

Ranson Financial2022-03-03T00:29:38-06:00March 3, 2022|News|

Council vote halts years-long effort to outsource management of city golf courses

A decade-long effort to hire a private company to manage Wichita’s city-owned golf courses has failed again. In a 5-2 vote, the City Council decided not to contract with Illinois-based Kemper Sports, with vice mayor Becky Tuttle and Council member Bryan Frye casting the votes in favor of the contract. The decision followed about two hours of spirited public discussion, including several local golf enthusiasts who spoke against the move to privatize operations and instead advocated for the city to fill the long-vacant golf director position.
Source: Wichita Business Journal

Ranson Financial2022-03-03T00:23:45-06:00March 3, 2022|News|

With inflation and Ukraine, Powell must thread a needle on Capitol Hill this week to calm markets

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is tasked with telling Congress this week that the central bank will be doing more to control inflation at a time when markets expect it will be doing less. With fears over the Russian invasion of Ukraine causing turmoil in the financial world, Wall Street has quietly dialed down its expectations for Fed action. Where markets had been expecting the Fed to raise interest rates up to seven times in 2022, recent pricing now indicates just five moves. That would be the equivalent of bringing the Fed’s benchmark short-term borrowing rate up about 125 basis points, or to a range between 1.25%-1.5%.
Source: CNBC

Ranson Financial2022-03-02T07:25:58-06:00March 2, 2022|News|

Municipal Bond Trends for March 1, 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 Financial2022-03-02T07:19:00-06:00March 2, 2022|News|