Two-day planning session outlines a vision to move county forward

By Doug Ford

Repairing potholes and building bike trails shouldn’t be an “either or” proposition, and moving Halifax County forward while preserving what it already has was one point of discussion at a two-day planning session attended by the board of supervisors and other community leaders Tuesday and Wednesday at Southern Virginia Technology Park.

Supervisors, Halifax County Chamber of Commerce President Mitzi McCormick, Halifax County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Mark Lineburg, SVHEC Executive Director Dr. Betty Adams, Halifax County IDA Executive Director Matt Leonard, HCSA Executive Director Mark Estes and Tom Raab and Carl Espy, town managers for the towns of South Boston and Halifax, respectively, discussed both attributes and challenges facing Halifax County and possible solutions moving forward as part of forming a vision for economic development and growth.

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City to review its 2017 goals

By Bryan Richardson

The Manhattan City Commission will have a midyear review Tuesday of its goals and priorities.

The work session starts at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.

Some of the ongoing goals include developing an economic strategic plan, consolidating zoning and subdivision regulations, and creating a street maintenance plan.

The Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce is leading the efforts on the economic plan after hiring Market Street Services, an Atlanta-based consulting firm, for the study.

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Greater Manhattan Project rolls out assessment findings

By Megan Moser

Manhattan area leaders have released the findings of a community assessment, part of an effort to create a unified vision and strategy to attain a “thriving, sustainable and equitable future” for the region.

Among the conclusions: the region’s economy relies too much on public-sector employment and lags in retail; the perception of public K-12 education doesn’t match performance compared to that of peer communities; and the community needs to improve its base of skilled workers to take advantage of opportunities at the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility.

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Pat on the back for Greater Manhattan Project

Every year at the regional chambers of commerce retreat — the annual gathering in Overland Park that involves business leaders from Riley, Geary and Pottawatomie counties — a popular theme is working together to move forward.

People talk about regionalism and promoting our area to the rest of the country and how we need to build on our strengths.

It tends to be an interesting weekend full of brainstorming and discourse, but ultimately, it’s just talk.

This week, area leaders who’ve banded together to form the Greater Manhattan Project unveiled an extensive community assessment. It’s the first concrete step in a bigger plan for the three-county region...

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Editorial: Overcoming our population problem

By The Capital-Journal Editorial Board

Last month, we discussed the importance of attracting young talent to Topeka.

According to a recent community assessment conducted by Market Street Services Inc., population growth in Topeka hasn’t kept pace with other large metro areas in Kansas. Between 2005 and 2015, the state’s population increased by around 166,000 people, and “approximately 86 percent of this growth occurred in Douglas, Johnson, Riley and Sedgwick counties.” However, despite the fact that Shawnee County constitutes 6 percent of the overall population in Kansas, it accounted for only 4 percent of the state’s population growth during this period.

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Editorial: A decisive mayoral contest in Topeka

By The Capital-Journal Editorial Board

Topeka’s mayoral primary is less than two weeks away (Aug. 1), and a public forum brought all five candidates together on stage at the Jayhawk Theatre on Wednesday night. The event attracted an overflow crowd to the theater — even though 180 chairs had been set out, 230 people showed up. Considering the dismal turnout for most local elections in Topeka, this level of interest is encouraging. It demonstrates that Topekans value civic engagement and recognize that this is a critical time for our city. However, if you look at the turnout numbers from recent mayoral primaries, you’d come away with an entirely different impression. For example, in the 2009 primary, only 13.08 percent of registered voters cast a ballot. In 2013, the proportion was a pitiful 4.4 percent.

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Strategic initiative underway to improve city, area

By John Ingle, Times Record News

As the saying goes, it's hard to get where you want to go without a road map.

A group of community members representing almost all sectors of business and government has been put together to develop a road map, of sorts, to guide the city toward growth and create a Wichita Falls of the future.

Henry Florsheim, president and CEO of the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce & Industry and chair of the newly formed Wichita Falls Economic Development Steering Committee, said the group is in the beginning stages of the roughly 10-month process to create the strategic plan. Consulting firm Market Street Services will help keep the group on track and analyze information gathered.

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