One of Medicine Lodge’s more famous citizens was Carrie Nation. She was a member of the temperance movement, which opposed alcohol in pre-Prohibition America. On many occasions she would enter an alcohol-serving establishment and attack the bar with a hatchet. However, the Hutchinson News reports that Medicine Lodge has recently approved liquor sales on Sunday …
My grandparents moved to Wichita from southeast Kansas years ago, to seek employment at Boeing. Many of my family members have worked for Boeing, and my father, after having worked at Boeing for over 20 years, now works at Spirit AeroSystems. Lately, the talk of Boeing leaving Wichita has left people upset. It’s been such …
Every year Cyber Monday gets bigger as more shoppers become comfortable with the idea of purchasing gifts online. And, every year state and local governments are missing out on sales taxes that remain uncollected. KSN News reports: “Cyber Monday is a very important day for us 45 last year it was our #1 day the …
Garden City recently unveiled its new logo and tag line. The new motto (“The world grows here.”) replaces the “Just Plains Success” motto that was adopted back in the 1990s. “The world grows here.” That’s the new tag line in town, a motto chosen primarily based on public input. It’s accompanied by a new logo, …
Governor Sam Brownback has ordered flags in the State of Kansas to be flown at half-staff on Saturday, November 26th, in honor of SPC James Burnett, Jr., 21, who died on November 16th, 2011, while serving in the U.S. Army in Kandahar province, Afghanistan: “On behalf of the state of Kansas, I offer my deepest …
Finney County officials want to address concerns with code enforcement concerning inoperable vehicles on private properties in the county. As with most code enforcement, they’d like to balance the rights of residents, while at the same time mitigate safety and environmental hazards. Planning and Community Development Director Kaleb Kentner has expressed that there are several …
Bloomberg Businessweek named Belle Plaine, KS as the 6th best place to raise kids in the United States. It also names the city as the best place to raise kids in Kansas. The magazine’s evaluation process looked at “4,169 places with a crime index less than 10 percent above the national average, populations between 1,000 …
The Kansas Department of Commerce just sent out a press release saying 40 counties so far have joined the Rural Opportunity Zones (ROZ) program. A total of 50 Kansas counties are eligible. The program has two main incentives: A state income tax exemption for up to five years to individuals who move to a ROZs …
The City of Ulysses is in the running, along with towns in Michigan and South Dakota, for a new dry-milk processing plant. The same investor, from Europe, had looked at Ulysses back in 2004, but the area did not have enough milk production at the time. Now, with 70,000 cows in southwest Kansas being milked …
Providing a unified front for successful economic development is not a new approach for cities, counties and businesses. On Thursday, a summit was convened in Iola, Kansas to discuss how Southeast Kansas communities could benefit by using a regional approach to their economic development efforts. The Summit, aptly titled “Together We Succeed: Southeast Kansas Economic …
Kroll Bond Rating Agency, Inc., recently studied municipal bond defaults from the Great Depression to today and concludes that there will not be a material increase in municipal defaults over the medium term. A financial news site provides a summary: The study, An Analysis of Historical Municipal Bond Defaults, draws on data from more than …
From the National League of Cities’ press release this afternoon: Local government officials today are baffled by the short-sighted decision of Congress to cut the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program as part of the Minibus Appropriations bill. CDBG is the largest federal program dedicated to supporting the economic development and job creation activities of …
Communities around the state are discussing incentives … to entice either businesses, or new residential construction, or both. Wellington plans to look at business incentives in the near future. According to the Wellington News: Several cities around the state have been able to lure businesses in by giving cash incentives for setting up shop in …
After looking at this list of “Funny Town Names, Part 2″, I was about to proclaim that no city in Kansas is found on the list. Then, I looked at the “Funny Town Names, Part 1″ and found out I was wrong…. the City of Gas, Kansas is number 10 on that list. I’m not …
Several communities have been looking at new logos and taglines for their cities. The Garden City Chamber of Commerce is spending $75,000 to rebrand the southwest Kansas community. And, the City of Garnett is utilizing a college professor and his marketing class to develop a logo and tagline. Now, the City of Edgerton is hiring …