In first year of open enrollment, Olathe accepts 70+ out-of-district transfers

22 Monday, July 22

In first year of open enrollment, Olathe accepts 70+ out-of-district transfers

info2024-07-22T10:23:31-05:00July 22nd, 2024|

The Olathe School District has approved 72 out-of-district transfer applications for the upcoming school year. The move comes as all school districts in Kansas must now provide the opportunity for nonresident students to enroll in their schools, according to a state law that takes effect this year. At the July 11 school board meeting, Dr. Jill Smith, Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education at Olathe Public Schools presented the board with its first open enrollment report. The district, Smith said, had 590 openings across elementary, middle and high schools. All eligible students wishing to transfer to schools with openings were accepted. Any [...]

22 Monday, July 22

Municipal Bond Trends for July 19, 2024

Henry Schmidt2024-07-22T09:56:44-05:00July 22nd, 2024|

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer's credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

19 Friday, July 19

Abilene deploys first stage of drought response

info2024-07-19T14:33:34-05:00July 19th, 2024|

As of July 5 Abilene is under a water watch, meaning the city is requesting residents reduce their water usage outdoors. Ron Marsh, city manager, called for the watch because of how low the water tables are, how far down a well needs to go to pump water from the city’s water sources underground. Source: Abilene Reflector Chronicle

19 Friday, July 19

Governor Kelly Announces $10M for Broadband Projects in Rural Kansas

info2024-07-19T13:54:13-05:00July 19th, 2024|

Governor Laura Kelly announced today that $10 million has been awarded to 12 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the latest round of Broadband Acceleration Grants. The awards will be paired with an additional $12.7 million in matching funds, resulting in an investment of nearly $22.7 million for high-speed broadband access projects across 14 rural Kansas counties. Source: Kansas Department of Commerce

19 Friday, July 19

Overland Park considers changing how it gives out 2 types of development incentives

info2024-07-19T13:53:48-05:00July 19th, 2024|

As part of a months-long effort to review its economic incentive policies, Overland Park is now tackling two that tend to use sales tax to encourage specific types of development and redevelopment. These two economic development tools are community improvement districts and transportation development districts, more typically referred to as CIDs and TDDs, respectively. Source: Johnson County Post

19 Friday, July 19

Fed Governor Waller sees central bank ‘getting closer’ to an interest rate cut

info2024-07-19T13:45:06-05:00July 19th, 2024|

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller on Wednesday suggested that interest rate cuts are ahead soon as long as there are no major surprises on inflation and employment. ... Keeping with statements from other policymakers, Waller's sentiments point to an unlikelihood of a rate cut when the Federal Open Market Committee meets later this month, but a stronger likelihood of a move in September. Source: CNBC

19 Friday, July 19

Who are Wichita’s top water customers?

info2024-07-19T12:38:31-05:00July 19th, 2024|

As of Monday, Cheney Lake is nearly six-and-a-half feet below its normal level, less than 65% full. This is a mark that has Wichita on the brink of mandatory water restrictions. With the City of Wichita treating more than 19 billion gallons of water each year, 12 News looked into water usage in the city, asking for the top 30 users of Wichita’s water supply. Considering Wichita water customers, the supply extends well beyond the city’s limits. Source: KWCH

19 Friday, July 19

What Wichita-area services are down due to global outage?

info2024-07-19T12:37:53-05:00July 19th, 2024|

A worldwide IT outage caused by a faulty update is also impacting several Sedgwick County resources. CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm, said that an update sent to Microsoft computers caused widespread problems that led to grounded flights and disruptions to companies across the world. ... The county’s vehicle tagging offices are currently closed due to computer problems. “The computers are back up with county software but unfortunately the motor vehicle system is on the state software, and at this moment the state has not gotten their stuff up and running,” Brandi Baily, the county’s treasurer, said at Friday morning’s county commissioners agenda [...]

19 Friday, July 19

McCune Lions Club successful community garden providing healthy fresh food to the area

info2024-07-19T11:01:40-05:00July 19th, 2024|

According to the Kansas Healthy Food Initiative, more than 750,000 Kansans did not have access to healthy food within a reasonable distance of their home in 2023. Approximately 26 percent of those Kansans also live in low access areas, otherwise known as a “food desert.” One of the many communities in Kansas suffering as a food desert is in McCune. While McCune Farm to Market provides local produce, meats, and eggs along with basic groceries, the next closest grocery store is 21 miles east in Pittsburg or 15 miles west to Parsons. In an effort to tackle food insecurity in the [...]

19 Friday, July 19

New courthouse holds remnants of old, new clocks

info2024-07-19T10:49:35-05:00July 19th, 2024|

The mechanisms that controlled the clock on the exterior west wall of the Harvey County Courthouse are in the second-floor women’s bathroom in a protective enclosure. The clock no longer works, but the mechanisms still are there. “We don’t use it anymore,” said David Ryan, Harvey County facilities and grounds maintenance director. “The last time we had it estimated, trying to fix it was a challenge. It was pretty expensive. There was no guarantee it would be accurate.” “At some point, we took the hands off the clock,” County Administrator Anthony Swartzendruber said. “The hands didn’t move any more,” Ryan said. [...]