{"id":84960,"date":"2026-04-15T10:11:58","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T15:11:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kansascommerce.gov\/?p=84960"},"modified":"2026-04-15T12:07:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T17:07:57","slug":"kansas-commerce-selects-third-round-of-rural-champions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kansascommerce.gov\/ja\/2026\/04\/kansas-commerce-selects-third-round-of-rural-champions\/","title":{"rendered":"Kansas Commerce Selects Third Round of Rural Champions"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kansascommerce.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Randy-Rasa-36279828_1570676279724948_6662119464420507648_o-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"A bicycle leans against a tree on a dirt path winding through a lush, green forest. Dappled sunlight filters through the leafy canopy, and a line of rocks borders the path on the left. The scene is peaceful and inviting.\" class=\"wp-image-84961\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kansascommerce.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Randy-Rasa-36279828_1570676279724948_6662119464420507648_o-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.kansascommerce.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Randy-Rasa-36279828_1570676279724948_6662119464420507648_o-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.kansascommerce.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Randy-Rasa-36279828_1570676279724948_6662119464420507648_o-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.kansascommerce.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Randy-Rasa-36279828_1570676279724948_6662119464420507648_o-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.kansascommerce.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Randy-Rasa-36279828_1570676279724948_6662119464420507648_o-16x12.jpg 16w, https:\/\/www.kansascommerce.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Randy-Rasa-36279828_1570676279724948_6662119464420507648_o.jpg 2016w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lieutenant Governor and&nbsp;Secretary of Commerce David Toland&nbsp;today announced that&nbsp;the Department of Commerce has selected the third cohort of Rural Champions to solve pressing needs in their local communities. These nine experienced leaders will receive support to take on and complete locally identified projects in towns across rural Kansas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRural communities are the heart of this state&nbsp;\u2014&nbsp;and it\u2019s incredibly&nbsp;inspiring&nbsp;to see&nbsp;so many community leaders take on an array of challenges that improve quality of life and create&nbsp;new economic opportunities,\u201d&nbsp;<strong>\u30c7\u30d3\u30c3\u30c9\u30fb\u30c8\u30fc\u30e9\u30f3\u30c9\u526f\u77e5\u4e8b\u517c\u5546\u52d9\u9577\u5b98\u306f\u6b21\u306e\u3088\u3046\u306b\u8ff0\u3079\u305f\u3002<\/strong>. \u201cThese projects&nbsp;address specific local needs&nbsp;\u2014&nbsp;and&nbsp;it takes devoted individuals who have an intimate understanding of their town to get them to the finish line.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Inspired by a Kansas Sampler Foundation\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flinks-2.govdelivery.com%2FCL0%2Fhttps%3A%252F%252Fgcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com%252F%253Furl%3Dhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Flinks-2.govdelivery.com%25252FCL0%25252Fhttps%25253A%2525252F%2525252Fkansassampler.org%2525252F2KansasPowerUp%25252526Go%25252F1%25252F010101921fc6811d-18667671-6dbe-425d-8b58-93709a80848e-000000%25252FW66TACPp8SsxP607Zq94Q2OjvnnrWHUEQMpmKR2Pgjk%25253D371%2526data%3D05%25257C02%25257Ctheo.stavropoulos%252540ks.gov%25257C41294343f94e49bd8f5a08dcdbef3241%25257Cdcae8101c92d480cbc43c6761ccccc5a%25257C0%25257C0%25257C638627070911801874%25257CUnknown%25257CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%25253D%25257C0%25257C%25257C%25257C%2526sdata%3Df%25252Ba4Z8IIQkAVFRDcloJrA4y1g1XHd24TDX%25252BwKQ2biBc%25253D%2526reserved%3D0%2F1%2F0101019d91a1037c-39fe7ef0-0e28-43bf-beed-1207acf011a8-000000%2FhFUVQP_LjRhO9s5Sz56SvqDuQHuW_An4HrfDqu4lEMc%3D452&amp;data=05%7C02%7CDesirae.Copeland1%40ks.gov%7C5454d7c4a976480a1ed308de9afe9a0c%7Cdcae8101c92d480cbc43c6761ccccc5a%7C0%7C0%7C639118615465787310%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=YWcXtnunGsba%2FRbf7rfdJlJbANTUK75rx2s5Eyp0jww%3D&amp;reserved=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u30ec\u30dd\u30fc\u30c8<\/a>, the Office of Rural Prosperity, in collaboration with the Patterson Family Foundation, created the Rural Champions program as a way for rural communities facing a lack of capital or other resources to make progress. The Rural Champions program provides a one-year wage stipend of $20,800 to each champion, along with training and resources. Champions also will receive up to $33,000&nbsp;at the end of the year to move into the implementation phase of their projects.