Kansas communities receiving $1.4 million in rural economic development grants

21 projects across Kansas will receive almost $1.4 million in funding from the Historic Economic Asset Lifeline (HEAL) grant program. The program, which receives bipartisan support from Governor Kelly and the Kansas Legislature to provide annual allocations, aims to help rural communities revitalize downtown buildings and create safer downtowns with more job opportunities. Projects being funded in this round of awards include upper-story housing, child care facilities, retail businesses, and restaurants. In addition, the projects will receive more than $3.4 million in private local matching funds. “Vibrant, safe downtowns spur economic growth by attracting businesses and jobs and establishing community pride,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Investments like this bring life back into these communities and are instrumental to their long-term success.” The Kansas Department of Commerce’s Office of Rural Prosperity, Community Development Division, and Kansas Main Street collaborate on HEAL to revitalize underutilized and dilapidated downtown structures where the cost to rehabilitate exceeds the limit that conventional financing can cover. Downtown landmarks that get new life breathed into them through HEAL are transformed into spaces that serve multiple purposes. Projects are to be completed within two years.
Source: KAKE News

Ranson Financial2024-01-29T11:05:06-06:00January 29, 2024|News|

New fire engine arrives in Holton

It’s been almost 25 years since Holton’s volunteer fire department welcomed a new fire engine with a high aerial ladder for fighting fires from above. But shortly after 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, a brand-new fire engine with a 109-foot aerial ladder — 44 feet longer than the aerial ladder on the fire department’s previous “first-out” fire truck — arrived in Holton, and members of the fire department were on hand to welcome it. “We’ve been wanting a new aerial for about 10 years,” Holton Fire Chief Scott Baum said on the arrival of the new fire engine, purchased through Hays Fire and Rescue Sales and Service of Hays and built by Rosenbauer Motors of Wyoming, Minn., where Baum and four other firefighters visited earlier in the week to give the new fire engine it’s final inspection. On Thursday, after a long and arduous two-day drive through snowpacked Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri, that “new aerial” was backed into a rear bay at Holton’s Public Safety Building by Greg Moody of Hays Fire. Baum said he plans to get Holton’s firefighters trained on all aspects of the new fire engine before making it the department’s “first-out” vehicle. In the meantime, the department’s current “first-out” truck, a vehicle with a 65-foot aerial ladder in service since 1999, will remain in service. “We’ve got some training coming up,” Baum said. “We’re going to go over the aerial operations and the general operations of it all, and then as a department, we’re going to train on it and make sure that we’re knowledgeable on all the parts.”
Source: Holton Recorder

Ranson Financial2024-01-29T11:00:41-06:00January 29, 2024|News|

Municipal Bond Trends for January 26, 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.

Henry Schmidt2024-01-29T09:28:43-06:00January 29, 2024|News|

Salina remains proactive with ‘forever chemicals’

Substances that are commonly referred to as “forever chemicals” show up in everyday items and as they are now being found in drinking water systems across the United States, cities like Salina are taking steps to figure out what’s next. … Martha Tasker, director of utilities for the City of Salina, said the city’s public water supply system was first tested for PFAS in 2014, with results returning as “non-detect,” but at the time, they were testing in parts-per billion, and since then the standards for testing have changed.
Source: Salina Journal

Ranson Financial2024-01-28T08:41:07-06:00January 28, 2024|News|

Smallville may be fictional, but the names of these Kansas cities highlight the ‘ville

In celebration of Kansas Day, here are the 24 incorporated Sunflower State cities identified in U.S. Census records as having names that end in “ville,” listed in order of population, plus one in Nemaha County that’s unincorporated but nevertheless has 182 people. The list doesn’t include “Larryville,” a common nickname for Lawrence, or “Aggieville,” the Manhattan bar district.
Source: CJonline

Ranson Financial2024-01-28T08:37:49-06:00January 28, 2024|News|

Chapter closes on JoCo’s oldest library branch, but patrons can visit new spot soon

