Office of Rural Prosperity

💥 Webinar Announcement 💥
There are many opportunities and resources available for rural communities to take advantage of, making it easier to leverage the unprecedented federal funding available for infrastructure projects. BIL supports investments in transportation, energy and power, broadband, water and sewer, community resilience, and cybersecurity.
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_spPVuZsmRwK3_IHdVGO8mw #/registration

Shoutout to Northwest Kansas Technical College and their students for completing this awesome on their campus! 🎨

Don't forget to get registered for this Trail Talk Tuesday taking place at noon on December 12!
TOPIC: What Will This Cost?
Surface types, costs, Trail in a Box Resources: Mike Goodwin, Kansas Trails Council
Bridges, Culverts: Kansas Dept of Wildlife and Parks
Working with Engineers: Damaris Kunkler, A Bolder Humboldt
Amenity Costs: Craig Crosette, City of Goddard
Register: https://ksre-learn.com/trail-talk

Join our Community Vitality team on December 12th for our third Trail Talk Tuesday webinar for public trail enthusiasts in Kansas who want the opportunity to network with each other and learn more about building and maintaining trails. The topic for December's call is "What Will This Cost?"

Register now at https://ksre-learn.com/trail-talk

We love starting the morning with ! ❤🎨
The Arts Center City of Harper, Kansas

Art can be used for many purposes, and art as a unifier is one of our favorites! ❤️

These three murals now live in the City of Anthony, Kansas, Attica, Kansas, and Harper, providing a common denominator for these three Harper County towns. The design was created a few years ago when the city administrators joined with about 25 community members from all over the county to form a creatives commission of sorts! This HPCO flag design is the fruit of many meetings and brainstorming sessions, and the full story can be found at www.ilovehpco.com. The flag design was made expressly to unite and represent Harper County…..and we just loved it so much we wanted to paint it everywhere!

Thank you to all three cities for approving the mural projects, and we’re grateful for funding from the City of Harper, Kansas and Kansas Department of Commerce and Office of Rural Prosperity.

Check out Vesper Community Center, Vesper, KS new ! 🎨
We love seeing all of the fall round rural murals be completed across the state! 🌻❤

* Do you want to learn how to support grocery stores in your rural community?
* Are you a resource provider, economic developer or Extension professional?
* Would you like to learn more about business transition?

If you answered "yes" to any of these, the Rural Grocery Transition Specialist online course may be a good fit for you! Register now for our next course which runs January 15 to April 14, 2024. Learn more at https://buff.ly/495A2mu

In honor of National Rural Health Day, comment below with a picture of something related in your community! 🩺💉

Happy National Rural Health day!!! 🩺💊💉

A Proclamation on National Rural Health Day, 2023 | The White House America’s rural communities are indispensable to who we are as a Nation, where over 60 million people who live in rural America fuel our economy and help forge our future. On National Rural Health Day, we recommit to investing in rural communities and delivering affordable, quality healt...

Our team is so happy to have had the opportunity to present about housing and incentives in our amazing rural communities at the SEK, Inc. Housing Conference in Independence over the last couple of days! 🏡🌻
Commerce represented BIG as presentations were made by Lt. Governor David Toland, Trisha Purdon, ORP Director and a few from our amazing group of .

🎨 Another amazing complete! ✔️
Winfield Area Chamber of Commerce

This one is for the Musicians. For the Dreamers. For the Artists.

For the ones who call Winfield HOME. ❤️🎶🎨❤️

This latest addition to Winfield's downtown landscape is part of the Winfield 150 project to leave lasting improvements to our hometown in honor of Winfield's Sesquicentennial.

Designed and painted by the incomparable Lindsey Kernodle.

Priming help completed by M.A.C Service's LLC.

Fabulous building wall at 1105 Main Street provided by Daniel Bader.

Commissioned by the Winfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

Paid for by the Office of Rural Prosperity murals grants and by MANY generous supporters of Winfield's 150 celebration.

Want to see more murals like this? We are still accepting donations for the Winfield 150 project at the Winfield Area Chamber of Commerce!

Today at the National Rural Economic Developers Association Conference, Kansas made history with TWO award winners!
Stacy Davis - with Sumner County Economic Development Commission, National Rural Economic Developer of the Year, and Sherman County Community Development Corporation SCCD, Julica Oharah for Rural Economic Development organization of the Year Awards!!
🎉 Congratulations to these OUTSTANDING Kansans & their organizations for the incredible work they are doing in our state! 🌻

Attend the Cooperative Stakeholder Convening on Wednesday, November 29 in Manhattan, Kansas!

From childcare to food access, many Kansas communities are seeking innovative solutions to improve quality of life and economic prosperity. The cooperative business model provides an opportunity for community members to work together toward a common goal. Join us to learn more about this model and talk about what it means for Kansans.

