PSU, KBI to build $40 million crime center

1 Friday, December 1

PSU, KBI to build $40 million crime center

info2023-12-04T13:21:50-06:00December 1st, 2023|

Plans are being made for Pittsburg State University and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to partner on a project to build a $40 million regional crime center and laboratory near the PSU campus. The center would serve law enforcement and provide education for future forensic scientists and criminal justice professionals, the university announced Thursday. Plans have yet to be completed, but the center will be located in the Pittsburg Research Park near South Rouse Avenue. The area already houses research and testing laboratories for PSU and is a short drive from the main campus. The initial timeline slates groundbreaking in January [...]

1 Friday, December 1

Municipal Bond Trends for November 30, 2023

Henry Schmidt2023-12-01T10:00:39-06:00December 1st, 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.

1 Friday, December 1

Kansas Panasonic plant construction, hiring set for busy 2024

info2023-12-01T10:00:28-06:00December 1st, 2023|

Roughly a year after Panasonic officially broke ground on its $4 billion electric vehicle battery plant in De Soto, Kansas, construction crews still have more than a year of work to go before the targeted opening in the first quarter of 2025. But, Panasonic officials say the senior leadership team is in place, 34 engineers have already been hired and are training at the company's Gigafactory plant near Reno, Nevada, to help set up and open the De Soto facility. The workers who will be on the line on day one are expected to be hired in January and February, and spend [...]

30 Thursday, November 30

Municipal Bond Trends for November 29, 2023

Henry Schmidt2023-11-30T10:08:42-06:00November 30th, 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.

30 Thursday, November 30

Merriam latest Johnson County city to take up short-term rental issue

info2023-11-30T10:06:21-06:00November 30th, 2023|

Merriam is the latest Johnson County city to discuss short-term rentals like AirBnBs or Vrbos and how to potentially regulate them. With city staff over the past year receiving questions and listening to concerns about short-term rentals from councilmembers, planning commissioners and residents alike, the city council decided to discuss the issue for the first time on Monday night. ... Bryan Dyer, the city’s community development director, told the city council on Monday that there are currently 13 licensed short-term rentals that the city knows of in Merriam city limits. While it is difficult to track short-term rentals, Dyer said, he [...]

30 Thursday, November 30

Fed’s Barkin says rate hikes are still on the table if inflation doesn’t continue to ease

info2023-11-30T10:01:52-06:00November 30th, 2023|

Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin said Wednesday that policymakers need to retain the option of raising interest rates if inflation doesn't show enough progress coming down. Markets largely expect the Fed has stopped raising rates and will start cutting in 2024. But Barkin said he's not ready to commit to a particular policy path with so much uncertainty in the air. "If inflation comes down naturally and smoothly, awesome, you know, there's no particular need to do anything with interest rates if inflation steps down," he told CNBC's Steve Liesman during an interview at the CNBC CFO Council Summit. "But [...]

29 Wednesday, November 29

Fed’s Waller expresses confidence that policy is in the right place to bring down inflation

info2023-11-29T12:53:55-06:00November 29th, 2023|

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said Tuesday he's growing more confident that policy is in a place now to bring inflation back under control. There was nothing in Waller's prepared remarks for a speech in Washington, D.C., that suggests he's contemplating cutting interest rates, and he noted that inflation currently is still too high. But he pointed out a variety of areas where progress has made, suggesting the Fed at least won't need to hike rates further from here. "While I am encouraged by the early signs of moderating economic activity in the fourth quarter based on the data in hand, [...]

29 Wednesday, November 29

Investors See Interest-Rate Cuts Coming Soon

info2023-11-29T12:50:24-06:00November 29th, 2023|

Wall Street is gearing up for rate cuts. Twenty months after the Federal Reserve began a historic campaign against inflation, investors now believe there is a much greater chance that the central bank will cut rates in just four months than raise them again in the foreseeable future. Interest-rate futures indicated Monday a 52% chance the Fed will lower rates by at least a quarter-of-a-percentage point by its May 2024 policy meeting, up from 29% at the end of October, according to CME Group data. The same data pointed to four cuts by the end of the year. Investors, battered by the Fed’s efforts [...]

29 Wednesday, November 29

Your Local Newspaper Might Not Have a Single Reporter

info2023-11-29T12:47:57-06:00November 29th, 2023|

The Gleaner, the local newspaper in Henderson, Ky., has sections focused on features, sports, news and opinion. What it doesn’t have: a single reporter on staff. The publication is one of the “ghost newsrooms” that increasingly dot the American media landscape—newspapers that have little to no on-the-ground presence in the localities whose name they bear. It is a sobering development in an industry that has been brought to its knees by the rise of digital media and large technology companies. The Gleaner newsroom once bustled with a staff of around 20. Now, it doesn’t have an office—it was closed a few [...]

29 Wednesday, November 29

Governor Kelly Announces $5M to Expand Access to High-Speed Internet in Rural Kansas Communities

info2023-11-29T12:45:44-06:00November 29th, 2023|

Governor Laura Kelly today announced that $5 million has been awarded to eight internet service providers (ISPs) in the latest round of Broadband Acceleration Grants for 2023. The awards will be paired with an additional $6.6 million in matching funds, resulting in an investment of nearly $12 million for high-speed broadband access projects across 10 rural Kansas counties. “We’re steadfast in our commitment to achieving the ambitious goal of making Kansas a top 10 state for broadband access by 2030,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Access to affordable broadband is critical for our communities to stay vibrant and competitive, and every Kansan deserves [...]