Wichita gets federal approval to start selling some of its public housing units

Wichita will begin the process of selling part of its single-family public housing stock after receiving long-awaited approval from the federal government. “This is really a once in a generation opportunity to add affordable housing stock to the private market,” Sarah Gooding, a real property section manager with the city of Wichita, said at a city board meeting in August. “Many of these homes are at the lower end of the price range. We’re hoping to see affordable homes for first-time buyers and affordable rentals.” The city announced in January 2022 that it would split its 352 single-family public housing units into several groups and sell them.
Source: KSN-TV

Ranson Financial2023-09-20T09:42:16-05:00September 20, 2023|News|

‘It’s an emergency.’ Midwest towns scramble as drought threatens drinking water.

James Rainbolt typically can tackle most problems at his rural water plant with some extra time or money. But he can’t fix this. “I just can’t make it rain,” he said. Like others across southeast Kansas, Rainbolt remains helpless as he watches a persistent drought dry up the local water supply. He runs a public wholesale water supply district that provides the drinking water for several cities and rural water districts. The lack of rain has been so severe that it’s now threatening the water district’s intake pipe, which brings water from a local lake to the treatment plant.
Source: themercury.com

Ranson Financial2023-09-20T09:37:54-05:00September 20, 2023|News|

Lawrence city staff members, commissioners hesitate as mayor calls to enforce no-camping measures

Mayor Lisa Larsen on Tuesday called for the city to push back against people camping around town. City staff members and her fellow commissioners said they agree that the situation needs to change, but there was not a feasible way to end camping right now. City staff members provided commissioners with an update Tuesday on efforts to deal with the growing homelessness and housing crisis. After a staff presentation, commissioners heard from about 20 people, including many business owners; no one who identified themselves as homeless spoke during the meeting.
Source: The Lawrence Times

Ranson Financial2023-09-20T09:36:31-05:00September 20, 2023|News|

Municipal Bond Trends for September 19, 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.

Henry Schmidt2023-09-20T07:57:51-05:00September 20, 2023|News|

Lenexa’s new downtown booming with food, offices. It’s only halfway done

Dozens of shoppers filed through Lenexa’s farmers market on Saturday, stopping at each booth to pick up late summer produce, fresh loaves of sourdough and local honey. Nearby, kids swooped down the water slides at the city’s rec center. And hungry customers, tempted by the smell of spices in the air, chose between the samosas at Sohaila’s Kitchen or the fried sweet plantains at African Dream Cuisine at the packed food hall. The bustling afternoon was the result of more than two decades of planning, and hundreds of millions of public and private dollars funneled into Lenexa City Center, at 87th Street Parkway and Renner Boulevard. And that’s just the first half of the project. Momentum has been building in recent months, with the City Council granting approvals and tax incentives allowing several projects to move forward.
Source: KC Star Local News

Ranson Financial2023-09-19T20:38:18-05:00September 19, 2023|News|

2 historic sites in Council Grove reopen with greater focus on Native people

A restoration of two historic sites related to American Indian history are providing an opportunity to tell a “broader story,” officials said Saturday. The Kaw Mission State Historic Site and Last Chance Store reopened in an event Saturday after a restoration four years in the works. Its renovation was an effort by museum staff, historians, the Kaw Nation and the Santa Fe Trail Association. The Kaw Mission was built in 1851 as a school that could to accommodate about 50 Native boys after the government forcibly relocated the Kanza people to Council Grove in 1846. Mark Brooks, the site administrator, said the school taught the students farming, reading, writing and math…
Source: themercury.com

Ranson Financial2023-09-19T19:41:50-05:00September 19, 2023|News|

$1.7 million to help turn old Bonner Springs grocery store site into affordable housing

An additional $1.7 million was secured to develop 100 multi-family rental units at a four-story apartment building in downtown Bonner Springs, U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids announced. A building at 120 Oak St., the site of an old Thriftway grocery store, was demolished a few months ago with plans for the $17 million development. Bonner Springs officials expect downtown businesses to see “significant increase in patronage” with the units. Mayor Jeff Harrington said the developers hope to break ground in the spring with the building along West Front Street open in fall 2025.
Source: KC Star Local News

Ranson Financial2023-09-19T19:42:23-05:00September 19, 2023|News|

Who is dressing the bronze sculptures in downtown Wichita? And who is undressing them?

Years ago, Tamara Gonzales privately came up with a name for the bronze statue of a barefoot businessman standing at Douglas and Main, reading his newspaper with his pant legs rolled up and his feet cooling in a bubbling fountain. Walter. As she got to thinking about Walter, she decided he was missing something. “I don’t know if it’s a mental problem or what it is, but I saw this statue here and thought, ‘He’d be kind of cool with a pair of pants on,’” said Gonzales, a crochet enthusiast and longtime president of Wichita’s 40-member crochet guild. Pants crocheted in a rainbow of pastel yarn, to be specific. Now, Gonzales’ desire to dress Walter has morphed into a city-approved, temporary art installation in yarn that’s been turning heads since Gonzales put it up on Friday.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle

Ranson Financial2023-09-19T19:42:46-05:00September 19, 2023|News|

Hutchinson’s Smallville Con to end after 10-year run

The family that has organized Smallville Con in Hutchinson for the past 10 years has decided it cannot do it anymore. The convention was a celebration of comic books and pop culture. DC Comics hero Superman grew up in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas. In 2013, Hutchinson agreed to rename itself Smallville for one day, and the annual convention came along with it. “Smallville Con was built out of years of my family attending various conventions throughout the United States,” Jon Robinson, Smallville Con owner, said.
Source: KSN-TV

Ranson Financial2023-09-19T19:44:28-05:00September 19, 2023|News|

Muni Finance and the Federal Fiscal Food Fight

Deficit financing has caught up with Uncle Sam, as federal outlays for interest payments have surged to record levels and the nation’s annual budget deficit is on track to double in this fiscal year. That’s just for starters: To dampen inflation, the Federal Reserve has hiked short-term interest rates and keeps jettisoning U.S. bonds, not buying them as it had been. … In theory, the cost of high-quality muni debt should be less than the inflation rate, in light of the 30 percent tax-exemption advantage that many wealthy investors glean from them. But in today’s market, most states and localities must increasingly pay the price of near-record real interest rates in the U.S. Treasury market. Triple A issuers of 20-year serial muni bonds can slightly undercut today’s latest CPI inflation rate, but even they will pay a real interest cost if price inflation does eventually normalize to lower levels. Meanwhile, most muni issuers — almost everybody with lower ratings — are already paying a cost above inflation, albeit less than comparably rated corporate borrowers.
Source: Governing

Ranson Financial2023-09-19T19:48:49-05:00September 19, 2023|News|