May 22, 2019
On May 20-21st, Secretary David Toland traveled around Southwest Kansas to connect with business leaders, elected officials and economic development professionals. During the trip, he visited Scott City, Garden City, Lakin and Liberal. Each stop featured a different business, economic or community development success story for the region and the state. From successful businesses to various quality of life improvements—such as housing, education, transportation, health care and recreation—there is clearly a lot going on in Southwest Kansas!
Learn more about Secretary Toland’s Southwest Kansas trip below:
Kansas Commerce Secretary, David Toland, listens to Nu Life representatives about processing techniques. | |
• NU LIFE MARKET LLC “If you can solve a problem, you can create a business.” -Earl Roemer, President at Nu Life Market The first stop was at Nu Life Market LLC, a company in Scott City that thrives through cutting edge innovation in the field of agriculture. Their ability to utilize sorghum grain (or milo) to create value-added, in-demand products has made them a leader in several emerging markets and also creates more opportunities for Kansas farmers to grow this popular, low water-use crop and sell that product closer to home. “Producers want to plant sorghum, but we need markets to sell to,” added State Representative—and Kansas farmer—Don Hineman, who joined the Secretary for the Scott City tours. “This company is working on that,” said Hineman. The food and milling science experts at Nu Life Market have utilized sorghum grains to develop high quality gluten-free flour that can be used in a wide array of products that consumers are currently demanding. The products have the additional advantage of being totally non-GMO as well as dairy free, soy free and peanut free. Their extra attention to food safety has allowed their products to be certified safe for consumers with those food allergies, and their innovation has greatly improved the quality and options available for consumers in that market. “The biggest asset here is the people we have brought in to innovate and help this operation grow,” said Roemer. Partnerships with Kansas research institutions have also helped, through grants and other funding for research and development. All those factors together have made Kansas the perfect place for this business to take off. “We’re on the forefront of this, through science and innovation,” Roemer said. Nu Life is currently exporting to 15 different countries and passing along those profits to producers here in Kansas. Their innovative flour is heading to Italy to produce gluten-free pasta for consumers around the world. They also supply product used to produce the popular Chinese liquor, baijiu, and ship huge amounts of their value-added grain to the global beer giant, Heineken. In addition to establishing strong industry connections around the state and globe, the leadership at Nu Life have found Scott City an exceptional environment to start and grow their business. “Buy-in from the community is critical,” said Roemer. The company’s proximity to sorghum producers, coupled with an active economic development presence, has allowed Nu Life to launch and thrive in Scott City. “Special people can make a difference in an industry, it just so happens we have them here,” said Roemer. • COMMUNITY TOUR: HOUSING Secretary Toland joined Scott County Economic Development Committee Director Katie Eisenhour, Simone Elder of Network Kansas, State Representative Don Hineman and State Senator Mary Jo Taylor to tour several quality of life improvement projects taking place around Scott City. A large focus was placed on housing, including the new developments being built that provide high-quality and affordable housing that will attract more skilled workers to the area and provide a place for young families to put down roots in the community. • USD #466 Jamie Rumford, Superintendent of USD 466, met the delegation at Scott Community High School to discuss the recent $25m bond issue, which has allowed for tremendous physical and functional improvements to the district. • SCOTT CITY HOSPITAL “No industry can succeed without health care.” -Mark Bennett, CEO of Scott City Hospital Scott City Hospital sets a high bar for rural health care. Hospital CEO Mark Bennett works hard to keep it that way. The world-class facilities and outstanding patient services have gone a long way towards keeping this hospital, and this community, healthy and growing. “We set out to build a business that can support the industry and the community around it,” said Bennett during a tour of the facility. Bennett believes a healthy bottom line for the hospital has helped promote and build up the health and well-being of the region. Operating without the use of public funding, Scott City Hospital invests around $13mil annually in Scott County, and they’ve recently announced a $4mil new addition to the hospital which will provide primary care. Scott City Hospital receives patients from 15 different counties, and it’s not hard to see why people from surrounding communities come to Scott City to be treated at this outstanding facility. |
• COFFEE WITH LEGISLATORS AND BUSINESS LEADERS Secretary Toland began his day in Liberal having coffee with business leaders and elected leaders including: Rep. Russ Jennings, Rep. John Wheeler, and Sen. John Doll. • GARDEN CITY BUS TOUR In Garden City, Secretary Toland joined local leaders and economic development professionals to tour several sites around this bustling community. Great schools and health care, new housing projects, expanded recreational facilities and a wide array of commercial options have allowed for an outstanding quality of life in Garden City. In addition to quality of life projects around the community, Garden City is taking innovative approaches to recruit and encourage industrial growth and create jobs in the region. Transportation and logistics have played a key role in this development, and Garden City’s strength in this area have made it the ideal place to build and scale for manufacturing and shipping across the country and around the world. Secretary Toland saw several of these projects and discussed the status with local leaders and community development professionals. Continuing to expand this supply chain infrastructure and capacity will be key to continued growth throughout Southwest Kansas. |
Kansas Commerce Secretary, David Toland, reviews the blue prints for a STAR Bond project in Garden City. |