TOPEKA, Kan. — President Trump announced he will visit Kansas in support of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s campaign for governor.

“I’m honored and grateful that President Trump will be coming to Kansas on Oct. 6. President Trump’s success in cutting taxes at the national level unleashed economic growth, and I want to accomplish the same thing in Kansas by reducing our crushing tax burden. It has been a great privilege to work with President Trump’s administration as a transition team member and informal adviser, and I look forward to working with him closely when I am governor of Kansas,” Kobach said.

To request tickets to the Trump rally in Topeka on Oct. 6, visit www.donaldjtrump.com.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — It has been a part of the Hutchinson community for more than 70 years, but by Oct. 31, the Hutchinson Town Club will close.

According to Board President Elizabeth Peirce, the club at Sherman and Poplar is closing pending a vote of its members at a meeting scheduled for Oct. 16.

Peirce says the financial picture for the club and membership have been in decline. Peirce says the membership continues to increase in age. There are not many younger residents who want to join. After a high of nearly 500 members three years ago, the number has dropped to around 250.

The closing will also mean the loss of 16 jobs. Many of the current workers have put years of dedication into the club, according to Peirce.

The Town Club started in 1947 in place of what was once the “O” Club. That club was part of the old navel airbase in Yoder. In 1953, the club moved to its present location.

During the Oct. 16 meeting, members will vote on the closing. Those who cannot be present will be able to vote by proxy. Peirce says where things go from there won’t be known for some time after that meeting.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson Reno County Chamber of Commerce announced Monday that Greater Hutch will organize a proposal for the Strategic Growth Initiative launched by the Kansas Department of Agriculture.

As a part of this proposal, Greater Hutch is asking for input from agriculture stakeholders in Reno County to identify key growth opportunities in the county via this survey.

Abbey Stockebrand, Economic Development Manager for the chamber, says the proposal coincides with efforts to boost potential ag business in the county:

 

Stockebrand says the proposal to the state will be completed and ready for presentation by December.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson Chamber of Commerce CVB wanted the Shrine Bowl. On Monday, the Chamber announced it will indeed get the high school all-star game in 2021.

The Kansas Shrine Bowl Board of Directors voted to bring the Kansas Shrine Bowl to Hutchinson in June 2021. The annual Shrine Bowl is expected to bring thousands of fans to Gowans Stadium and over $2 million in economic impact to the Hutchinson community.

Visit Hutch submitted the proposal to be a potential host for the 2020, 2021 or 2022 Shrine Bowl earlier this summer. A site visit was hosted in August, followed by an in-person bid presentation to the Shrine Bowl Board of Directors last Saturday in Salina. Hutchinson was one of thirteen communities that submitted a proposal, and one of six that made the first round of cuts. This will be the first time that Hutchinson has hosted the Shrine Bowl.

In addition to the East vs. West football game on Saturday night, other activities that will take place during the week leading up to the Shrine Bowl game include: cheer and band camps, the Shriners Hospital experience, a Jr. All-Star Challenge, high school combine, a 5k run underground at Strataca, a Friday night banquet at the Kansas State Fairgrounds and the Shrine Bowl parade on Saturday morning in Downtown Hutchinson.

The student-athletes, bands and cheer squads will begin arriving in Hutchinson on Wednesday, June 23.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson City Council will look over several major capital improvements during a special study session Tuesday morning.

The council will look over three projects. This includes the start of a study and possible improvements to the Avenue A and Woody Seat interchange and bridge. KDOT and a consulting firm are preparing a study that the city hopes will provide some solutions for dealing with the interchange and the span, which is starting to show its age.

The study is expected to begin in October and could be finished sometime next year depending on how much work is needed by the firm. The city is not liable for any expense that comes form the study.

Also Tuesday, the council will see preliminary drawings for the Washington Street bicycle avenue project and discuss the next phase of the North Main project, which will run from 13th Avenue to 5th.

