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.
Interest rates could remain at their record lows “forever,” according to one asset manager, despite a recent rush to normalize policy by many of the world’s central banks. GAM Investments’ Julian Howard told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” last week that he believed it was “entirely consistent historically to talk about low rates forever.” Howard is the lead investment director of multi-asset solutions at GAM, which has 103 billion Swiss francs ($112 billion) in assets under management. He cited research by economic historian Paul Schmelzing, who was a visiting scholar at the Bank of England when the paper was published in 2020. The research looked at interest rates globally dating back to the 14th century, identifying a downward trend, with Schmelzing predicting that “real rates could soon enter permanently negative territory.” Howard said the lower rates that we had seen in recent years were, therefore, “actually a return to a very, very long-term trend of yields falling over an extended period of time.”
Source: Economy
At one time, downtown Kansas City was well connected to downtown Kansas City, Kansas. Over the years, there were trains, ferries and streetcars that allowed people to easily move across the Kansas River and across state lines. But those local connections deteriorated with the arrival of the intercontinental railroads and the interstate highways, said Gunnar Hand, director of planning and urban design at the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas. He’s now eyeing a novel way of reconnecting the respective cores of the two Kansas Cities. Hand and other planners are proposing an aerial lift that would move people in gondolas far above the ground.
Source: Kansas City Star
The next time you are outside, look up. You might see houses, buildings, a few trees. Higher you may see some clouds, a commercial airplane, a military airplane. Maybe there’s a helicopter. In other words, not much. That’s changing. Aerospace engineers and entrepreneurs across the world are in a race to fundamentally change how we see the sky. They are working on new air vehicles — in an industry called advanced air mobility — that will be used to drop packages on your doorstep, transport people and cargo over shorter distances and could even give people the ability to call air-taxis.
Source: Wichita Eagle
Governor Laura Kelly today congratulated Roger Hrabe, Rooks County Economic Development Director, on receiving the Governor’s Tourism Award. The Governor announced the prestigious award during the annual Kansas Tourism Conference in Liberal. “Our tourism industry supports Kansas jobs, injects millions into our economy, and preserves our state’s unique history for future generations – but its success wouldn’t be possible without talented Kansans like Roger Hrabe,” said Governor Laura Kelly. “Roger truly understands the connection between tourism and developing a thriving community, and his work has gone above and beyond for the people of Rooks County. Congratulations, Roger, on this well-deserved recognition.”
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
High crop prices are trickling down to agriculture real estate, which have risen by the most in nearly a decade. Farmland values jumped 18% from a year ago during the third quarter of 2021 in the Seventh Federal Reserve District, a five-state region including all of Iowa and most of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin, according to the Chicago Fed. The gains come as farmers were bolstered by high incomes and low interest rates, and after corn and soybean futures climbed to multiyear peaks in Chicago amid adverse weather for crops. Now, the high farmland prices are adding to concerns about inflation, with rising costs for raw materials and transportation leading to increases in food prices.
Source: Wichita Eagle
Help for the homeless. Grants for movie theaters. Hydroelectricity. As Kansas prepares to allocate $1.6 billion in federal COVID-19 aid, business groups, non-profit organizations and civic advocates from across the state are pushing a sweeping range of proposals for spending it. They are all angling for a piece of the one-time funding that could prove transformational for a host of programs and initiatives. The money holds the potential to ultimately touch residents in all corners of the state through dollars for affordable housing, business start-ups, new and improved public buildings, better access to higher education and faster broadband internet. How this funding is spent largely rests with a panel of state, civic and business leaders who have been touring the state, listening to local CEOs, non-profit executives and residents make their case for their particular project.
Source: Wichita Eagle
Shawnee County Public Works is busy Monday making sure it’s ready when winter weather hits. The department has been buying chemicals and checking out equipment since September. While that may seem early, the last thing they want to do is be underprepared when winter weather strikes. When plows and other vehicles do get out on the road, the department director wants to remind other drivers to be careful.
Source: KSNT News
The newest officer at the Lenexa Police Department hasn’t been sworn to protect, doesn’t write tickets and isn’t even human. Nonetheless, Lexi Blue — a golden doodle — has been hard at work serving as the police station’s first-ever comfort dog. Since joining the department in June, Lexi has visited with hundreds of community members, including elementary students, shoppers at the Lenexa Public Market and teens grieving the loss of a classmate. And already, police officers have noticed a difference.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Lightning McQueen is now calling Galena, Kansas home. A number of folks gathered at the famous Luigi’s Pit Stop on Front Street over the weekend. Luigi’s has been home to a number of the Cars movie replicas – from the tractor tippin’ to the sheriff looking over everything. Kids and parents can go check it out at 205 East Front Street in Galena.
Source: KOAMKOAM
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