One year after the first rate hike, the Fed stands at policy crossroads

17 Friday, March 17

One year after the first rate hike, the Fed stands at policy crossroads

info2023-03-17T11:15:45-05:00March 17th, 2023|

The Federal Reserve is one year down its rate-hiking path, and in some ways it’s both closer and further away from its goals when it first set sail. Exactly one year ago, on March 16, 2022, the Federal Open Market Committee enacted the first of what would be eight interest rate increases. The goal: to arrest a stubborn inflation wave that central bank officials spent the better part of a year dismissing as “transitory.” In the year since, inflation as measured by the consumer price index has come down some, from an 8.5% annual rate then to 6% now and trending [...]

17 Friday, March 17

Central Topeka Grocery Oasis to lease land for planned grocery store

info2023-03-17T11:15:02-05:00March 17th, 2023|

A new agreement for a grocery store in central Topeka has been established. After the former Dillons, 1400 S.W. Huntoon closed its doors seven years ago, it left residents of the central Topeka neighborhood with nowhere to shop for fresh produce. GraceMed Capitol Family Clinic, purchased the then-vacant building and opened the facility almost two years later. Residents said Dillions served as the only full-service grocery store in the entire central Topeka area. The Capital-Journal reported in 2021 that leaders of Central Topeka Grocery Oasis Group and GraceMed were working on a location for a new grocery store, and they were [...]

17 Friday, March 17

Derby officials say limited information was accessed in January system breach

info2023-03-17T11:13:56-05:00March 17th, 2023|

Derby officials said a limited amount of information may have been accessed during a computer system breach that was discovered in mid-January, but there’s no indication that this information was misused. The city discovered a computer network disruption on January 14th, and this affected some systems. The disruption affected email services and caused utility bills to go out late. City officials said the information that was affected included residents’ names, addresses and personally identifiable information. There is no evidence of actual misuse of this information and there’s no indication that it will be misused in the future. As a cautionary step, [...]

17 Friday, March 17

There is every reason to trust your community banks today

info2023-03-17T12:24:55-05:00March 17th, 2023|

Residents of small towns in Kansas might think that the much-talked-about banking crisis, currently in the headlines, might not affect them. For the most part, they would be correct. But bad practices at the Silicon Valley Bank and the Signature Bank found themselves unable to supply money to their depositors who were depending upon their funds to operate private businesses. Quick action by the Federal Reserve and FDIC led to action by the Federal Government to guarantee all deposits in both banks, and hopefully, avoid the same crisis among other lending institutions. While both banks have been seized and placed up [...]

17 Friday, March 17

‘We’ve done so much work’: Amtrak potentially making its way through Wichita

info2023-03-17T10:59:57-05:00March 17th, 2023|

The last time Wichita saw an Amtrak train moving through its neighborhoods was in 1979. Over 40 years later the rumble and whistles could be back. "We've done so much work locally and regionally to prepare Kansas, Department of Transportation, and Oklahoma Department of Transportation to agree that they think that this is a worthy solicitation for those two states to join together to pursue," said Sedgwick County Commissioner, Pete Meitzner. Meitzner said financial issues such as ridership and cost caused the cancellation of many routes. He added whenever there is not enough revenue to cover the cost, the states make [...]

17 Friday, March 17

Kansas Supreme Court to make rare visit to rural Kansas

info2023-03-17T10:52:08-05:00March 17th, 2023|

The Kansas Supreme Court is set to visit a town in north central Kansas for the first time in its 162-year history. The justices on the Kansas Supreme Court will travel to Concordia to conduct a special evening session on April 11, according to the Kansas Judicial Branch’s website. This visit is meant to help familiarize Kansans with the court, its work and the overall role played by the Kansas Judiciary. The session will last from 6:30 p.m. to around 8 p.m. at the Concordia High School. All members of the public are invited to attend the special session to learn [...]

17 Friday, March 17

Emporia residents urged to help set city’s ‘action plan’ during next week’s visioning meetings

info2023-03-17T12:26:03-05:00March 17th, 2023|

Emporians are asked to give their thoughts on community needs and goals during a pair of visioning meetings on the calendar next week. ... This part of the process connected to funding through the US Department of Agriculture’s Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge approved for Emporia back in November. The RDA is working with Atlas Community Studios on the grant, which is being split between Emporia and Tunica County, Mississippi. The USDA expects results of the grant to include an analysis of broadband Internet capacity for homes and businesses, strategy development to improve local housing, new or enhanced cultural and recreational amenities, [...]

17 Friday, March 17

Sales tax cut would cost Humboldt

info2023-03-17T12:28:11-05:00March 17th, 2023|

In late February, the Kansas Senate passed a measure, Senate Bill 248, that eliminates the collection of sales taxes on food for cities and counties as well as that charged by the state. The difference to Humboldt would be about $52,000 garnered from its 1.75% sales tax on designated grocery items. Humboldt collected $462,000 in sales tax revenues for 2022. While that may appear negligible, the fact that state legislators can order such a change goes against the people’s will, Humboldt city administrator Cole Herder said. “It’s not good policy. The people of Humboldt voted to have that tax, and now [...]

17 Friday, March 17

Lawrence City Commission to consider land purchase, zoning and code exemption for Pallet Shelter Village

info2023-03-17T12:29:02-05:00March 17th, 2023|

Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday will consider a $725,000 land purchase, a contract for $1.11 million of temporary shelters for people experiencing homelessness, and a resolution suspending zoning and code enforcement on that property for a year. The commission in December approved budgeting $4.5 million of American Rescue Plan Act money — federal COVID-19 relief funds — to purchase modular homes from Pallet, a Washington state-based “Public Benefit Corporation.” The modular Pallet homes, which will include a heating and cooling source but no bathrooms, will be part of a “village setting” that includes restrooms, laundry, shower and community gathering facilities and [...]

17 Friday, March 17

Western JoCo development at K-10/Ridgeview paves the way to future opportunity

info2023-03-17T12:29:48-05:00March 17th, 2023|

Two decades ago, Ridgeview Road was a humble gravel road in western Lenexa. By 2020, a $30 million extension transformed it into a path of opportunity for 600 acres of all types of development. The area around the Kansas Highway 10 and Ridgeview interchange now is awash in projects either under construction or approved. News that Panasonic Ltd. is bringing a $4 billion, 4,000-job EV-battery plant down the highway undoubtedly will increase interest in the intersection. But the megaproject isn’t what triggered the current activity. “There was natural growth that was coming this way, whether it’s one plant or several companies [...]