Jul 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 5, 2023
TOPEKA – Lieutenant Governor and Commerce Secretary David Toland today announced the recipients of the spring 2023 Historic Economic Asset Lifeline (HEAL) grants. A total of 17 projects from across the state are receiving nearly $918,000 in matching grant funds. The Patterson Family Foundation and Department of Commerce paired up…
Read MoreJun 2, 2023
TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly today announced 14 communities will receive funding through the Office of Rural Prosperity’s Rural Mural and Public Art grant program. The $76,071 in grants awarded will allow communities to create 38 new murals and public art projects that engage community residents and create a place…
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…
Read MoreJun 2, 2023
When the La Crosse grocery store closed in August of 2022, Rush County Economic Development jumped to action to restore this critical service in their county. Brad Penka let us know that, with its closing, it left the entire county without a grocery store within a 25-mile radius and would…
Read MoreJun 2, 2023
Rendering of final project The ORP spotlight of the month is the City of Clyde's SEED project called "The Village Green"! Located in Cloud County, Clyde is a small town of 800 people. Their project focused on beautifying their downtown. They demolished two dilapidated buildings between their library and city…
Read MoreJun 2, 2023
In October, Lissa Sexson was hired by the County of Wallace to serve as the Rural Champion, or point-person, to move forward efforts of Community Development within the county. Prior to being awarded the Rural Champion grant, Wallace County had not had any official form of community or economic development…
Read MoreFeb 28, 2023
TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Commerce today announced multiple opportunities to support the creation of murals and public art in the state through coordinated funding programs from the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission (KCAIC) and the Office of Rural Prosperity (ORP). The programs will provide funding for communities to…
Read MoreFeb 3, 2023
TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly announced today that 37 murals were completed in 14 Kansas communities in 2022 through the Office of Rural Prosperity’s (ORP) Rural Mural and Public Art Grant Programming. These grants helped communities with fewer than 10,000 residents create murals and public art projects to beautify public…
Read MoreDec 16, 2022
Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland today announced the award recipients for the new Strategic Economic Expansion and Development (SEED) grant program. In total, 61 recipients will receive nearly $2.7 million to invest in small communities across the state. “SEED grants provide funding for quality-of-life enhancements in some…
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