A final farewell: Celebration says goodbye to Garden City’s Big Pool

The Big Pool did not open for a 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but local officials felt the need to celebrate the end of an era and to help people say goodbye, so a farewell celebration was held Saturday. Jennifer Cunningham, Garden City assistant city manager, said it was disappointing that a 2020 season couldn’t be held, but the city hopes the farewell celebration helped soothe the sting. “It’s been such a place that held memories for so many different ages and we knew since we couldn’t open that we wanted people to be able to get in here one last time, to go through the bath house, to stand in the deep end to get their picture taken, whatever they might want or need to do to celebrate the last days of this facility,” she said.
(Read more: News – The Garden City Telegram)

Ranson Financial2020-07-14T07:54:29-05:00July 13, 2020|News|

GCCC Awarded Over $130,000 in State Tax Credits

Garden City Community College has been selected by the Kansas Department of Commerce to receive Community Service Tax Credits in the amount of $130,708. The program will allow the GCCC Endowment Association to sell 70% tax credits towards the purchase of two mobile anatomage tables that the college will share with about a dozen local western Kansas high schools, according to GCCC President Dr. Ryan Ruda. “We are grateful to the state of Kansas for their support of this worthy project,” said Dr. Ruda said. “This program ensures that we can help provide cutting edge biological health science education with state-of-the-art tools to the students in our region.” Anatomage tables provide three-dimensional, high-resolution mapping of both human bodies and select animal cadavers. They are generally more precise than traditional cadaver labs.
(Read more: Western Kansas News)

Ranson Financial2020-07-14T07:54:39-05:00July 13, 2020|News|

Municipal Bond Trends for July 10, 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 Financial2020-07-13T08:02:24-05:00July 13, 2020|News|

Harvey County’s Old Settlers scaled back to just fireworks

There won’t be a Grand Parade at Old Settlers this year. There won’t be a Great Race or Little Great Race, or a community picnic on Sunday afternoon. At this point, the 133^rd annual Old Settlers Festival will only consist of a fireworks show on Saturday, Aug. 8. “We plan, unless something drastically changes due to an outbreak, to only have fireworks,” Old Settlers committee member Cory Harrington said. As recently as late June, the Old Settlers Committee had still been planning on holding a nearly normal schedule of events, but then the county began seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases. They made the difficult decision to scale back the festival on Thursday. “We all have a passion for the festival,” Harrington said. “Many of us committee members grew up attending it. It’s gut-wrenching to cancel something like this.” Harrington said the Old Settlers committee would meet again in two weeks to reassess where Harvey County is at with COVID-19.
(Read more: Harvey County Now)

Ranson Financial2020-07-13T07:52:43-05:00July 12, 2020|News|

GRDA, City of Coffeyville recognizing hometown heroes

“Heroes work here.” That is the message the Grand River Dam Authority and City of Coffeyville are sharing to recognize the essential employees who have continued to meet critical needs in their hometowns throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Critical needs for any community include electricity, water and sewer as well as other municipal services. GRDA has been the wholesale electricity supplier for City of Coffeyville since 1999. “Each time we turn on a water tap or flip a light switch, we automatically expect it to work,” said GRDA Chief Executive Officer Dan Sullivan.
(Read more: Coffeyville, KS – News Flash)

Ranson Financial2020-07-13T07:53:09-05:00July 12, 2020|News|

High energy ready to explode at Pretty Prairie Rodeo

Nothing is going to stop an 83-year-old-rodeo if the people in Pretty Prairie can help it. The Kansas Largest Night Rodeo in Pretty Prairie, Kansas will take place from July 15-18, with adult tickets starting at $11. “People are locked down and ready to get out,” said Jon Stucky, president of the Board of the rodeo. “Cowboys are looking for places to go.” Barrelman, John Harrison is ready to prime the crowd with a mixture of energy and humor. Harrison is a three-time recipient of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Comedy Act of the Year and has appeared in Pretty Prairie before.
(Read more: Kansas Agland – The Garden City Telegram)

Ranson Financial2020-07-13T07:53:50-05:00July 12, 2020|News|

Hutchinson community invited to help paint downtown mural

The Hutchinson community is invited to help paint a mural beginning July 18. Designed by local artist Deanne Martin, the mural will be painted on the south side of the building at 304 N. Main. Located in the Santa Fe District, it will incorporate elements of the Hutchinson flag and the Santa Fe Railway. Painting will continue every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and every Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. until the mural is complete. Participation is open to the public and all supplies and materials will be provided, thanks to a $2,500 Make it Greater Grant from the Hutchinson Community Foundation awarded to the Hutchinson Sculpture Art Walk Committee, a part of HutchRec.
(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)

Ranson Financial2020-07-13T07:54:08-05:00July 12, 2020|News|

Choose Topeka program attracts newcomers, continues to see interest

A little more than six months into the capital city’s Choose Topeka incentive program, Greater Topeka Partnership staff overseeing the initiative consider it a success. According to Barbara Stapleton, the GTP’s vice president of business retention and talent initiatives, 20 applicants — some of whom brought family with them — have moved to Topeka so far this year with help from Choose Topeka. She said people have moved to the capital city from Indiana, Texas, Nevada, Missouri, Tennessee, Nebraska, Iowa, Georgia, Minnesota, Colorado and elsewhere in Kansas.”It’s really exciting,” Stapleton said. “I hear people talking about how they really like what they see about what Topeka has to offer.”
(Read more: Local News | Topeka Capital-Journal)

Ranson Financial2020-07-13T07:56:41-05:00July 12, 2020|News|

The need to expand hometown meatpacking facilities

As the United States’ meat supply chain wavered during COVID-19, cattle prices came down and feed lots swelled to capacity. Ranchers looked to small- and medium-sized processors to harvest their animals, but across the country, these businesses were in short supply. Many who had a two- to three-month wait before the pandemic, now have more than an eight-month wait. In some locations nationwide, including in western Kansas and Alabama, the wait to process an animal is more than one year. Some state agencies and legislators in Washington are trying to figure out how to help the supply chain. “No state has enough slaughter and processing plants for what the current market demands are,” said Christopher Young, executive director of the American Association of Meat Processors. “It’s an ongoing situation we need to rectify.”
(Read more: Local News | Topeka Capital-Journal)

Ranson Financial2020-07-13T07:54:50-05:00July 12, 2020|News|

Study identifies Kansas as promising state for wind energy development with little impact on wildlife

An analysis released this month by a nonprofit environmental group with global reach identified Kansas as a promising place in the United States to develop wind energy without destroying natural habitats unique to the Great Plains. According to the new “Site Wind Right” interactive map published by The Nature Conservancy, Kansas is one of 17 states in the central U.S. — all part of an area known as the “wind belt” — where renewable wind energy sites could be developed to generate a combined total of more than 1,000 gigawatts of wind power. And all that power could come from wind farms developed on land that would have low impact on nearby wildlife. “That’s a lot of potential energy — comparable to total U.S. electric generation from all sources today,” said Mike Fuhr, director of The Nature Conservancy of Oklahoma, another wind belt state.
(Read more: Local News | Topeka Capital-Journal)

Ranson Financial2020-07-13T07:55:04-05:00July 12, 2020|News|