Learn more and RSVP here: https://www.ruralgrocery.org/learn/webinar-workshops/cooperative-stakeholder-convening/

Amazing coverage of a wonderful success story! 🌻
We were so happy to be able to be a part of this project through the this past year. 💙 B’s Hometown Market

Retail Statewide WInner 2023- B's Hometown Market To the Stars Kansas Business Awards 2023

💥Reminder -- HEAL 4.0 application closes this Friday, November 10th at 11:59 p.m.⏰
Learn more and apply here: https://www.kansascommerce.gov/community-development/heal/

Are you located in the southeast region of the state? SEK, Inc.
➡️Make sure to register for this great conference to learn more about housing resources in the area:

SEK, Inc. Housing Conference Get Tickets for SEK, Inc. Housing Conference.

We’re on the lookout for a Housing Specialist that will shape the future of communities across the state. Your expertise will help create a brighter future for Kansans in need of homes, from inception to realization. 🏠🌻

If this sounds interesting, we’d like to meet ➡️ https://bit.ly/3Fr5iz1

Tomorrow! First Friday e-Call: Housing Lessons Learned by Kansas Rural Champions. To Register: https://ksre-learn.com/ecall

Join our Community Vitality team on November 14th for our second Trail Talk Tuesday webinar for public trail enthusiasts in Kansas who want the opportunity to network with each other and learn more about building and maintaining trails. The topic for November's call is "Let's Get Started!"

Register now at https://ksre-learn.com/trail-talk

💥New website feature💥
Be sure to check out the new yearly grants calendar on our website!
Kansas Department of Commerce
➡️ kansascommerce.gov/grantscalendar/

📢 REMINDER - SEED grant application closes tomorrow (10/26)!

The application window for SEED Grants closes this Friday. If you represent one of the communities in the 78 designated counties in Kansas, consider taking advantage of this opportunity! 🌻

See if your community is eligible and apply here: https://bit.ly/3Q7ZVJL

💥Great webinar opportunity!💥
FREE for NREDA members and $25 for non-members.
REGISTER: https://bit.ly/3tJIbNd

It's your Last Chance to register for the "How Amazon Hub and Rural America are Collaborating" webinar taking place on Tuesday, October 24th, at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT!

FREE for NREDA members and $25 for non-members. REGISTER: https://bit.ly/3tJIbNd

Rural Champion Lissa Sexson with Wallace County Community Development and owner of Shortgrass Studio is doing great things for western Kansas! 💚
Congrats! You are so deserving and great at what you do! We are proud of your amazing dedication and support of our great state! 🌻 Check out the amazing guidebook here: https://www.northwestkansas.org/ultimate-guide?fbclid=IwAR0shk9YjTKyr5KjjNa84q9s0kW6IxpdSGDxcTi2gNMXIop_T8PMiDVU9pY

ORP Director Trisha Purdon is happy to be in Eureka today!
City of Eureka, KS - Municipal Government

Collaboration is key and our office is happy and always willing to join communities they are setting goals and creating a vision to make their rural town a destination of choice and beautiful attraction in Kansas! 🌻❤

📢Reminder: Get registered for this informational webinar taking place October 26 @ 10:30 a.m.

Calling all rural Kansas communities! We will be hosting a webinar October 26 at 10:30 a.m. to share how STAR Bonds can transform your community.

Register here: https://bit.ly/3F1w54q

We cannot wait to see the remarkable projects these champions are bringing to life across the state! 🌻

Governor Laura Kelly has announced that $300,000 has been awarded to the 12 Champions in collaboration with the Office of Rural Prosperity and Patterson Family Foundation! This funding will allow the Rural Champions to provide direct impact to their communities.

https://bit.ly/48YnZr1

The proposal for the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Volume 2 has been released! The public is invited to comment on this document, as it will help inform areas of need for high-speed internet buildout across Kansas.

Learn more and participate here: https://bit.ly/46EwQfO

🌟🌟 We are thrilled to announce that Rural Champion Brittney Holum was the recipient of the To The Stars "Southeast Region – Welcome Back to Kansas Award" for her outstanding contributions through her business, Arrow Advisors, LLC! 🌟🌟

Her dedication and passion for rural Kansas has not gone unnoticed and we are so proud of her accomplishments and the positive impact she's made in her community.

Congratulations, Brittney! 🎉 Your success is a testament to the boundless potential of our rural communities. Keep shining and leading the way!


Brittney Holum Arrow Advisors Rural Connection

We are so proud of this project that is taking place in Morton County. 💚
Their Elkhart Hope Center is officially open! ☎️

Morton County, KS Economic Development

Over the past two years, Trisha Purdon, ORP Director has served as a member of the Executive Safety Council for KDOT, where they have developed a new dashboard and framework to improve roadway and pathway safety and to reduce accidents and fatalities on Kansas roadways/pathways to zero. This initiative has looked at a comprehensive view on how to improve safety on all Kansas roadways and pathways, and over the next year will be implementing these initiatives across our state.
This morning, the "Drive to Zero" Crash Data Dashboard received the John Keller award from the Kansas American Planning Association. This award recognizes successful implementation of a tool, practice, program, project, or process accomplishing positive change as a result of planning.

More progress!! 🎨

Welcome to Blue Rapids indeed!

Another in progress! 🎨
Grow Graham County - Kansas