Vaughnie Tinsley and Darline Cyre are eager to turn to the next chapter of their storied love for a library in Merriam. The two friends are among the readers preparing for the permanent closure of the Antioch Library at 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 28. With six decades of operation, the library, at 8700 Shawnee Mission Parkway, is the system’s oldest branch. It is being replaced with the new Merriam Plaza Library at 6120 Slater St., scheduled for an official opening on March 20.
Source: Joco 913 News

Ranson Financial2024-01-26T14:26:33-06:00January 26, 2024|News|

Overland Park launches effort to address changing College-Metcalf area

Overland Park will study ways to support reinvestment in the busy College Boulevard and Metcalf Avenue “employment hub.” This week, the city is starting the public engagement leg of a months-long process to develop a College & Metcalf Overlay District Study. The resulting document will focus on possible reinvestment in the corridor in the area bounded by I-435 and 119th Street on the north and south and Nall and Metcalf avenues on the east and west
Source: Johnson County Post

Ranson Financial2024-01-26T14:25:53-06:00January 26, 2024|News|

Can Johnson County residents vote on controversial city park sale? A judge will decide

The city of Westwood is asking a judge to rule that it can move forward with the sale of its only city park for new development — a move that several residents have hoped to stop at the ballot box with a public vote on the matter. The city last week filed a suit in Johnson County District Court, asking a judge to decide whether a resident petition aimed at preventing the sale of the park is legally sufficient to be placed on the ballot. Residents filed the petition after the Westwood City Council in October, following months of debate, voted 5-1 approving plans for a mixed-use development on 8 acres, including the 1-acre Joe D. Dennis Park at Rainbow Boulevard and 50th Street. Johnson County-based Karbank Real Estate Company is looking to build an office and retail development on the land, which also includes the former Westwood View Elementary School, as well as a piece of vacant city property, previously occupied by the Westwood Christian Church. Karbank has agreed to pay off a $275,000 debt the city still owes on the church property, and has offered the city $2.65 million to purchase the school property from the Shawnee Mission district. It would demolish the building and grade much of the land for the city to build a new 3.8-acre park to replace Joe. D Dennis.
Source: Joco 913 News

Ranson Financial2024-01-26T13:43:08-06:00January 26, 2024|News|

BAK riders get set for 50th trip across the state

The 50th Biking Across Kansas tour, the annual celebration of bicycling and the Sunflower State, will hit the highways and byways Saturday through Saturday, June 8-15. BAK organizers revealed this special golden anniversary route at 2 p.m. Saturday, January 20. Online registration will open at 6 a.m. Monday, Jan. 29 at bak.org. “This year marks an amazing half-century for our annual bike tour across the state of Kansas,” said David Rohr, BAK board president. “As we pedal into our 50th year, we want to invite new and veteran BAK cyclists to help us celebrate this milestone. Whether you crossed Kansas with us fifty years ago, last year, or sometime in the decades in between, we welcome you back to ride in 2024. Participants will enjoy the fun of traveling with this friendly community of bicyclists, taking in the beauty of the Kansas landscape, and experiencing the warm hospitality of the Kansas towns and people.” The 2024 route begins just west of Tribune, KS where the first tour began in 1975. Riders will cover approximately 489 miles in the span of a week, staying overnight in Scott City, Ness City, Hoisington, Lincoln, Concordia, Frankfort, Holton, and concluding in Atchison, KS on the banks of the Missouri river. Riders pedal between 50 and 80 miles each day. With this many cyclists on the roads, BAK organizers urge motorists to be vigilant and share the roadways, said Executive Director Bryan Toben, noting state and local law enforcement will be helping keep everyone safe. Riders may be in groups or alone, and they may be strung out over several miles.
Source: Dodge City Daily Globe

Ranson Financial2024-01-26T13:40:46-06:00January 26, 2024|News|

Pittsburg Fire and Police Departments participate in Battle of the Badges

The Pittsburg Fire and Police Departments participate in another year of Battle of the Badges Chili Cookoff with the American Red Cross. People donating blood today and tomorrow can try both types of chili and then vote for their favorite. Organizers say the event has brought in more than a hundred sign ups for donations. The Fire and Police Departments both say the competition is heating up this year.
Source: KOAM News

Ranson Financial2024-01-26T13:26:13-06:00January 26, 2024|News|

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