GWP looks to Atlanta firm to help with regional development

By Bryan Horwath – Reporter, Wichita Business Journal

As the community’s appetite for growth becomes more and more obvious, the Greater Wichita Partnership is hoping for some clarity on what the area needs to move forward.

Last month, the publicly-supported regional economic development organization asked for and received $45,000 in additional funding from Sedgwick County to go toward the hiring of a firm to help it focus in on a long-term development plan. The partnership is also getting $45,000 from the city of Wichita.

Not all county commissioners thought giving additional taxpayer money to the partnership was a good move (Commissioner Richard Ranzau opposed the idea), but the additional funding was approved.

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‘We are almost there’: Speaker describes fundraising success for Topeka’s Momentum 2022

By Tim Hrenchir, The Topeka Capital-Journal

Momentum 2022′s ongoing capital campaign has raised $6.18 million of its $6.3 million goal in private donations from local investors.

Kayla Bitler, Momentum 2022 strategic coordinator for Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce and GO Topeka, said Thursday she expects the campaign to exceed its goal.

“We are almost there,” she told Downtown Topeka Rotary Club members at a luncheon in the Kansas Expocentre’s Maner Conference Centre. “We have over $1 million in pending investments and we also have about another 100 names that we have added to the list of individuals to approach for funding.”

She acknowledged it’s “kind of hard” to describe Momentum 2022 in a nutshell. It’s definition is a “holistic economic development strategy for Topeka and Shawnee County.” 

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Building a sustainable work force - Community assessment reveals troubling areas

By Joy Hampton

Norman is slowly losing its young adult working population, a recent study found.

“The city of Norman is growing and growing faster than many peer communities,” said Matt Tarleton, vice president and principal at Market Street Services. The company recently completed a community assessment to identify Norman’s strengths and weaknesses.

“You all have a very young work force, which is a good thing. But in the last five years, the core working age population is declining,” Tarleton said. A 2016 survey of 300 University of Oklahoma students found that only three percent indicated they would definitely stay in Norman after graduating, while 46 percent indicated that they definitely would not live in Norman after graduation...

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