Newton PD mourns loss of police service dog Bella

A retired police service dog in Newton has died. Bella was only nine years old. The Newton Police Department said she suffered a sudden medical emergency and died Tuesday. The department said Bella was successful at her job. She was a certified patrol and narcotics detection K-9 who joined the department in 2015. She served in the patrol division with Sgt. Tony Hawpe, her handler. After he transitioned to the investigations division, Bella retired in January.
Source: KSN-TV

Ranson Financial2023-06-29T00:09:16-05:00June 29, 2023|News|

Nuclear plant eyes Marion Reservoir

Evergy wants to buy 19% of Marion Reservoir’s conservation pool water to use for cooling basins at Wolf Creek nuclear power plant near Burlington. “That has never happened before,” Lisa Suderman, vice chairman of the Neosho Regional Advisory Committee, told county commissioners Monday. The state owns the water in the reservoir. That’s why the request was directed to the state, she said…. Suderman suggested that the county, cities, and Marion County residents who have a stake in Marion Reservoir water meet to discuss getting a retention agreement. A retention agreement applies not to drawing water out of the reservoir but to retaining water in the reservoir. Suderman suggested forming a delegation of every governing body in the county to talk to the water office about such an agreement.
Source: Marion County RECORD

Ranson Financial2023-06-29T07:47:16-05:00June 29, 2023|News|

Hillsboro says yes to fences no to animals

Hillsboro property owners who want privacy fences along their side yards can now have them, but people who own agricultural land annexed into the city can no longer claim an agricultural exemption to city regulations. Those changes to city ordinance were made Tuesday during Hillsboro’s city commission meeting.
Source: Marion County RECORD

Ranson Financial2023-06-29T07:50:06-05:00June 29, 2023|News|

Century-old bridge to be replaced

A bridge on East Barton County Road crossing Walnut Creek that was built about a 100 years ago will be replaced after the County Commission Wednesday morning approved the project. “It’s one that we’ve been in discussions with for quite a few years wanting to get it replaced because it’s a narrow bridge, 19 feet wide,” said County Engineer Barry McManaman. “Farm equipment has some trouble getting through, in fact, they can’t get through there.”
Source: Great Bend Tribune

Ranson Financial2023-06-28T23:58:47-05:00June 28, 2023|News|

Municipal Bond Trends for June 27, 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 Schmidt2023-06-28T11:05:15-05:00June 28, 2023|News|

Seven new warehouses coming near Integra Technologies site in Bel Aire

Michael Le had been eyeing Bel Aire for warehouse development even before Integra Technologies chose to locate in the city. “I was going to build it regardless,” he said of what he’s calling his Bayside industrial development. He said tax incentives in Bel Aire make doing business there attractive. However, he said, the microchip manufacturing and testing plant’s decision to locate a 1-million-square-foot building at the southeast corner of Rock Road and K-254 gives him even more confidence to build close by — across from Wichita Hoops, which is near 53rd North and Webb Road.
Source: Wichita Eagle

Ranson Financial2023-06-28T13:02:47-05:00June 28, 2023|News|

Tornado siren failure being addressed by county

A recent spot of severe weather raised some concerns for Derby residents, as a number of outdoor tornado sirens failed to go off in the midst of a tornado warning issued on June 17. District 5 Sedgwick County Commissioner Jim Howell, representing Derby, voiced some of his constituents’ concerns at the commission’s staff meeting on June 20. Sedgwick County Emergency Management Director Julie Stimson confirmed her department is working to resolve the issue. Per a release from the Sedgwick County Emergency Management Department, following the issuance of three tornado warning polygons by the National Weather Service on June 17, multiple means of public warning were triggered including wireless emergency alerts (WEA) to cellphones, the emergency alert system (EAS) over radio/television, NOAA weather radios, billboards, Sedgwick County’s Civic Ready Alerts and the outdoor warning system.
Source: Derby Informer | News

Ranson Financial2023-06-28T09:28:08-05:00June 28, 2023|News|

Torline creates collection brick by brick

North Newton resident John Torline, all in all, just wants to put another brick in the wall. But he doesn’t want to do that to oppress people, as the Pink Floyd song implies. He just wants to do it for his brick collection. The wall on the back of the Torlines’ outdoor freestanding fireplace contains various bricks from different Kansas towns, all with writing on them. One says, “Don’t Spit on Sidewalk.” “When I was growing up, my oldest cousin built a fireplace in Wichita,” Torline said. “He used bricks from brick factories that were from Kansas. Just about every town in southeast Kansas and southwest Missouri—about every little town had brick factories.”
Source: Harvey County Now

Ranson Financial2023-06-28T13:05:34-05:00June 28, 2023|News|

70 years ago downtown KCK was a shopping entertainment hub. How has it changed?

Years ago, the “other” Kansas City — the one in Kansas — had its own busy downtown. Though less grand than its Missouri cousin, a stretch of Minnesota Avenue west of 7th Street was lined for decades with shops, banks, theaters and eateries. The addition of the towering Town House Hotel came in 1951, which attracted celebrities performing in the area like country singer Patsy Cline. She stayed there the night after her concert at Memorial Hall. Sadly, it was her last one. Cline died in a plane crash on the way back to Nashville A view of the same scene in 2023 shows some storefronts and the tall tower still standing in the background — it’s now a home for seniors.
Source: KC Star Local News

Ranson Financial2023-06-28T09:22:15-05:00June 28, 2023|News|

50,000 people will flood into small Kansas town of Wamego on Tuesday

In the Pyro Crew’s planning lair — location undisclosed for security reasons — Chris Hupe produced a layout of the launch site and spread it out across a long table. He stood over the map like a general, stabbing a thick finger at various white squares. “Each of these boxes by themselves could be a small fireworks show,” Hupe said. “We have 81 of them.” He rattled off some more stats: a 225,000-square-foot site, 12,000 pounds of fireworks, 2,051 electronically triggered events, 800 hand-lit shells, 25 “dragons” that throw columns of flames 30 feet in the air. … On Tuesday evening, it will add up to Boomtown, a free pyrotechnic extravaganza that rockets the population of Wamego — a town otherwise best known for its Oz Museum — from 5,000 to something like 50,000 every Independence Day. Families arrive not just from neighboring towns but neighboring states to witness a 30-minute Fourth of July fireworks show that’s among the largest and most ambitious in the Midwest.
Source: Kansas City Star

Ranson Financial2023-06-28T13:16:23-05:00June 28, 2023|News|