Bringing broadband to the country

By partnering with the Kansas Department of Transportation and a couple of soil health organizations, the Kansas Department of Agriculture can help farmers succeed. Many locations throughout the state are broadband dead zones. For farmers and truckers to utilize new technology, they need internet connectivity, but bringing that technology to rural areas with low population centers is not economically feasible for many companies. That is where KDA and KDOT come in. The two organizations got together with two soil health organizations to make an incentive plan to bring broadband to central Kansas.
Source: Hutch News

Ranson Financial2021-09-03T06:45:57-05:00September 3, 2021|News|

Municipal Bond Trends for September 2, 2021

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 Financial2021-09-03T06:44:44-05:00September 3, 2021|News|

Governor updates drought emergency, warnings and watches for Kansas counties

Gov. Laura Kelly approved the updated Drought Declarations for Kansas counties with executive order 21-26. The declaration includes 87 out of 105 counties either in a warning or watch status. The drought declaration placed 14 counties into a warning status and 73 into a watch status. The action was recommended by Connie Owen, director of the Kansas Water Office and Chair of the Governor’s Drought Response Team.
Source: KSN-TV

Ranson Financial2021-09-03T06:39:51-05:00September 3, 2021|News|

Labette County changes vacation rules to retain workers

Labette County commissioners on Tuesday agreed to accommodate hobbled county departments by paying employees for some unused vacation and allowing them to carry over any remaining after that. The accommodation is for this year only, commissioners said. The current policy is that county employees can carry 72 hours of unused vacation into the next year. The problem this year is that employees are leaving county jobs for other work and county departments are struggling to get enough applicants to fill vacancies, in part because of the lower wage offered for county work.
Source: Parsons Sun

Ranson Financial2021-09-03T06:41:43-05:00September 2, 2021|News|

Rail project near Haysville among 10 receiving funds

Gov. Laura Kelly and Kansas Transportation Secretary Julie Lorenz announced 10 projects, totaling more than $5.2 million, were awarded as part of the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Short Line Rail Improvement Fund Program. The announcement took place Monday at the Gavilon grain elevator in southwest Wichita, one of the recipients of program funding.
Source: Times-Sentinel Newspapers » Feed

Ranson Financial2021-09-02T16:37:50-05:00September 2, 2021|News|

Erie saved its grocery story by buying it and running it themselves

Erie city clerk, began the process by noting the building currently housing Erie Market was “relatively new,” since it had been rebuilt by the previous owners following a flood. “There were not many options on selling it, because it was a newer store,” Lero said. “It would take more money to purchase it,” and buyers weren’t coming forward. The owners therefore approached the City of Erie, because they had heard of other cities successfully operating stores of this kind. The city was receptive, but didn’t want to move forward without doing their due diligence, especially because “running it as a mom-and-pop is a lot different from running it from a city standpoint.”
Source: The Iola Register

Ranson Financial2021-09-03T06:43:59-05:00September 2, 2021|News|

Municipal Bond Trends for September 1, 2021

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 Financial2021-09-02T06:48:20-05:00September 2, 2021|News|

Destination Kansas: Playing and exploring in the high plains

The high plains of Kansas have a lot to offer tourists. This region makes up the western third of the state. In the town of Liberal, follow the yellow brick road to meet Dorothy. While “The Wizard of Oz” never specified where Dorothy Gale started her trip to Oz, Liberal claims it. Visit Dorothy’s House and the Land of Oz, 567 E. Cedar Street, and skip down the yellow brick road. A few blocks from Dorothy’s house, take flight at the Mid-America Air Museum, 2000 W. 2nd Street, Liberal. More than a third of all B-24 command pilots in World War II were trained at the former Liberal Army Airfield. You’ll find more than 100 aircraft. The oldest is from 1932.
Source: KSN-TV

Ranson Financial2021-09-02T06:57:16-05:00September 1, 2021|News|

Hesston Community Foundation awards grant to Hesston Fire/EMS

The Hesston Fire/EMS department recently received a grant from the Hesston Community Foundation for the purchase of two Technimount Systems. The Technimount System is a safe and secure mounting system for the EKG monitor/defibrillator to the EMS cot in a way that is functional for technicians and is out of the way of the patient. The system replaces an equipment platform that is flimsy, extremely unsecure, difficult to mount and remove and it reduces access to the patient as it covers their lower legs, according to Hesston Fire/EMS Chief Russ Buller. The previous equipment platform was far less secure and significantly less safe. Because the new systems provide a secure mounting for the heavy device, they prevent the monitor/defibrillator from causing severe injury to the patient or technicians in the event of an accident or hard stop.
Source: Harvey County Now

Ranson Financial2021-09-01T22:54:25-05:00September 1, 2021|News|

New legislation is shaking up how local governments set property taxes

New legislation going into effect this year could play a big role in how much you pay in property taxes in Kansas. In March, Kansas Governor Laura Kelley signed SB13, a bill that adds a public hearing requirement for taxing subdivisions that want to collect property taxes beyond a revenue neutral rate. A revenue neutral rate (RNR) is a tax rate that would generate the same amount of property tax dollars for the city as the previous tax year, using the current tax year’s total assessment valuation. A RNR is expressed in mills. A mill represents one one-thousandth of a dollar. That comes out to about $1 of taxes for every $1,000 a property is valued.
Source: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF

Ranson Financial2021-09-02T06:44:52-05:00September 1, 2021|News|