Prices rose more than expected in January as inflation won’t go away

13 Tuesday, February 13

Prices rose more than expected in January as inflation won’t go away

info2024-02-13T10:25:59-06:00February 13th, 2024|

Inflation rose more than expected in January as stubbornly high shelter prices weighed on consumers, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The consumer price index, a broad-based measure of the prices shoppers face for goods and services across the economy, increased 0.3% for the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. On a 12-month basis, that came out to 3.1%, down from 3.4% in December. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a monthly increase of 0.2% and an annual gain of 2.9%. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the so-called core CPI accelerated 0.4% in January and was up 3.9% [...]

13 Tuesday, February 13

Municipal Bond Trends for February 12, 2024

Henry Schmidt2024-02-13T10:23:30-06:00February 13th, 2024|

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS "investment grade" yields. 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.

13 Tuesday, February 13

What’s in Humboldt’s century-old time capsule?

info2024-02-13T10:23:28-06:00February 13th, 2024|

A mystery 100 years in the making was recently solved in Humboldt, Kansas. "We started trying to get into it last year," said Amber Wheeler, Superintendent, Humboldt Schools. Humboldt superintendent Amber Wheeler says despite having newspaper coverage to go off of, this box, a time capsule from 1922, remained elusive for more than a year. "When they pulled out the little black box it was an excitement for everybody," said Wheeler. Wheeler says they knew the capsule was somewhere around the cornerstone of the high school… but when they pulled the bricks around it last year, they came up empty. "There wasn't anybody to ask. [...]

13 Tuesday, February 13

Newton sees resignation of high school, grade school principals

info2024-02-13T10:19:51-06:00February 13th, 2024|

At its February 12 meeting the USD 373 Board of Education approved a personnel report that included the names of two building administrators under the resignation column. Newton High School Principal Blake Smith’s name was listed with his final day with the district being June 30 – the last day of the school’s fiscal year. Smith worked as an assistant principal at the high school starting in 2019, before taking over in August of 2022, replacing then principal Caleb Smith. Sherri Terrell, who’s been principal of South Breeze this school year was also listed as resigning, with her departure date in June. Harvey County Now [...]

13 Tuesday, February 13

Topeka petition seeks to demand ‘a public vote before they raise our taxes’

info2024-02-13T07:22:22-06:00February 13th, 2024|

Keeping Topeka's city government from raising property taxes without a public vote is the aim of a recently initiated petition drive. The petition calls for the passage of a proposed ordinance that would ban the city from collecting more property taxes in any given year than it collected the previous year, said Topekan Earl McIntosh, the petition drive's leader. Source: CJonline

12 Monday, February 12

Rush County hospital transitioning to a ‘rural emergency hospital’

info2024-02-12T11:07:33-06:00February 12th, 2024|

Rush County Memorial Hospital announced Friday that the hospital will be transitioning to a 'rural emergency hospital.' The hospital will continue to provide a 24/7 emergency room, lab and radiology services, outpatient care, physical therapy, the Wellness Center, and the medical clinic. In addition, Locust Grove Village will continue to provide nursing home services. The intermediate swing bed unit (formerly long-term care) will be closed. In addition, the rural emergency hospital model does not support inpatient services such as swing bed and acute care. The hospital cites Covid, reimbursement changes, declining population, and increasing business costs as the reasons behind the [...]

12 Monday, February 12

Sunflower Electric Power Corporation announces third solar project

info2024-02-12T11:06:26-06:00February 12th, 2024|

Sunflower Electric Power Corp. is partnering on a 150-megawatt solar energy project near Fort Dodge Station, the company’s electric generating facility one mile southeast of Dodge City, Kan. Expected commercial operation is during the first half of 2026. Sunflower is a cooperatively operated wholesale generation and transmission utility serving seven member distribution utilities located in western Kansas. The Boot Hill Solar Project will join Sunflower’s 20-megawatt Johnson Corner Solar Project (JCSP), which came online in April 2020, and Sunflower’s 20-megawatt Sunflower Electric Solar @ Russell Project, scheduled for commercial operation in January 2025, in providing solar power to Sunflower’s members and those [...]

12 Monday, February 12

Prairiefire bank seeks court guidance over how defaulted bonds should be paid

info2024-02-12T11:01:16-06:00February 12th, 2024|

Prairiefire is looking for guidance on how to pay down the first tranche of almost $65 million in defaulted debt, since the Overland Park development hasn't yielded enough sales taxes to fully cover those obligations. UMB Bank, the trustee for Prairiefire's sales tax revenue (STAR) bonds, seeks guidance through a legal petition filed in Minneapolis, where its Corporate Trust Services department is based. The bank on Jan. 30 asked a Hennepin County District Court judge to confirm how about $4.2 million in available funds should be applied to $14.9 million in bond principal and $1.75 million in interest that came due for Prairiefire [...]

12 Monday, February 12

Some Midwest states take power to ban wind and solar projects away from local communities

info2024-02-12T10:55:11-06:00February 12th, 2024|

The land in Piatt County in central Illinois is flat, and it’s easy to see for miles around Jerry Edwards’ house in a rural area north of Mansfield. In a few months, his view will include a wind farm, with two wind turbines close by. “There will be a tower the size of the Gateway Arch back this way in where the green cover crop is,” Edwards said. “And then in the field, just east of it … there will be a second right out a mile from here.” Edwards, who is the vice chairman of the Piatt County Board, was among [...]

12 Monday, February 12

Topeka officials move to clear homeless camps from area along Kansas River

info2024-02-12T10:52:15-06:00February 12th, 2024|

Topeka officials are preparing to begin the implementation of an ordinance aimed at removing members of the local homeless population from camps along the Kansas River. KSNT 27 News spoke with sources with the City of Topeka and the Topeka Rescue Mission (TRM) about plans to enforce the new camping ordinance passed last year by the Topeka City Council. The ordinance places further restrictions on where people can camp in city limits, including: No camping within 500 feet of the centerline of any trail; no camping within 50 feet of the centerline of any sidewalk inside city limits; and no camping within [...]