Earthquake drills to become standard in Emporia schools

A 4.5 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter 3.6 miles southwest of Hutchinson shook Kansas at 1:08 p.m. Sunday, with tremors felt throughout the region — including the Emporia area.

The US Geological Survey had initially reported that the earthquake was a magnitude 4.4 earthquake, but later upgraded it. No damage was immediately reported.

After a 4.2 earthquake damaged buildings in the Hutchinson and Burrton Public Schools districts in Aug. 2019, and with earthquakes becoming more frequent occurrences, the Kansas State Department of Education added earthquake drills to the list of safety drills some Kansas schools are required to complete throughout the year.

(Read more: Emporia Gazette)

Ranson Financial2020-01-22T17:50:05-06:00January 22, 2020|News|

Topeka sticks with plan to outsource social service grants

The city of Topeka will stick with last month’s decision by its mayor and city council aimed at outsourcing the city’s program that provides grant funding to social service agencies.

A divided city council on Tuesday evening narrowly rejected Councilwoman Christina Valdivia-Alcala’s proposal to rescind that action, which was taken Dec. 17.

Five council members voted Tuesday to overturn last month’s move — but six votes were needed to accomplish that.

Votes in favor of overturning last month’s action were cast Tuesday by council members Valdivia-Alcala, Karen Hiller, Sylvia Ortiz, Hannah Naeger and Spencer Duncan.

Ranson Financial2020-01-22T20:23:32-06:00January 22, 2020|News|

State grant funds new homes in Greensburg

Greensburg was recently one of 13 Kansas communities awarded $2.3 million for rural housing development from the Kansas Moderate Income Housing program, a supplement to Kansas Housing funding from the state. The grant money will help develop affordable housing for moderate-income families.

What it means for Greensburg is that two new duplexes will be built to serve as housing units for moderate income families, something the Greensburg-area has been in need of since the tornado in 2007.

The duplexes, already under construction, are across the street from the Youth Core Ministries office on the corner of Garfield and Oak streets. The first duplex could be finished in four months followed by the next one completed in another four months, with the overall goal of having both ready to rent by August 2020, pending any major weather issues or other delays, said Stacy Barnes, Greensburg City Administrator.

Ranson Financial2020-01-22T17:41:30-06:00January 22, 2020|News|

Kansas DMV Services Aim To Drive Down Office Wait Time

The Kansas Division of Vehicles added two new options to reduce wait times and long lines at driver’s license offices across the state.

The agency launched a scheduling platform so people can make appointments instead of showing up at a DMV office and waiting in line.

Division of Vehicles director David Harper says the service is available in Wichita, Andover, Derby, Topeka, Kansas City (Kansas), Lawrence, Manhattan, Mission, Olathe and Overland Park.

“That’s helped a lot with our wait times and helping people plan their time,” he says. “They can schedule a specific date and time to come in, and the wait times are typically have been under 15 minutes for those people coming in.”

(Read more: RSS Feed)

Ranson Financial2020-01-22T17:40:02-06:00January 22, 2020|News|

150,000 Kansans Who Drink From Private Wells Are Largely Blind To Contamination

About 150,000 people in Kansas get their drinking water from private wells.

How clean, and safe, is that water? Short answer: It depends.

But new research suggests those wells deliver water tainted with a range of pollutants. Some leaked from dry cleaning operations. Yet far more wells soak up, and deliver to taps, fertilizer that’s been building up in Kansas soil and water over generations of modern farming.

But it’s not up to regulators from Washington or agencies in Topeka to test private well water quality. That falls to individual well owners. With little to no government oversight, some public health officials worry that’s creating a system where far too many people are left vulnerable to potential cancer-causing pollutants and toxins.

(Read more: RSS Feed)

Ranson Financial2020-01-22T17:39:08-06:00January 22, 2020|News|

Parsons hears info on Medicaid

The expansion of Medicaid in Kansas could result in $1.8 billion in increased economic output.

