Wichita Public Schools open Future Ready Center to grow technical education opportunities

If you ask Martin Gutierrez about why he started taking technical education classes while at North High, he found it interesting and easy to understand. “It’s more of a tactile part of learning, you kind of get to have a lot more hands-on,” he told KAKE Friday. Gutierrez is one of several Wichita public school students that have been taking classes at the district’s new “Future Ready Center” while it was being finished. Friday, the district held its ceremonial opening of the former grocery store turned educational complex. WPS Superintendent Dr. Alicia Thompson says the school board has had the building for a while and had been working on a plan to best utilize it.
Source: KAKE – News

Ranson Financial2023-05-23T10:17:37-05:00May 23, 2023|News|

Southeast Kansas police departments catches unusual escapee

The Parsons Police Department roped an unusual escapee on Thursday (May 18). According to a release, the department was notified about a “possible traffic hazard.” The hazard? A calf that escaped from the local livestock market. Sergeant Waylon Kepley and Officer Joshua Lindsey responded. Fortunately, Sgt. Kepley grew up on a farm and helped raise cattle, so he knew that the animal could be unpredictable. The officers found the calf near Parcom on North 16^th Street, eight blocks from the livestock market.
Source: KOAM News

Ranson Financial2023-05-23T10:15:44-05:00May 23, 2023|News|

City of Wichita gets rush of lifeguard applicants ahead of pool season

Pool season begins on May 29. At the start of May, the City of Wichita said it was nearly 40 lifeguards short of what is needed to keep all the pools open this summer. A lot of interest in the lifeguard openings sparked over the last couple of weeks. The city is hosting training sessions for over 50 applicants to get certified this pool season. “It’s absolutely fantastic that we have this number of people that are wanting to become lifeguards. Really it comes down to keeping our community safe and helping our partners within the community,” said Joe Marten, City of Wichita aquatics supervisor.
Source: KSN-TV

Ranson Financial2023-05-23T10:12:53-05:00May 23, 2023|News|

Is panhandling legal in Topeka?

People looking for financial help can be seen dotting roads and intersections in the Capital City, but is this a legal activity? The question of panhandlers in Topeka came up three years ago during a City Council session where members voted on whether or not to pass a new ordinance to ban panhandling. While not a total ban, it prevents panhandlers from congregating at certain places in Topeka. Panhandling is described as “a form of solicitation or begging derived from the impression created by someone holding out his hand to beg or using a container to collect money,” according to Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU).
Source: KSNT 27 News

Ranson Financial2023-05-23T10:09:19-05:00May 23, 2023|News|

Community-Police Oversight Work Group discusses hopes, concerns at first meeting

To the relief of its members, the Community-Police Oversight Work Group met for the first time Monday. Members shared their hopes, concerns and needs to move the process forward. The work group is intended to review the Lawrence Police Department’s current complaint process and make recommendations for the Community Police Review Board’s oversight of the complaint process. (Read more on the background at this link.) The group’s work was originally supposed to conclude in November, but the process has been delayed.
Source: The Lawrence Times

Ranson Financial2023-05-23T10:06:58-05:00May 23, 2023|News|

Lawrence school district will sell land to Tenants to Homeowners, start process to sell East Heights

The Lawrence school board on Monday voted to sell surplus property to Tenants to Homeowners as well as begin the process to sell East Heights and transfer the student programs held there to one of the elementary schools that will soon close. As part of the board’s consent agenda for Monday — a list of items that are considered routine and approved with one vote unless a board member or the superintendent pulls an item for further discussion — the board unanimously approved the sale of the property the district owns at 2600 W. 25th St., just north of the athletic fields at Holcom Park.
Source: The Lawrence Times

Ranson Financial2023-05-23T10:05:36-05:00May 23, 2023|News|

City committee recommends consolidating or changing most of 18 advisory boards

A city committee has reviewed the city’s advisory boards and recommends consolidating 13 boards down to five, nixing another and making the police review board the “Safe and Secure Board.” Over the last five months, the Board and Commissions Structure Committee was tasked with limiting the number of boards to 10, not counting those required by state statutes. The committee has discussed the city’s strategic plan, and the scopes and charges of all its boards and commissions, according to a Friday news release from the city. “As a result of this work, each relevant board and commission has been sorted into the outcome or commitment area to which it is most closely aligns,” according to the release.
Source: The Lawrence Times

Ranson Financial2023-05-23T10:04:42-05:00May 23, 2023|News|

Municipal Bond Trends for May 22, 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 Schmidt2023-05-23T09:15:43-05:00May 23, 2023|News|

Fed Chair Powell says rates may not have to rise as much as expected to curb inflation

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Friday that stresses in the banking sector could mean that interest rates won’t have to be as high to control inflation. Speaking at a monetary conference in Washington, D.C., the central bank leader noted that Fed initiatives used to deal with problems at mid-sized banks have mostly halted worst-case scenarios from transpiring. But he noted that the problems at Silicon Valley Bank and others could still reverberate through the economy. “The financial stability tools helped to calm conditions in the banking sector. Developments there, on the other hand, are contributing to tighter credit conditions and are likely to weigh on economic growth, hiring and inflation,” he said as part of a panel on monetary policy. “So as a result, our policy rate may not need to rise as much as it would have otherwise to achieve our goals,” he added. “Of course, the extent of that is highly uncertain.”
Source: CNBC

Ranson Financial2023-05-23T13:48:33-05:00May 23, 2023|News|

What’s going on with food sales tax, explained

Where are the food sales tax savings? … In the last five months, the state passed legislation decreasing food sales tax down to four percent. However, that decrease isn’t always reflected on the bill. And depending on the grocery store, some bills show two different sales taxes applied to different parts of the purchase. … A law went into effect in January to stair step down the state’s food sales tax rate from 6.5 percent to zero percent by 2025. Currently, the sales tax rate is at 4 percent. While the law applies to food, the devil’s in the details on what the state defines as food. The state law lists food and food ingredients as exempt. The law defines food as items meant for “Ingestion or chewing by humans and are consumed for their taste or nutritional value.” That definition extends to things like fruit, flour and uncooked meat as well as items like dietary supplements. But, that definition has limits, you can buy plenty of food that’s not sales tax exempt.
Source: Harvey County Now

Ranson Financial2023-05-23T13:43:01-05:00May 22, 2023|News|