Change in direction: Converting downtown Wichita’s one-way streets to two way

27 Monday, March 27

Change in direction: Converting downtown Wichita’s one-way streets to two way

info2023-03-27T23:07:51-05:00March 27th, 2023|

Once designed to get people in and out as efficiently as possible, downtown city centers have seen a change in direction in recent decades. "If you look at communities across the country, there was this mass exodus out of the downtowns and suburbia was growing," said Gary Janzen, who is director of public works for the city of Wichita, "but there's a real energy now in most cities our size, and we've seen it in Wichita. "There's a lot of dynamic things happening with retail, with business, with commercial, with living — we've got a lot of residential living downtown now, and [...]

27 Monday, March 27

Wichita rental market stays hot to begin 2023

info2023-03-28T06:59:20-05:00March 27th, 2023|

According to a new national report, finding an apartment or other rental unit in the Wichita market is not getting any easier. On Monday, apartment search website RentCafe.com released a study that listed the city as having the ninth-hottest small-sized rental market in the U.S. based on competitive score. Wichita's score of 106 was tied to several metrics, as of the close of 2022's fourth quarter, including average vacant days (23 in Wichita, according to RentCafe), occupancy (96.5%), prospective renters per vacant unit (seven), lease renewal rate (65.1%) and share of new apartments completed during Q4 2022 (0%). Source: Wichita Business Journal

27 Monday, March 27

Overland Park is the most pickleball obsessed city in U.S., study finds

info2023-03-27T08:47:24-05:00March 27th, 2023|

A Johnson County city has an obsession with pickleball, according to a new ranking. Betting and online casino guide website, Offers.bet, says Overland Park is the top pickleball-obsessed city in the country. The game started becoming wildly popular during the pandemic. Offers.bet said 83% of current pickleball players started playing in 2020 or later. While the popularity of pickleball is skyrocketing, one of the problems is that there aren’t enough courts, even with public courts and the opening of businesses like SERV and Chicken ‘n Pickle. Some fans have turned to playing pickleball on tennis courts, and have even added courts [...]

27 Monday, March 27

State lawmakers eye local limits: Bills would prevent plastic bag bans, vacant home fees and more

info2023-03-27T08:41:40-05:00March 27th, 2023|

Several bills in the Kansas Statehouse are designed to take away local control from local governments. In one, legislators from across Kansas could roll back pieces of Topeka’s registry of vacant properties, as well as those in other communities. As introduced, House Bill 2083 would have banned cities from creating vacant property registries. It was later amended to allow those registries — but if passed would ban local governments from imposing fees on owners of vacant properties. ... Lawmakers are considering legislation proposed by the Kansas Chamber, House Bill 2446, that would block local governments from banning, regulating or taxing “auxiliary [...]

27 Monday, March 27

Rural grocery stores are dying off. Here’s what some communities are doing to save them

info2023-03-27T08:28:21-05:00March 27th, 2023|

in many small towns, a grocery store is a thing of the past. According to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 76 counties nationwide are without a single grocery store, and 34 of those counties are in the Midwest and Great Plains. Rural communities have been losing population for decades making it harder for businesses to stay afloat, said Rial Carver, program leader for the Rural Grocery Initiative at Kansas State University. “So as small towns get smaller, that means fewer sales coming in the door for our grocery store,” Carver said. Big box stores and grocery [...]

27 Monday, March 27

Municipal Bond Trends for March 24, 2023

Henry Schmidt2023-03-27T05:17:07-05:00March 27th, 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, Beth Warren or Henry Schmidt.

26 Sunday, March 26

Home rule again on chopping block

info2023-03-27T06:55:09-05:00March 26th, 2023|

Kansas is officially a Home Rule state. It has been since 1961, when an amendment to the Kansas state constitution officially declared that Kansas cities are “empowered to determine their local affairs…except when” such actions are “limited or prohibited” by an act of the state legislature. That’s an important acknowledgement of local democracy—or at least potentially so. In my observation over the years, though, our elected representatives in Topeka tend to pay far more attention to the “except when” clause, thus leading the principle of Home Rule to be observed more often in the breach than in fact. Source: Cowley CourierTraveler

26 Sunday, March 26

County to apply for grant on behalf of SCK Health

info2023-03-26T23:53:53-05:00March 26th, 2023|

Cowley County commissioners agreed Tuesday to apply for a grant on behalf of SCK Health that, if awarded, could help the provider transition to the Rural Emergency Hospital designation. The State of Kansas has set aside $10 million for the Rural Hospital Innovation Grant program to help hospitals convert to the new REH designation in the next two years, according to a letter from SCK Health trustees. The grant requires counties to apply on behalf of the hospitals seeking funds, and is open to all rural counties in Kansas. The program is a 2:1 matching grant. SCK Health is requesting $1 [...]

26 Sunday, March 26

AC hospital takes steps toward scaled down facility

info2023-03-26T23:52:41-05:00March 26th, 2023|

The SCK Health Board of Trustees in Arkansas City took a step toward becoming a Rural Emergency Hospital on Thursday, and also moved to officially close its obstetrics department. CEO Jeff Bowman said that after discussion about converting to a Rural Emergency Hospital, which provides more funding opportunities to the hospital, but limits hospital stays to 24 hours on average, more than half of the OB department resigned in that one week. Source: Cowley CourierTraveler

26 Sunday, March 26

Gimme shelter: In wake of bank fail fallout, municipal bonds in demand

info2023-03-26T23:50:27-05:00March 26th, 2023|

Municipals finished out a nerve-wracking week on a strong note, with yields falling by as much as nine basis points on the short end while U.S. Treasuries strengthened and equities came under pressure. As holders of bank stocks headed for the exits and muni investors looked on nervously from the sidelines as the Federal Open Market Committee met this week, bonds have seen renewed interest as the idea of safety suddenly became uppermost in eyes of buyers one again. The muni market started off the week on a quiet note, with action subdued in both the primary and secondary ahead of [...]