Prosperity on the Plains Tour

Governor Laura Kelly today launched her statewide economic development tour, called ‘Prosperity on the Plains,’ alongside business leaders at a family-owned small business, Round Table Bookstore, in Topeka’s NOTO Arts District. The tour will focus on the importance of supporting Kansas businesses and the Kelly Administration’s positive economic development track record. 

“Over the next few weeks, I’m going to be making a concerted effort – even more than usual – to visit businesses in every corner of the state to hear about what more my Administration can do to help them grow and expand,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “I want to use the momentum created by our recent economic successes to continue aggressively pursuing job creation and business investment – so we can keep bringing prosperity to Kansas.”  

This announcement comes after several recent economic wins: 

• Last week, Governor Kelly announced she landed the largest private sector investment in state history. Panasonic will be building one of the country’s biggest electric vehicle battery facilities, investing $4 billion and creating 4,000 new jobs. 
• With that announcement, her Administration has overseen the creation of 39,630 new jobs and brought in $13.5 billion of new private investment, surpassing the total investment brought in by the Brownback and Colyer administrations. 
• In June, Kansas hit the lowest unemployment rate in recorded history at 2.3%, over a full percentage point below the nation’s unemployment rate. 
• In June, Kansas was awarded Area Development Magazine’s prestigious Gold Shovel Award for the second year in a row. The back-to-back wins are unprecedented in state history.  
• In March, Kansas won the Governor’s Cup from Site Selection Magazine for having the country’s most economic development investment per capita.  

The Prosperity on the Plains tour will build on the momentum of this announcement to help Kansas continue to break economic records. Governor Kelly will speak with business owners about challenges they may be facing and see what more the Kelly Administration can do to increase the competitiveness of Kansas businesses big and small.