Erie moves to buy the town’s only grocery store

The city of Erie is moving forward with the purchase of the town’s only grocery store. … The city has been considering the possible acquisition of the store since last summer after the Mahurins introduced the proposal. The Mahurins haven’t been able to find a buyer for the store, and the council wants to prevent the store from closing. An economic development committee negotiated a deal with the Mahurins to pay the couple $300,000 for the building and fixtures, plus inventory value at the time of the sale and 0.5% of gross sales for 10 years.
(Read more: Parsons Sun)

Ranson Financial2020-07-17T09:17:00-05:00July 17, 2020|News|

Local Leaders Racing Against the Economic Impact of COVID

Like Mayor Panto’s municipality, 74% of municipalities in the United States have already been forced to make unavoidable cuts and adjustments. It has been more than six months since the COVID-19 pandemic hit our country. With the economy at risk, the National League of Cities (NLC) reached out to its members with an opportunity to share how the pandemic impacted the fiscal budgets of cities, towns, and villages. Many cities, towns, and villages’ fiscal budgets rely on tax revenues. But with closing businesses and social life adjusting to a new reality, local leaders face unprecedented challenges to protect the future of their local economies.
(Read more: CitiesSpeak)

Ranson Financial2020-07-17T09:15:52-05:00July 17, 2020|News|

Shawnee County sees uptick in advance ballots, hopes to recruit more election workers

With less than three weeks until the Aug. 4 primary election in Kansas, Shawnee County is seeing an uptick in the number of advanced ballots being requested locally. According to Shawnee County election commissioner Andrew Howell, his office had received more than 11,000 advance ballot requests as of Wednesday. He said that number is close to exceeding the volume of requests fielded by his office during the entire election season of 2018. “It’s early in the process, but it’s definitely up,” Howell said. He hasn’t yet heard many county residents voice concerns about in-person voting this year but said a few people have told him they requested advance ballots because they preferred not to go to the polls with COVID-19 cases on the rise.
(Read more: Local News | Topeka Capital-Journal)

Ranson Financial2020-07-17T09:14:21-05:00July 17, 2020|News|

Storm cleanup in Oswego could take a month

Oswego city crews and others continued the cleanup Monday in Oswego from Saturday’s storm that brought large hail and high, sustained winds that toppled trees and snapped others 20 feet in the air. No injuries were reported, but four to 10 homes may have been destroyed. That assessment is still in progress, according to Oswego Mayor Daniel Chapman. The high wind, estimated between 70 mph and 100 mph, came from a possible microburst, which is a large column of sinking air (a downdraft) from a thunderstorm.
(Read more: Parsons Sun)

Ranson Financial2020-07-17T09:12:28-05:00July 17, 2020|News|

County officials want better information on hospital capacity as part of COVID-19 reporting

As Johnson County’s cases of COVID-19 continue to increase, county commissioners expressed alarm that information on hospital bed capacity is inaccurate. Commissioners have been asking about a change in hospital data reporting procedures for weeks, but that took on a new urgency Thursday as Public Health Director Sanmi Areola, PhD, reported the positive test results have been increasing exponentially. The county had 920 new cases in the first ten days of July, compared with 848 for the entire month of June, Areola said. That increase cannot be attributed to more tests conducted, he said, noting that the percentage of tests that were positive is now 5.9%, compared with 2% during the shelter-in-place.
(Read more: Prairie Village Post)

Ranson Financial2020-07-17T09:10:49-05:00July 17, 2020|News|

Following council’s review of Lenexa police use-of-force policy, city staff to draft joint statement on racial justice

Following a review of the Lenexa Police Department’s use of force policy, the Lenexa City Council expressed interest in a city staff-drafted racial justice statement. As Johnson County cities have begun conversations about racism, City Manager Beccy Yocham asked the city council if it was interested in a joint statement on racial justice. Cities in northeast Johnson County — such as Fairway, Prairie Village, Mission and Roeland Park — have either passed or are in the middle of conversations about similar statements and actions. Councilmember Courtney Eiterich said as a mother to a black son, she wanted to discuss a potential statement and how the city council can include equity in all of its policy considerations. She asked the city council to commit to conversations about race, to stand up for injustices and to listen to people of color without making judgements.
(Read more: Prairie Village Post)

Ranson Financial2020-07-17T09:10:27-05:00July 17, 2020|News|

County ups ante in wind farm road dispute

Who’s responsible for the weather is a key element of what’s likely to be a major lawsuit between the county and its northern wind farm. County commissioners contend Diamond Vista is obligated to make $473,020 worth of road repairs. The wind farm contends some of the damage was caused by weather and not their responsibility. Commissioners consider storm damage to be an expected part of Kansas weather and the wind farm’s responsibility. After nearly an hour in executive session with lawyers, commissioners voted unanimously Monday to have staff prepare documents seeking to collect road repair money from Diamond Vista wind farm.
(Read more: PEABODY Gazette-Bulletin)

Ranson Financial2020-07-17T09:09:49-05:00July 17, 2020|News|

Municipal Bond Trends for July 16, 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 Financial2020-07-17T08:47:48-05:00July 17, 2020|News|

Sheriff Brian Hill receives Administrator of the Year award

Sheriff Brian Hill walked into the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office lobby Thursday morning surprised to see the room filled with friends and family who were all there to celebrate him becoming Administrator of the Year. Hill was chosen by the Kansas State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police as the recipient of this year’s award, and to say he was surprised would be an understatement. “I’m really at a loss for words,” Hill said. “I wasn’t expecting this.” Even as Hill received his award, he gave credit to the members of his staff, both civilian and law enforcement.
(Read more: Local News | Topeka Capital-Journal)

Ranson Financial2020-07-17T08:47:05-05:00July 17, 2020|News|

Governor Kelly Announces More Than $6 Million in Federal Funding to Respond to Coronavirus

Governor Laura Kelly has announced $6,202,603 in grant awards to state and local jurisdictions in preventing, preparing for and responding to the coronavirus, as well as funds to support families impacted by domestic violence. “My administration continues to work to ensure Kansans and the communities impacted by COVID-19 have the resources they need to fight the spread of the virus,” Governor Kelly said. “These grants are thorough and purposeful examples of how we can direct funds across the state, especially to some of our possibly overlooked areas in need. We know domestic violence is an issue that has been amplified by the pandemic, and this funding will provide support services to those who need them the most.”
(Read more: KRSL Russell Radio)

Ranson Financial2020-07-17T08:45:33-05:00July 16, 2020|News|