Apr 18, 2024
TOPEKA – Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland today announced significant changes to the Rural Opportunity Zones (ROZ) program that could increase participation in student loan repayments for people moving to rural Kansas counties. Individuals who earn an associate degree or higher and move to a designated ROZ county they…
Read MoreFeb 23, 2024
TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Commerce today announced a total of $75,000 is available for a new round of Rural Mural and Public Art program funding. The program helps rural communities design engaging new art that improves the local aesthetic – making the community more appealing not only for…
Read MoreFeb 1, 2024
TOPEKA – Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland announced today $500,000 will be available under the Emergency Response Historic Economic Asset Lifeline (Emergency HEAL) program to bring rural downtown buildings back from likely demolition or collapse and rehabilitate them into productive commercial use. Emergency HEAL was created to…
Read MoreJan 24, 2024
TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly today announced the most recent round of award recipients for the Historic Economic Asset Lifeline (HEAL) grant program, which was created to help rural communities revitalize downtown buildings and create safer downtowns with more job opportunities. A total of 21 projects from across the state will receive…
Read MoreOct 17, 2023
TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly announced today that $300,000 has been awarded to the 12 Rural by Choice Champions (Rural Champions) announced last year in collaboration with the Office of Rural Prosperity and the Patterson Family Foundation to address local challenges in their respective communities. The funding will allow these communities…
Read MoreOct 3, 2023
Ribbon cutting for Kansas Learning Center for health Outdoor Fitness Equipment project in Halstead For this month’s Spotlighting Prosperity, we are excited to showcase the City of Halstead and the great work they have been doing to help their community prosper.In the past year, they were awarded a SEED grant,…
Read MoreSep 29, 2023
For this month’s Spotlighting Prosperity, we are excited to showcase Morton County and the great work they have been doing to help the mental health crisis in their communities. Mental health is a pervasive issue that touches the lives of everyone, and its complexities make navigation far from straightforward. In…
Read MoreJul 27, 2023
Pictured: Joslyn Kusiak, Lacey Lies, Mike Goodwin (Kansas Trails Council), Brittney Holum, Tabatha Snodgrass Brittney Holum, one of the twelve grant recipients of the Rural by Choice Champions Program, has been hard at work on the Independence Rural Connection project. This initiative focuses on building trails, wellness, pedestrian and cyclist…
Read MoreJul 13, 2023
Post Rock Fitness Center located in downtown Lincoln, KS The June ORP spotlight highlighted Lincoln Kansas and its many great accomplishments we have been seeing recently!With the recent announcement of the Spring 2023 HEAL awardees, we thought we would first highlight Post Rock Fitness LLC. This project was part of…
Read MoreJun 2, 2023
The ORP spotlight of the month is the small rural community of Mildred. Located in Allen County, Mildred is home to around only 20 people. This community might be small, but it has a mighty “store” that will surprise you. Recently featured in the Kansas City Star, the store has…
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