Proposal in Kansas Senate would end raid on highway funds

Sen. Kevin Braun on Tuesday took a jackhammer to a proposed constitutional amendment that would protect highway funding from being swiped by the Legislature for other uses. The Kansas City Republican said he agreed it was irresponsible of the Legislature not to spend tax dollars as they were intended, but he took issue with having his hands tied in the event of unforeseen economic hardships. About 63% of the state’s revenue is directed toward public education, as …
(Read more: News – The Topeka Capital-Journal)

Ranson Financial2020-03-11T06:45:02-05:00March 11, 2020|News|

More than 100 tires slashed in Wellington, number of cases could still rise

Wellington Police Chief Tracy Heath calls it a tire slashing spree.

Chief Heath called Monday morning a tough start to the week after four teens, who have been arrested, slashed more than 100 tires on at least 35 cars.

“It pretty much took all day to fix — two of them yesterday and mine today,” said Kelci Owens.

(Read more: KSN-TV)

Ranson Financial2020-03-11T07:02:33-05:00March 11, 2020|News|

‘You’ve got to be kidding’: Wichita home value jumped 40% with massive power pole

The Sedgwick County appraiser is calling for some northeast Wichita homeowners to appeal their property valuations after the county failed to consider the giant metal power poles Evergy planted in their yards.
The recommendation to appeal came after The Wichita Eagle found two properties in the neighborhood had increased in value after 105-foot-tall steel poles were put in their yards. One of the homes jumped 40% in appraised value.
An oft-photographed, two-floor home at 1147 N. Green increased in value after a pole was installed, from $11,640 to $16,300, according to appraisal records.
(Read more: Local News |)

Ranson Financial2020-03-11T07:08:16-05:00March 11, 2020|News|

Municipal Bond Trends for March 9, 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 Financial2026-10-22T10:29:41-05:00March 10, 2020|Finance|

KU Hospital admits Kansas’ first confirmed case of COVID-19

The first confirmed case of coronavirus in Kansas has been admitted to a special treatment unit for emerging infectious disease at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., state and hospital officials said Monday.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment confirmed the patient was the woman from Johnson County identified Saturday as the first case of COVID-19 diagnosed in Kansas. She likely contracted the virus while traveling on the East Coast. Her family has entered voluntary quarantine.
“We will have more cases in the state of Kansas,” said KDHE Secretary Lee Norman. “It’s going to be hard … to contain it.”
He said Kansas health officials continued to track about 80 people with symptoms of the virus who emerged in China and spread to about half the world’s countries.
(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)

Ranson Financial2020-03-10T07:04:12-05:00March 10, 2020|News|

Labette County restricts wind testing towers

A Labette County committee studying wind energy took its first formal action related to wind farm development on Monday morning, recommending restrictions on meteorological evaluation towers in the county.
Four members of the five-member committee — Sandy Krider, Lori Whitworth, Mel Hass and Kevin King; Rod Landrum was not able to attend — agreed on Monday to recommend the towers that measure wind characteristics at various locations would be no taller than 200 feet. The towers must be set back from structures and public roads the distance of 2 1/2 times the tower height and fences must enclose the guy wires at ground level.
(Read more: Parsons Sun)

Ranson Financial2020-03-10T07:03:03-05:00March 10, 2020|News|

Making Kansas stronger one small town at a time

After growing up on the land her ancestors homesteaded in 1874, and then leaving for more than a decade, Marci Penner does not want to move away from her native soil again.
With a master’s degree and a career in counseling, Penner came home to Inman, and along with her father, Milferd, a farmer who wrote photo essay books on Kansas, the two began a journey of a lifetime — to discover rural Kansas one town at a time.
“Our roots run deep to Kansas,” Penner said. “We realized Kansans don’t know their state very well, and they don’t network.”
The father/daughter journey began with a tour of every town in Kansas. And when the townspeople said they had nothing to offer, Penner found each community’s genuine beauty that keeps rural towns alive. Each town has unique qualities, she said, and they need support.
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)

Ranson Financial2020-03-10T07:02:23-05:00March 10, 2020|News|

Bond rates plummet amid virus, oil fears, Dow closure

The municipal market fell as much as 10 to 12 basis points at one point on Monday amid the COVID-19 crisis and its ricocheting effects on the global economy.
But the municipal market is lagging the rest of the world because munis as an asset class are fundamentally more difficult to monitor and evaluate.
Given the fragmented state of the municipal market with more than 50,000 issuers, many different structures, low liquidity, archaic benchmarks, delayed and non-standard financial filings, the market is having to deal with this crisis moment by moment.
As participants unpack what is unfolding globally, there is room for caution and also opportunity, sources said.
Read more: Bond Buyer.

Ranson Financial2020-03-10T08:24:44-05:00March 9, 2020|News|

Not in my lifetime: How the Treasury yield collapse surprised nearly everyone

Investors who thought U.S. Treasury yields could not get any lower received another shock Monday.
A plunge in oil prices combined with worries about the spreading coronavirus combined to drive market participants into Treasuries, accelerating a years-long rally that has taken yields on the 10-year Treasury to below 0.5%, a number few investors thought they would see in their lifetimes.
Bond yields fall as their prices rise. Other key factors that have stoked the move higher in U.S. government bonds include unprecedented asset purchases by the Federal Reserve, stubbornly low inflation, changing U.S. demographics and slower growth.
Read more: Reuters.

Ranson Financial2020-03-09T21:43:44-05:00March 9, 2020|News|

Oil fell nearly 25%, posts biggest 1-day loss since 1991 on fears of global price war

Oil futures plunged to a four-year low Monday, on track for the biggest one-day drop since 1991 as OPEC and Russia appear headed for an all-out price war — shaking a market already reeling from the demand shock created by global spread of COVID-19.
West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery CL.1, 9.637% on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $10.15, or 24.6%, to end at $31.13, after briefly trading below $29 in early trade. May Brent crude BRNK20, 10.041%, the global benchmark, dropped $10.91, or 24.1%, to settle at $34.36 a barrel on ICE Europe. The percentage declines for both grades were the largest since January 1991, during the Gulf War.
(Read more: MarketWatch.com – Top Stories)

Ranson Financial2020-03-10T07:06:27-05:00March 9, 2020|News|