Iola library circulates new internet hotspots

Iola Public Library has added a new service: circulating Internet hotspots. The hotspots bring an Internet connection into a home or other location and allow computers or devices to connect to it via wi-fi. There are currently five hotspots available to check out. Later this month, an additional 10 “smart hotspots” should be available. T-Mobile/Sprint is the carrier. Funding for the hotspots comes from a Broadband Partnership Adoption Grant through the Kansas Department of Commerce using CARES Act, or federal coronavirus relief, funds. The regular hotspots are suitable for those who have smartphones, computers, tablets or other devices with wi-fi capability. Those who have no computers or other devices can check out the smart hotspots, since besides bringing the Internet connection, they are themselves a device which can be used.
Source: The Iola Register

Ranson Financial2020-12-04T08:28:14-06:00December 4, 2020|News|

Gov. Kelly announces ‘Stop the Spread. It’s Up to Us, Kansas’ campaign

Governor Laura Kelly and the State of Kansas on Thursday launched a COVID-19 public health campaign called “Stop the Spread. It’s Up to Us, Kansas.” The campaign shares the importance of getting tested, wearing masks and encourages social distancing this holiday season to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Included in the campaign is a new testing website, GoGetTested.com/Kansas, that quickly identifies free testing locations throughout the state.
Source: KAKE – News

Ranson Financial2020-12-04T08:33:03-06:00December 4, 2020|News|

Kansas counties reject new guidance on COVID-19 quarantines

Two northeast Kansas counties on Thursday rejected at least part of the new federal and state guidelines for shortening the time people are quarantined after they’re possibly exposed to COVID-19. New guidance Wednesday from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said people who’ve been exposed to coronavirus and show no symptoms but don’t get tested can end their quarantines after 10 days, instead of 14. The new guidance also says a person without symptoms who tests negative can end a quarantine after seven days. … Public health officials in Wyandotte County announced that the Kansas City-area county is sticking with 14-day quarantines for people who’ve been potentially exposed to coronavirus…Shawnee County will allow people without COVID-19 symptoms who’ve not been tested to shorten their quarantines to 10 days, Dr. Gianfranco Pezzino, the county’s health officer, said Thursday. But he said it will not allow people who’ve tested negative to leave quarantine after seven days.
Source: KAKE – News

Ranson Financial2020-12-04T08:32:30-06:00December 4, 2020|News|

A postal headache in Longton, Kansas

You could call it a living mailroom nightmare that includes a crumbling building, missing bills and pandemic fears. The postal headache is the talk of the town in Longton, Kansas. But they’re not mailing it in because they can’t. The Post Office is locked up tight. “Did the city get any warning that this was going to happen?” KAKE News asked. “No, we did not. Just the note on the door,” explained Longton city clerk Bonnie Foged. Most folks told KAKE News that they first they heard of the Longton Post Office closure when they found a sign on the boarded-up front door.
Source: KAKE – News

Ranson Financial2020-12-04T07:30:54-06:00December 3, 2020|News|

Broadband access to rural communities

Governor Laura Kelly today announced the introduction of the new Broadband Acceleration Grant Program to expand broadband access to rural and underserved communities across the state. This year marks the first time in Kansas history that there has been a concerted, statewide, bipartisan effort to fund increased broadband access. Over the next ten years, the program seeks to invest $85 million toward bridging the digital divide in Kansas thanks to broadband modernization funding provided through the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program (IKE).
Source: Gardner News

Ranson Financial2020-12-04T07:37:27-06:00December 3, 2020|News|

75,000 Kansans to get COVID-19 vaccinations by month’s end, Gov. Kelly announces

An estimated 75,000 Kansans will be vaccinated for COVID-19 by the end of the month, Gov. Laura Kelly announced Wednesday afternoon. Kelly said that Kansas is expecting its initial shipments of vaccines by mid-December from two pharmaceutical companies — Pfizer and Moderna. Overall, Kelly said she expects 150,000 doses to arrive in Kansas through December. Each patient will get two doses for fullest effect, which means the state will be able to vaccinate 75,000 people.
Source: Wichita Eagle.

Ranson Financial2020-12-03T07:06:23-06:00December 3, 2020|News|

Municipal Bond Trends for December 2, 2020

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 Financial2020-12-03T07:00:34-06:00December 3, 2020|News|

Topeka officials project long-term savings if zoo transitions governance

City officials said Tuesday night that transitioning zoo governance from the city to a nonprofit group shifts risk away from the city government, which can have long-term savings. The city and zoo have been discussing transition governance to the non-profit group Friends of the Zoo for years, but conversations have intensified recently. The zoo’s budget in 2019 was $2.6 million and is 2.3% of the city’s total budget, according to the director of the finance department Jessica Lamendola. She said when city departments budgets are that small they might not get prioritized with funding, and transitioning the zoo to a nonprofit model could benefit the zoo.
Source: Local News | Topeka Capital-Journal

Ranson Financial2020-12-03T06:57:25-06:00December 2, 2020|News|

Virus vaccine distribution plan set for Cowley County

A COVID-19 vaccine will be distributed to critical health care workers first, then the elderly who are most at risk, before being made available to the general public, City-Cowley County Health Officer Tom Langer said Tuesday regarding the county’s plans for when a vaccine becomes available. Although a firm time frame for availability hasn’t been established yet, Langer said it could be available in the county as soon as next month. The county’s rollout plan for a vaccine will be performed in conjunction with federal and state guidelines, Langer said. Once a vaccine is available, it will be released locally though a tiered plan.
Source: The Arkansas City Traveler

Ranson Financial2020-12-03T06:57:52-06:00December 2, 2020|News|

Anson Burlingame, 19th century statesman, brought Kansas ‘noble kindliness’ for today

It’s likely few Kansas residents could find the city of Burlingame (population 968) without a GPS. Even fewer, one suspects, know much about the city’s namesake. This year, the 200th anniversary of Anson Burlingame’s birth, provides an opportunity to make his acquaintance. As a Massachusetts congressman, outspoken abolitionist, and pioneering diplomat, Burlingame devoted his life to causes as relevant today as two centuries ago — racial equality, social protest and international diplomacy. Just as citizens today march for racial justice, Burlingame took a principled stand against slavery during the run-up to the Civil War. He barnstormed the country giving stirring abolitionist orations at a time when, his friend Mark Twain wrote, “it was neither very creditable nor very safe to hold such a creed.”
Source: Joco 913 News

Ranson Financial2020-12-03T06:58:05-06:00December 2, 2020|News|