Officials discuss updates to Imagine Pittsburg plan

Representatives from Imagine Pittsburg updated the city commission Tuesday evening on the progress of the next stage of Imagine Pittsburg (IP), a civic initiative originally known as Imagine Pittsburg 2030 (IP 2030) that began in 2010 to plan and implement economic and infrastructure improvements in Pittsburg. The IP representatives also discussed their plans over the next six to seven months for community engagement and a timeline for the next phase. Dubbed Imagine Pittsburg 3.0, this will be the third iteration of IP2030. Joe Dellasega, former chair of IP 2030 who oversaw the second phase, said that during last five years, his committee expanded the original four community pillars — housing, economic development, infrastructure, and public wellness — to include education and marketing.
Source: Morning Sun

Ranson Financial2023-01-26T10:58:52-06:00January 26, 2023|News|

Pittsburg area hotels rebound

Explore Crawford County announced Monday that for the fourth time in five years, hotel room demand in the county has surpassed 100,000 rooms for the year, with 2022 hitting a record high of 109,750 rooms. The county also surpassed 10,000 rooms in a month six times during 2022 — doubling the previous high. Since 2015, room demand had been increasing each year until the 2020 pandemic. Demand reached 106,000 rooms in 2021, but was still just shy of the previous record for the entire year — 107,743 in 2019. According to Explore Crawford County Executive Director Dave Looby in a December presentation to the county commission, those figures only represent the four major hotel chains in Pittsburg. They do not take into account the rooms booked at the four privately-owned hotels.
Source: Morning Sun

Ranson Financial2023-01-26T10:58:23-06:00January 26, 2023|News|

Swaths of Kansas lack written policies on exculpatory evidence

The Brady and Giglio cases establish two different, but related, rights for criminal defendants. Under Brady v. Maryland, the prosecution is obligated to turn over to the defendant any exculpatory evidence — that is, evidence that tends to assist the defense. Generally, that requires the disclosure of virtually anything in the prosecution’s possession that relates to the case. Meanwhile, the rule announced in Giglio v. United States requires law enforcement agencies to deliver to defense counsel “material” evidence of a law enforcement’s dishonesty. The application of this rule can be fraught, as the parties involved may disagree on what counts as “material” evidence of dishonesty. … Of the seven most populous counties in the state (Sedgwick, Wyandotte, Johnson, Shawnee, Douglas, Riley and Leavenworth), only four have both Brady and Giglio policies in writing. Riley and Johnson lack written Brady policies, and Wyandotte County has neither a Brady nor Giglio policy in writing.
Source: Kansas Reflector

Ranson Financial2023-01-26T10:57:44-06:00January 26, 2023|News|

Rural America grew in the pandemic’s early days. But mostly recreational counties saw gains

COVID-19 accelerated death rates and slowed birth rates, exacerbating an existing trend of natural population loss in rural, or nonmetropolitan, areas. But because more people moved to rural areas, the U.S. rural population didn’t decline. “That’s extremely unusual historically, and so we’re still trying to understand all the nuances of this and whether it’s just a short-term thing or if it’s going to reflect longer-term changes,” said Kenneth Johnson, the author of the article and a professor of sociology and senior demographer at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. “But in any event, it’s unusual and surprising, even to someone like me, who’s studied rural America for his whole career,” he added. The U.S. rural population grew by approximately 0.13%, or 77,000 residents, between April 2020 and July 2021, while urban areas only grew by 0.1%. Although it’s a slight increase for the country’s rural population, Johnson said it’s rare for its population increase to be larger than urban, or metropolitan, areas.
Source: KCUR News

Ranson Financial2023-01-26T10:55:14-06:00January 26, 2023|News|

Municipal Bond Trends for January 25, 2023

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. Every issuer’s credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman, Beth Warren and Henry Schmidt.

Henry Schmidt2023-01-26T09:13:16-06:00January 26, 2023|News|

Moody’s upgrades Lindsborg’s GO bond rating to A1

Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded the City of Lindsborg, KS’ general obligation unlimited tax bonds to A1 from A2. … This action concludes a review for possible upgrade that was initiated on November 3, 2022 in conjunction with the release of the US Cities and Counties Methodology. … The A1 issuer rating incorporates a stable economic base, strong financial position, and low leverage that will grow in the near term. … The rating also incorporates the city’s very strong reserves that are anticipated to marginally decline on a nominal basis in the near term, but remain very strong as a percent of revenue.
Source: Moody’s

Ranson Financial2023-01-26T07:34:38-06:00January 26, 2023|News|

Douglas County’s Housing Stabilization Collaborative to switch rent and utility assistance distribution to lottery system

Douglas County’s Housing Stabilization Collaborative is changing the way it distributes rent and utility assistance funds in hopes of increasing equity for applicants, the county announced Wednesday. The HSC, which is the county’s local rent and utility assistance provider, is shifting from a first-come, first-served approach to a lottery system, citing an overwhelming need for rent and utility assistance in the county and a lack of available funding to meet that need. The first-come, first-served method has been in place since the HSC first began its rent and utility assistance program in the fall of 2020.
Source: LJWorld

Ranson Financial2023-01-26T07:19:01-06:00January 26, 2023|News|

“Hutch rebuilds Hutch”: renovation of historic downtown building

“Hutch rebuilds Hutch” is how Mark Davenport describes the complete renovation of the historic Hoke Building — the iconic downtown Hutchinson property that first went up in 1910 as office space and sat vacant and waiting for decades. When Mark and his wife Phoebe Davenport, a Kansas City-based couple who develop large residential and commercial properties, first began the journey of restoring the dilapidated building at First Avenue and Walnut Street in early 2021, they committed to using local contractors as much as feasibly possible.
Source: Hutch News

Ranson Financial2023-01-26T07:17:28-06:00January 26, 2023|News|

Could new rental properties help with Salina’s housing issues?

Beginning in 2021, the city of Salina has continually engaged with developers seeking interest for various housing projects in an effort to bring new rental housing to the community. It’s a project that has been in the works for years addressing one of the most significant issues in Saline County communities — housing. This week, the city and county discussed those efforts, and Lauren Driscoll, Salina community development services director, provided the county an update on how American Rescue Plan Act monies were being contributed to the overarching project.
Source: Salina Journal

Ranson Financial2023-01-26T07:15:42-06:00January 26, 2023|News|

Sedgwick County unveils new public alert system

Sedgwick County Emergency Management (SCEM) recently launched the first phase of a free service, called Civic Ready Alerts, that can notify residents by phone or email of emergencies or important news. Citizens can opt-in to receive messages regarding public safety, health, weather or other community bulletins. By sharing a home address, residents will also be able to receive alerts targeted for their neighborhood, through geo-fencing.
Source: Derby Informer | News

Ranson Financial2023-01-26T07:07:00-06:00January 26, 2023|News|