A blast from the past, Dodge City’s South Drive-In is getting new life

Drive-ins, often considered a relic from the past, now making a resurgence amid COVID-19. One Kansas community is teaming up to restore their drive-in. What started as a simple Facebook page has now turned into a community-wide initiative as Dodge City residents are coming together to save their drive-in. The South Drive-In Theatre has been in operation since the 1940s making it the oldest drive-in in the state of Kansas.
(Read more: KSN-TV)

Ranson Financial2020-05-28T08:48:27-05:00May 27, 2020|News|

Wichita playgrounds, dog parks, rec centers to reopen June 1

Wichita Parks and Recreation will open recreation centers, dog parks, playgrounds, and the Ralph Wulz Riverside Tennis Center, with restrictions, on June 1. Some of the restrictions will include requiring masks in indoor facilities, social distancing of six feet or more, and requiring patrons to clean fitness center equipment after use. Patrons will also have to bring their own balls and equipment at recreation center gyms.
(Read more: KWCH News)

Ranson Financial2020-05-28T08:48:32-05:00May 27, 2020|News|

Barton Community College to end fall semester early

Due to the pandemic, colleges have started to make changes to their fall semesters. Barton Community College was one of the first area schools to do so. “We all want to know,” said Elaine Simmons, Barton Vice President of Instruction. “We all want to know what we’re doing to the best of our availability.” Simmons and her colleagues came up with a new plan for the upcoming semester aimed at protecting students and staff from the coronavirus.
(Read more: KAKE – News)

Ranson Financial2020-05-28T08:49:12-05:00May 27, 2020|News|

Williams says Fed thinking ‘hard’ about yield-curve control

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said policy makers are “thinking very hard” about targeting specific yields on Treasury securities as a way of ensuring borrowing costs stay at rock-bottom levels beyond keeping the benchmark interest rate near zero. “Yield-curve control, which has now been used in a few other countries, is I think a tool that can complement — potentially complement — forward guidance and our other policy actions,” he said in an interview Wednesday on Bloomberg Television. “So this is something that obviously we’re thinking very hard about. We’re analyzing not only what’s happened in other countries but also how that may work in the United States.” Yield-curve control — where the central bank caps yields on government bonds of a chosen maturity through potentially unlimited purchases — has been used by Japan for years to stimulate economic activity and was recently adopted in Australia. Investors see the Fed embracing the tool in coming months as policy makers turn their attention toward fostering a strong rebound from the severe downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
(Read more: The Bond Buyer)

Ranson Financial2020-05-28T08:49:38-05:00May 27, 2020|News|

Shawnee County to remain in Phase 2 despite Gov. Kelly’s end of Ad Astra reopening plan

The Shawnee County COVID-19 Response Team said Tuesday it will remain in the already established phase two, with no additional changes or restrictions. This comes after Governor Laura Kelly announced she’s ending her Ad Astra reopening plan and leaving all decisions on social distancing and business restrictions up to each individual county health officer.
(Read more: KSNT News)

Ranson Financial2020-05-27T09:15:20-05:00May 27, 2020|News|

With reopening plans, local businesses express support for shift of control from state to counties

With Kansas Governor Laura Kelly’s new emergency disaster declaration, it is now up to each Kansas county to make any restrictions on businesses when it comes to reopening. In Wichita, businesses who spoke with Eyewitness News Tuesday say they’re hopeful with the prospect of having less restrictions in place with the county in control instead of the state. “I think the county has a better feel for the local economy and what’s happening here, even the actual cases of corona,” says Air Strike Martial Arts owner TJ Thomas.
(Read more: KWCH News)

Ranson Financial2020-05-27T09:12:51-05:00May 27, 2020|News|

Harvey County staying in ‘Phase 2’ of reopening plan, at least through June 2

The Harvey County Commission in a special meeting Tuesday night (May 26) voted to remain in the second phase of its local reopening plan. The local decision followed Kansas Governor Laura Kelly’s announcement earlier in the day that she would veto a House bill related to the state’s COVID-19 response, limiting the governor’s executive power when it comes to emergencies. This ended the state’s executive order concerning Kelly’s phased reopening plan as of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday. It’s this decision that. moving forward, passes restrictions and guidelines with reopening businesses on to the county level.
(Read more: KWCH News)

Ranson Financial2020-05-27T09:12:17-05:00May 27, 2020|News|

Decisions with reopening guidelines now up to individual KS counties

With changes Tuesday, the state of Kansas could be returning to the same situation in mid March in which each county has its own guidelines when it comes to plans for reopening businesses and placing restrictions to safeguard against COVID-19. In Sedgwick County, the commission will have a meeting at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday (May 27) in which county leaders will have to decide if they want to change the existing guidelines set by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly in her Ad Astra plan to reopen the state’s economy.
(Read more: KWCH News)

Ranson Financial2020-05-27T09:11:52-05:00May 27, 2020|News|

Johnson County says it won’t impose new restrictions, but strongly recommends adherence to COVID-19 safety guidelines

Following Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a bill that would have capped her emergency powers during the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday, Johnson County health officials say they’re strongly recommending local businesses and residents follow the state’s Ad Astra reopening plan even though the county won’t impose new official limits. With Kelly’s veto of the bill, the authority to set and enforce public health policies to stem the spread of the virus effectively falls to the counties. While Johnson County’s top health officers say they don’t plan to put any new restrictions in place given current conditions, they stressed the need for businesses and residents to be responsible in exercising social distancing and hygiene practices.
(Read more: Prairie Village Post)

Ranson Financial2020-05-27T09:10:58-05:00May 27, 2020|News|

Kansas counties in charge of COVID-19 restrictions after Gov. Kelly vetoes emergency powers bill

Kansas no longer will impose a statewide phased-in reopening plan, Gov. Laura Kelly said Tuesday. In deciding to veto a bill that would have restricted her powers to respond to the coronavirus, she issued a new emergency declaration. “This legislation creates more problems than it solves,” Kelly said. She argued it would ultimately delay coronavirus aid from the federal government. “This would only prolong the economic pain of this crisis.” Kelly’s new order makes her phase-out of the economic shutdown and limits on mass gatherings an advisory guidebook for county officials — not a statewide command.
(Read more: Prairie Village Post)

Ranson Financial2020-05-27T09:10:36-05:00May 27, 2020|News|