Mountain lion spotted in Parsons on Oct. 13

23 Monday, October 23

Mountain lion spotted in Parsons on Oct. 13

info2023-10-23T11:11:28-05:00October 23rd, 2023|

A security video recorded a young mountain lion walking around a shed on property near 17th Street and Kennedy along Labette Creek on Oct. 13. The sighting was reported to Parsons police who reported it to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks on Monday. KDWP visited the location and was satisfied that the animal, likely between 1 and 3 years old, had moved on. Matt Peek, wildlife research biologist for KDWP, told the Sun the lion is likely the same animal seen southeast of Iola on Oct. 9 based on distance and the timing of the two confirmations. “We were [...]

23 Monday, October 23

Grants awarded to expand child care in Kansas

info2023-10-23T11:10:09-05:00October 23rd, 2023|

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund have announced grants to 27 statewide organizations to create new child care slots and support the expansion of high-quality affordable child care programs. The grants are part of the Child Care Capacity Accelerator Grant Program. In June, a first round of awards provided $43 million to 52 providers and community partnerships to create 4,211 new child care slots. The second round will provide another $11.4 million to 27 organizations and providers to create an additional 1,468 slots. In all, the grant program has provided a total of $55,018,294 to 67 communities and [...]

23 Monday, October 23

Fed’s Raphael Bostic doesn’t foresee rate cuts coming until ‘late 2024’

info2023-10-23T11:09:03-05:00October 23rd, 2023|

Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic on Friday said he doesn't envision interest rate cuts happening until well into 2024. Though he cited progress on inflation and a slowing economy, the central bank official told CNBC that there's still a lot of work to be done before the Fed reaches its inflation goal of 2% annually. "I would say late 2024," Bostic replied when asked for a time frame when the first decrease could come. The Fed has raised its key borrowing rate 11 times since March 2022 for a total of 5.25 percentage points. While Bostic said he doesn't see [...]

23 Monday, October 23

Students advocate for pedestrian safety, with sidewalk painting

info2023-10-23T11:07:35-05:00October 23rd, 2023|

Pittsburg students get creative with color to help increase safety on city crosswalks. Four Pittsburg elementary schools are set to receive updates to their crosswalks with an eye-catching mural. Meadowlark Elementary was the first on the list to be upgraded — along with George Nettles, Westside, and Lakeside Elementary schools. Students and volunteers from Pittsburg, along with PSU's Art Department chairmen, will be painting the streets in colors you usually see on the road every day but in an abstract pattern. What first began in 2018 from an SEK Art Fest grant has continued due to leftover paint and funds. PSU's Art Department chairmen say it's [...]

23 Monday, October 23

Governor Kelly Encourages Communities to Join Kansas Main Street Program

info2023-10-23T11:00:04-05:00October 23rd, 2023|

Governor Laura Kelly announced today that the Kansas Main Street program is seeking new communities to join the program in 2024. Kansas Main Street provides technical assistance and support for communities working to revitalize their downtown areas by focusing on economic vitality, design, promotion, and organization. The Kansas Main Street program was initially launched in 1985 but was ended in 2012 under the Brownback Administration. Governor Kelly restarted the program in 2019 with support from the Kansas Legislature. “The Kansas Main Street Program has been crucial to preserving and growing downtowns across the state,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Downtown areas are [...]

23 Monday, October 23

Municipal Bond Trends for October 20, 2023

Henry Schmidt2023-10-23T09:26:57-05:00October 23rd, 2023|

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.

20 Friday, October 20

Can’t recycle or trash them: What happens to disposable e-cigarettes?

info2023-10-23T07:44:32-05:00October 20th, 2023|

With the growing popularity of disposable e-cigarettes, communities across the U.S. are confronting a new vaping problem: how to safely get rid of millions of small, battery-powered devices that are considered hazardous waste. For years, the debate surrounding vaping largely centered on its risks for high school and middle school students enticed by flavors like gummy bear, lemonade and watermelon. But the recent shift toward e-cigarettes that can’t be refilled has created a new environmental dilemma. The devices, which contain nicotine, lithium and other metals, cannot be reused or recycled. Under federal environmental law, they also aren’t supposed to go in [...]

20 Friday, October 20

Chicago Is Losing Supermarkets. Does a Small Kansas Town Have the Answer?

info2023-10-22T09:15:20-05:00October 20th, 2023|

ERIE, Kan.— As Chicago studies whether to become the first big city to open a municipally-owned grocery store, it will be looking to places like this city of 1,000 people for tips on how to do it. At the moment, things aren’t going especially well. Erie Market, which the city took over in 2021, is losing money almost every month amid stiff competition from a Walmart 15 miles away and a Dollar General across the street. The store has slashed prices, cleared the shelves of expired items and put in a salad bar to try to bring more people through the [...]

20 Friday, October 20

Municipal Bond Trends for October 19, 2023

Henry Schmidt2023-10-20T10:31:02-05:00October 20th, 2023|

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.

20 Friday, October 20

Valley Center ponders electric utility

info2023-10-20T08:10:51-05:00October 20th, 2023|

The City of Valley Center is considering whether to start its own electric utility. The city council on Oct. 17 heard the report of a nearly year-long study into the initiative to possibly replace Evergy. ... a municipal electric utility is possible. However, city customers likely would pay slightly higher rates than Evergy's rates in the first few years before city rates became lower than Evergy. That's because the city could face large upfront system acquisition costs coupled with operations and maintenance. Source: Ark Valley News