That was the message that Jim Zaleski, city of Parsons economic development director, brought back from a luncheon in Topeka sponsored by the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas. The event was titled “The Business Case for KanCare Expansion.” KanCare is the state’s Medicaid program. The meeting featured David Toland, Kansas secretary of commerce.

Under the Affordable Care Act, states can expand their Medicaid systems to cover adults with incomes of up to 138% of the federal poverty level. During former Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration, the state avoided expansion and the billions in federal funds it would bring, but Gov. Laura Kelly and Republican Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning reached a compromise last week that could lead to expansion.

(Read more: The Miami County Republic)

Ranson Financial2020-01-22T20:22:52-06:00January 22, 2020|News|

Wichita Art Museum begins $700K update of its lobby, entrance and other gathering spaces

Several spaces inside the Wichita Art Museum will soon have a whole new look.

The museum has started transforming several of its major gathering spaces with a $700,000 remodel project that includes includes upgrades to the main entry and lobby, great hall and The Living Room, the museum’s interactive spot for activities beyond the gallery.

Work started last week and is expected to finish April 25 during a free re-opening event.

For now, the museum’s main entrance is closed during construction and visitors are directed to a temporary entrance on the east side of the building through the Living Room doors. Look for the Tom Otterness sculpture called Dreamer’s Awake.

(Read more: Wichita Business Journal)

Ranson Financial2020-01-22T17:35:52-06:00January 22, 2020|News|

Finney County hires interim administrator

On Monday, the Board of County Commissioners approved Robert Reece to step in as interim County Administrator until the search committee finds a permanent replacement for the position.

Monday, February 17, 2020 will be Mr. Reece’s first day in the Finney County Administrator office.

Mr. Reece comes to us from Pottawatomie County in Eastern Kansas, where he served as County Administrator for 20 years. Prior to that he worked as their Director of Finance. …

“Due to the size of Finney County, an interim administrator is necessary to oversee the daily activities, support the department directors, and make decisions in the absence of the Board,” says Commission Chairman Duane Drees. “Mr. Reece is an ideal fit, given his background and experience.”

(Read more: Western Kansas News)

Ranson Financial2020-01-22T20:22:12-06:00January 22, 2020|News|

Moody’s says 737 MAX layoffs threatens talent migration from Wichita

Moody’s Investors Services says the fallout from the 737 MAX layoffs in Wichita threatens to zap the region of vital talent in an already-tight local labor market and have other, broader impacts on the local economy.

In a research note provided to the WBJ, the firm listed the 737 MAX layoffs as “credit negative” for both Wichita and Sedgwick County, adding that the near-term future of the MAX will have an important impact on the longer-term prospects for the area.

“Most Wichita area local governments would be able to weather a short-term economic slowdown stemming from reduced aerospace employment,” Moody’s says. “But if lower staffing at Spirit and its downstream suppliers continues for an extended period, and without substantial hiring by other aerospace companies in the region, out migration will likely occur as workers seek employment in the sector elsewhere.”

(Read more: Wichita Business Journal)

Ranson Financial2020-01-22T17:33:20-06:00January 22, 2020|News|

Why Kelly wants to extend Kansas pension obligations and pay down other debt

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s $7.8 billion budget calls for an extension of pension obligations while paying down other debt and boosting reserves.
For the second consecutive year, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly is seeking to refinance the state’s pension debt, pushing maximum annual debt service of $1 billion in 2032 to a decade later.
…
Kelly’s goal is to lower annual payments by $130 million to $160 million over the next four years as the state builds budget reserves and restores funding for schools. The pension payments would still top $1 billion, but not until 2041.
“Kansas’ re-amortization of KPERS to make smaller payments in the short term is akin to making the minimum payment on a credit card bill,” according to the nonprofit Kansas Policy Institute. “In other words, the lower the contributions Kansas makes today, the higher contributions must be tomorrow."

(Read more: Bond Buyer: Feed)

Ranson Financial2020-01-22T20:27:13-06:00January 22, 2020|News|

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