Municipal Bond Trends for June 9, 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.

2023-06-12T08:11:02-05:00June 12, 2023|News|

Hutchinson Airport, council, community weigh in on future plans

After obtaining a long report from a consultant, the Hutchinson Airport is getting ready to grow. On Tuesday evening, the city council, airport stakeholders and the community met to brainstorm on next plans for the airport. Lindsey Dreiling, who most recently served as deputy director of aviation and unmanned aircraft systems for the Kansas Department of Transportation and is currently the aviation director at Kansas State University Polytechnic, led the meeting, using engaging activities and to-the-point commentary as well as question and answer sessions. Through a series of questions and activities, stakeholders, employees, councilmembers and community members realized maintenance, hangars (where planes are housed) and more businesses − namely maintenance and repair − are top priorities.
Source: Hutch News

2023-06-11T16:35:28-05:00June 11, 2023|News|

Pittsburg celebrates annual 620 Day

The City of Pittsburg’s Downtown Advisory Board (DAB) is inviting the community to celebrate 620 Day with an All-Day City-wide Celebration and a Downtown Block Party. The idea of 620 Day (or June 20) comes from Pittsburg’s area code. The purpose of this annual event is to cultivate pride and celebrate the Pittsburg community.

Source: City of Pittsburg

2023-06-09T08:44:50-05:00June 9, 2023|News|

City of Great Bend and Barton County agree to share projects

Members of the Great Bend City Council and the Barton County Commission crowded in the cramped first floor Barton County Courthouse conference room for their third joint session Thursday evening. During what has become an annual event, the elected representatives and other city and county officials shared thoughts and concerns, and brainstormed ideas. They also teased one another while noting the value of this new-found spirit of cooperation between the two entities.
Source: Great Bend Tribune

2023-06-09T08:43:48-05:00June 9, 2023|News|

Debate over stone bridges continues

Discussion continues on whether two stone bridges in Cowley County should be preserved or replaced, with a local resident who works near one of the bridges saying there might be more support for replacement. At their May 16 meeting, county commissioners approved applications for two grants through the State of Kansas that, if awarded, would be used to replace the Esch Spur/Pudden Bridge on 232nd Road over Grouse Creek, which was closed in 2016 due to structural failure, and the bridge over Rock Creek, one half-mile north and 1.6 miles east of Rock. If awarded, the grants would be used to replace two closed stone arch bridges with modern structures. Supporters of the bridges have said they should be allowed to stand, possibly with modern bridges built alongside, in the name of historical preservation. However, a resident who works on land adjacent to one of the bridges said he supports replacement because the bridge is in disrepair and adds miles to his daily drive. Jon Johnson, who farms and ranches on either side of the Esch Spur/Pudden Bridge, told the CourierTraveler in an email that there might be more desire to replace the bridges instead of preserve them, especially from people who live and work in the surrounding communities.

Source: Cowley CourierTraveler

2023-06-09T08:39:46-05:00June 9, 2023|News|

More voters send in ballots than go to polls in Winfield to approve USD 465 construction bond projects

A vote to use property taxes to bankroll a $15 million bond project for Winfield schools passed with 59.5% of the vote. The bond will provide revenue for upgrades to safety and security, air quality and HVAC systems, along with deferred maintenance. USD 465 Board of Education president Ed Trimmer said he was “pleased we have the number of votes to pass the bond. It will help us keep our buildings in shape.” County clerk Karen Madison said she’d prepared for 3,000 voters on Election Day and got 392. In fact, 590 people took part in early voting. The bond issue was a special election, with no other items on the ballot. “People want to vote early now. It’s easier to fill out a ballot and send it back than it is to go to the polls,” Madison said.

Source: Cowley CourierTraveler

2023-06-09T08:35:55-05:00June 9, 2023|News|

‘It sticks with you,’: WFD Battalion Chief recalls DeBruce Grain elevator explosion

Thursday marked 25 years since the deadly DeBruce Grain elevator, the largest in the world at the time, exploded. For Wichita Fire Department Battalion Chief Chad Winton, a veteran with 27 years of experience, he remembers responding to the scene as if it were yesterday.
Just before the accident, Winton was two years into his career. He had just tried out for the rescue team and was one of three candidates who were accepted. Little did the then-rookie know just days later, everything he had learned up to that point would be put to the ultimate test. “[I] started getting buckets to move grain, shovels, lumber, cutting lumber, just stuff to shore up holes and keep grain in place so we could start tunneling and trenching in to get to those victims that we thought were still at the bottom of that elevator,” Winton said.
Winton says the teams worked in 12-hour shifts with the help of several county, state, and out-of-state agencies. “We had no firm count of how many were missing, so [there] was a little bit of confusion there and how many were actually working, and how many got out on their own,” Winton said. “They were still trying to get a head count … it all happened really quick.” Tragically, it soon became apparent any hope of finding additional survivors was gone.

Source: KSN-TV

2023-06-09T08:27:05-05:00June 9, 2023|News|

Johnson County commission OKs several housing affordability measures

County commissioners on Thursday okayed a proposal to spend $950,000 in federal pandemic relief money toward a unique Habitat for Humanity development of 20 yet-to-be-built homes in Olathe that will be available to low-income buyers for 99 years and beyond.
It’s one of a slate of new measures the county is trying to enact to chip away at persistent housing affordability concerns. The Habitat Olathe Pathway project at 159th Street and Blackbob Road will allow eligible applicants to own and collect partial equity on their home structures, while the land remains in a trust so that the homes can continue to be offered at below-market rates to future applicants. The project was made possible by the Pathway Community Christian Church’s sale of land at below-market rates.
Source: Prairie Village Post

2023-06-09T08:22:22-05:00June 9, 2023|News|

Overland Park says backyard chicken pilot has been success so far

A two-year test program that allows Overland Park residents with at least a quarter acre of land to keep chickens has so far been a success, according to the city department that oversees it. As the program approaches its ending date December 31, the city animal control department noted there have been no documented complaints on properties with chicken permits since the pilot began in March 2022. City councilmembers now will begin to consider whether to make the chicken rules permanent, as some members of the council’s Community Development Committee proposed at a meeting Wednesday.

Source: Prairie Village Post

2023-06-09T08:13:10-05:00June 9, 2023|News|

Municipal Bond Trends for June 8, 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.

2023-06-09T07:22:10-05:00June 9, 2023|News|
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