Tulsa gears up for the future

By Ben Goldstein

Tulsa’s Future, the multiphase, regional economic development plan for the Tulsa, Oklahoma region, was designed to infuse the area with investment dollars, create jobs in targeted industries and develop a skilled workforce to attract new businesses.

“In the early 2000s, there wasn’t a lot of money allotted to economic development, and the chamber and our partners wanted to change that,” said Brien Thorstenberg, senior vice president of economic development at the Tulsa Regional Chamber. “We developed the first iteration of Tulsa’s Future, with an original goal of adding more than 10,000 jobs with an average wage above $45,000.”

The plan thus far consists of three five-year phases...

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City strategic plan seeing significant advancement

By Claire Kowalick, Times Record News

As part of a lengthy planning workshop over the next two days, the Wichita Falls City Council received a report on progress of their strategic plan. The genesis of this plan, City Manager Darron Leiker said, was about a year ago when council and staff developed seven overarching goals and 24 objectives for the city.

Assistant City Manager Paul Menzies said the city has accomplished a great deal in the past year with the objectives being advanced and 23 of them seeking significant advancement.

Developing a plan, Menzies explained, is important because it identifies what the city wants to achieve, then they can work on how to achieve it. Creating the strategic plan can guide future city policy and influence decisions when...

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Editorial: Strengthening Topeka’s ‘entrepreneurial ecosystem’

By The Capital-Journal Editorial Board

In the Holistic Economic Development Strategy released by Market Street earlier this year, the first subheading under the section “Grow a Diverse Economy” urges our community to “Enhance the entrepreneurial ecosystem.” This ecosystem is defined as the “individuals, organizations, institutions, and programs that support startup activity and small business growth” — core elements of any healthy economy.

Top Tank is a creative way to demonstrate that Topeka is willing to support entrepreneurship in the city. It’s a local contest modeled on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” which gives participants an opportunity to pitch their business ideas to investors...

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