Tuesday’s study session of the Hutchinson City Council begins at 8:30 a.m. in city hall.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Great weather and a solid start to the 2018 Kansas State Fair, coupled with new programming, activities and strong concert sales, helped boost overall revenue and attendance over last year’s numbers according to fair officials.

This year’s preliminary attendance was 327,965, a 1.76 percent increase over last year. Preliminary reports also show substantial growth in revenue. Those figures are still being tabulated, but several vendors indicated this year’s fair was one of the best in several years.

“The Kansas State Fair is at a pivotal turning point,” Interim General Manager Bob Moeder said. “This year’s numbers reflect a change in direction. We have a really solid team who stayed focused, helping us grow and expand the fair during this transitional year.”

Moeder added it is the second year for the fair to use Etix, an electronic ticketing system that helps the fair obtain a more-accurate count of the number of fairgoers entering each gate.

“We had great crowds, great weather and, based on all of the positive feedback from fairgoers and vendors, a great fair experience,” he said.

Janene Starks, the fair’s commercial exhibits coordinator, said commercial exhibitors reported higher sales and some said their sales doubled from last year.

Enhanced revenue also means more sales tax generated during the 2018 Fair, which will help with building maintenance across the fairgrounds. Kansas lawmakers, during the past session, passed legislation enabling the fair to retain a large portion of the state sales tax revenue generated annually.

The law, which went into effect July 1, is estimated to bring in nearly $400,000 a year, Moeder said.

“The increase in revenue will help us get a jump-start on capital improvements, which will make the fair even better going forward,” Moeder said.

The 2018 Fair saw other increases as well. Competitive Exhibits Director Jenn Galloway said livestock entries were up for the 4-H and FFA Grand Drive, plus all open livestock shows.

“This year’s Grand Drive was a great event and another success,” Galloway said. “We had a lot of good competition this year.”

Grand Drive sponsorships were also up from 2017, she said. Fair officials announced during the Grand Drive Gala Sept. 8 a new youth scholarship program that will begin in 2019. The Grand Drive Committee will award 10 $1,000 scholarships to secondary and post-secondary students who have demonstrated excellence, commitment and integrity as ambassadors of the Kansas State Fair junior livestock program.

Overall sponsorship dollars from supporting partners were also up this year, reaching a new record, Moeder said.

Moeder mentioned this year’s popular grandstand lineup helped boost the number of tickets sold to the fair’s eight concerts. Fairgoers purchased nearly 24,000 concert tickets this year, up from 15,000 the previous year. The popular grandstand lineup included Country Music Association nominees Dan + Shay the first weekend, which sold nearly 5,000 tickets. The Beach Boys were the fair’s top seller, with about 5,600 tickets purchased.

“We established a number of new events and activities at this year’s fair,” Moeder said. “These events are the building blocks that will help make next year’s Kansas State Fair even stronger and grow the fair in the future.”

The 2019 Kansas State Fair is Sept. 6-15. Robin Jennison, the outgoing secretary of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism, will take the helm as general manager starting Sept. 24.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson City Council will take final action on the rezoning proposal that would allow for more condensed development in the older parts of the city during Tuesday’s agenda session.

After getting the go-ahead to draw up the final ordinance, the Planning Department will present the final draft to the council for action.

The changes were put in place after several public meetings and studies were done to see if the infill district would make property improvement easier. One of the biggest additions with the new zoning change would allow for the construction of a small apartment on property, such as a garage apartment.

Other changes include smaller setbacks and the number of parking spaces a property must have from two to one. The new residential zone covers an area of the city from 17th south, then east and west from K-61 to Cow Creek.

Also Tuesday, the council will seek approval of a contract with KDOT for a mill and overlay on K-61 Highway stretching from G Avenue to Lorraine. The work will be done by APAC-Kansas at a cost of $491,052. KDOT will provide $300,000 in funds plus another $150,000 from the Connecting Link reserve. The city will have to provide the remaining $41,000.

The project is expected to begin soon and be completed by the end of October.

Tuesday’s meeting of the Hutchinson City Council begins at 5:30 p.m. in the city offices.