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Awardees from this round of Rural Champions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Amy Robertson (Burlington)<\/strong> \u2013 Developing a countywide trail network&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Brandi McRay (St. Paul)<\/strong> \u2013 Developing safe, ADA-accessible park and ballfield spaces&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Emily Campbell (Hoxie)<\/strong> \u2013 Coordinating a healthy food pathway across nine western counties&nbsp;with grower alignment and retail activation&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Emma Walker (Mankato)<\/strong> \u2013 Creating a downtown improvement program and a comprehensive downtown beautification plan&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Harley Shaub (Belleville)<\/strong> \u2013 Creating a downtown beautification and streetscape plan&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Joseph LaBelle (Cimarron)<\/strong> \u2013 Creating a community communication system&nbsp;for volunteers and community members&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Joy Schwartz (Pratt)<\/strong> \u2013 Strengthening Pratt County\u2019s food, health and transportation network coordination and systems&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Kac Rae McAlonan (Russell) <\/strong>\u2013 Increasing downtown business revitalization, historic preservation and upper-story housing readiness&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Stephanie Imthurn (Alma)<\/strong> \u2013 Reducing community blight, revitalizing Main Street, using trails and land stewardship to strengthen rural economies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since the start of the program,&nbsp;there&nbsp;have&nbsp;been&nbsp;26 Rural Champions who have created a variety of innovative solutions&nbsp;for community challenges.&nbsp;Completed and in progress projects&nbsp;range&nbsp;from&nbsp;rebuilding&nbsp;a grocery store in Dighton, revitalizing an abandoned elementary school in Wetmore,&nbsp;establishing&nbsp;a 24\/7 mental health telehealth resource in Morton County&nbsp;\u2014to opening a childcare center with&nbsp;round-the-clock&nbsp;care&nbsp;in Dodge City and&nbsp;initiating&nbsp;a rural healthcare workforce recruitment campaign in Rooks County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur Rural Champions&nbsp;work on the most difficult&nbsp;challenges that their towns face \u2014 and they experience the effects it has on the communities and its people,\u201d&nbsp;<strong>\u8fb2\u6751\u7e41\u6804\u5c40\u306e\u30c8\u30ea\u30b7\u30e3\u30fb\u30d1\u30fc\u30c9\u30f3\u5c40\u9577\u306f\u6b21\u306e\u3088\u3046\u306b\u8ff0\u3079\u305f\u3002<\/strong>. \u201cThese visionaries&nbsp;are really moving the needle forward in our&nbsp;hometowns&nbsp;to resolve community issues&nbsp;that need the most attention.\u201d&nbsp; \u202f<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This cohort will be funded in part by the USDA Rural Community Development Initiative and the Patterson Family Foundation. The\u202fRural Champions\u202ffunds are one of the tools provided by Commerce that supports\u202fand empowers communities with critical challenges to solve.\u202f\u202fTo view\u202fall past Rural Champions projects, click&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flinks-2.govdelivery.com%2FCL0%2Fhttps%3A%252F%252Fwww.kansascommerce.gov%252Forp%252Fruralchampions%252F%2F1%2F0101019d91a1037c-39fe7ef0-0e28-43bf-beed-1207acf011a8-000000%2FaMAAfjCrX60Ksz4MQclOzUi8v2Z1id9EoEGPK3ytpr4%3D452&amp;data=05%7C02%7CDesirae.Copeland1%40ks.gov%7C5454d7c4a976480a1ed308de9afe9a0c%7Cdcae8101c92d480cbc43c6761ccccc5a%7C0%7C0%7C639118615465810403%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=t31yHCUN%2FctZ1y2TB7iqh4UBN7A0bWGhrLlNZRsdwZ4%3D&amp;reserved=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u3053\u308c<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lieutenant Governor and&nbsp;Secretary of Commerce David Toland&nbsp;today announced that&nbsp;the Department of Commerce has selected the third cohort of Rural Champions to solve pressing needs in their local communities. These nine experienced leaders will receive support &#8230; <\/p>","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":84968,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[927,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-office-of-rural-prosperity","category-press-releases"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Kansas Commerce Selects Third Round of Rural Champions - Kansas Department of Commerce<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kansascommerce.gov\/ja\/2026\/04\/kansas-commerce-selects-third-round-of-rural-champions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ja_JP\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kansas Commerce Selects Third Round of Rural Champions - Kansas Department of Commerce\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lieutenant Governor and&nbsp;Secretary of Commerce David Toland&nbsp;today announced that&nbsp;the Department of Commerce has selected the third cohort of Rural Champions to solve pressing needs in their local communities. 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