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.
A new city project could help breathe life into forgotten properties in Parsons. They’re calling it a “land bank.” City commissioners have just approved the formation of this project to help take on the number 1 issue in the city. The properties are falling to pieces, but instead of saying goodbye, the city is hoping to use them for future economic development. “Some of the houses that we have torn down over the past years could have easily been reworked with somebody with good DIY skills.” Says Leland Crooks, Landbank Board Member. Throughout many areas, like the city of Parsons, people run into homes that have been lost to time.
Source: KSNF/KODE
The city of Columbus is hoping to make its building process more efficient. The city has establishes a new Building Permit System for construction projects. Officials have had a system in place, but there was no permit form for residents to fill out to help the city log structure sites. As a result, utility workers would sometimes be blocked from getting to underground wires or pipes. “A lot of times we run into people in the past have built something, we’ll have a drainage issue, we’ll have to go in there and clear out that ditch, well come to find out, they’ve built a garage halfway over where we need to alleviate that problem.” Says Jason Daniels, Columbus Police Chief.
Source: KSNF/KODE
A new museum celebrating a historic business in Linn officially opened this weekend. The Washington County Cooperative Creamery Museum was created to house a restored Washington County Creamery truck and mementos from the business that used to be a huge employer and an internationally known distributer of butter and eggs. The museum is located in downtown Linn, at the northwest corner of 4th and Main, in a newly constructed building.
Source: Backroads News
Derby City Manager Kathy Sexton recently announced her plan to conclude service at the city on Dec. 10, 2021. Sexton has been city manager since 2006… “Kathy has devoted nearly 16 years to Derby, and she has made a real difference here,” said Mayor Randy White. “I am proud of all that our city staff and our community have accomplished during her tenure.”
Source: Derby Informer | News
Municipals were mostly steady Wednesday… after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said scaling back asset purchases was not on the table yet. Triple-A benchmarks did see some strength on the short end, moving yields lower by a basis point, while out longer there was slight pressure on levels. … Reaching “substantial further progress” toward its maximum-employment and price-stability goals, which will allow the Federal Reserve to cut back on asset purchases “is still a ways off,” Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell repeated Wednesday. Testifying before the House Financial Services Committee, where many members expressed concern about inflation, Powell said price pressures are transitory and the economy will continue to need accommodation even when the pandemic ends and the labor market rebounds. Preemptive action would harm the economy.
Source: Bond Buyer.
Existing city plans call for more restaurants and entertainment downtown. The possibility of increased passenger rail and visitors downtown makes those plans even more important. However, there’s not piles of turnkey restaurant space available. “It’s not that I have anything against insurance companies or realtors, but that’s not always what you want in downtown spaces,” Community Development Coordinator Zach McHatton said. Newton’s downtown remains fairly full. But in recent years, the number of properties to be used as eating or drinking establishments has shrunk.
Source: Harvey County Now
The U.S. population grew by just 0.35% between July 2019 and July 2020, the smallest annual growth rate in well over a century. Driven in part by restrictions on immigration and a declining birth rate, stagnant population growth may have profound and far reaching consequences — including reduced economic growth, stagnanting home values, and fewer workers to support an aging population. This trend is by no means unique to last year. Over the past decade, cities and towns across the country have reported rapid population decline. The city of Oswego has the fastest shrinking population in Kansas, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Currently home to an estimated 1,680 people, Oswego’s population declined by 21.4% from 2010 to 2019. Meanwhile, Kansas’ population expanded by 3.6% over the same period.
Source: Hiawatha World Online
Lieutenant Governor and Commerce Secretary David Toland today announced Dodge City Business Park has become the latest developed site to be certified through Kansas’ Certified Sites program. This is a result of a new agreement between the Kansas Department of Commerce and Sunflower Electric Power Corporation. When a site has been certified through the Sunflower Electric Power Corporation Certified Sites Program, Commerce will certify the site as well, such as was done for the Dodge City Business Park. “Our new partnership with Sunflower has already resulted in a major new addition to our Certified Sites program,” Lt. Governor/ Secretary Toland said. “Southwest Kansas is experiencing a significant economic development boom, and a major business park ready for immediate development is sure to be occupied quickly. This certification is more great news for the Southwest Kansas region and our state as a whole.”
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
Don Roberts, Edgerton mayor, was reintroduced to the world of amateur radio June 27 and came away from the experience all the more appreciative of the key role amateur radio operators, or “hams,” can play in providing communications over great distances during an emergency. The occasion was Field Day, the annual nationwide emergency preparedness exercise organized by the American Radio Relay League, and the place was former Gardner businessman Del Sawyer’s operating station in Edgerton.
Source: Gardner News
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