GREENSBURG – The greening of Greensburg continues this fall with the Grand Opening of the Kiowa County Commons on November 1st. Guests invited from across the nation include government personnel and elected representatives, corporate media giants, and Kansas State University officials. All will join residents of Kiowa County to cut the ribbon on its latest LEED Platinum structure.
“The Commons is a 20,000 sq. ft. model of efficiency and architectural beauty,” said Janet West, president of the Kiowa County Media Center Foundation, one of the four entities to call the Commons home. “The water harvesting features, green roof, solar panels, geothermal wells, and ICF construction are expected to result in significant savings in resources and utilities,” she continued. “Kiowa County has created a remarkable facility.”
The Kiowa County Media Center is the county’s 21st Century solution to communications problems that existed following the EF5 tornado that destroyed Greensburg, the county seat, in 2007. It contains a state-of-the-art HD television studio, an Internet-based radio studio, an interview studio, and a 16-station editing laboratory, all supported by a robust web portal.
Intense corporate interest generated by K-State’s Communications and Marketing Executive Producer Bert R. Biles, Ph.D., has resulted in contributions to the Media Center in equipment and services valued at over $600,000.
Included are Sony, Adobe, NewTek, Avitech, Clear-Com, the Vitec Group, Litepanels, Autoscript, Airspan Networks, and other leaders in the broadcast television and communications industries.
Kansas supporters of the Media Center include Brown Specialty Vehicles, Lawrence; Stutler Technologies, Emporia; 3Tier Strategy, Wichita; and the South Central Community Foundation, Pratt. A complete list of Media Center Corporate Sponsors can be found at kwksmedia.org.
Dedicated to citizen journalism, the Media Center relies on volunteers for most of its programming. This fall, live and live-to-tape football and volleyball games were produced for Barclay College in Haviland, KS and Kiowa County Schools in Greensburg using the Media Center’s innovative HDTV Production Trailer.
“For the last live volleyball program, our crew was made up of two construction workers, a mom, a couple of students, a City Council member, a youth minister, and a funeral director,” said Media Center Programming Producer Grant Neuhold. “Now that’s citizen journalism!”
Part of what makes The Commons remarkable lies in the fact that it contains what West refers to as the past, the present, and the future of Kiowa County. “It is a repository of our culture, and a vision of our future,” she said.
Other county entities housed in the Commons include the Kiowa County Historical Museum, the Greensburg branch of the Kiowa County Library, and county offices for Kansas State Research and Extension.
“Imagine the synergy that exists when the Media Center is added to the mix. We will be able to create programming to support each entity and distribute the results to the world via the Internet,” West commented.
The Kiowa County Historical Society and its director Jim Crawley operate the Museum. Design team Ed and Lynda Scheele (ESA) of Abilene, KS worked with the Historical Society to tell the stories of Kiowa County and its three main towns, Haviland, Mullinville, and Greensburg.
One of its most fascinating exhibits is the fully functional 50’s era soda fountain, completely restored by the American Soda Fountain Company of Chicago, Il and ready to open for business with all the old favorite sundaes and fountain drinks. The Historical Society salvaged parts of the damaged fountain from Hunter Drug Store following the 2007 tornado.
Also located in the Commons, the Kiowa County Library has been open for business since late summer. “We received over 9,000 books following the tornado,” said Director Debby Allison. “Each one had to be gone through and catalogued before going onto the shelves. It was a big job, but we appreciate everyone’s generosity.”
Kansas State University’s Research and Extension is the final component of the Commons complex. Served by agents Pam Muntz and Carmen Stauth, K-State Research and Extension offers the full range of resources to Kiowa County residents available through Kansas State and its formidable academic and community outreach programs.
“Kansas State has been an outstanding partner in the Commons,” said West. “Several departments, including the A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications, K-State Research and Extension, the College of Agriculture, and the Division of Communications and Marketing have stepped forward to fulfill the mission of a Land Grant University.”
“As we open our doors, we couldn’t do it without heartfelt thanks to our Corporate Sponsors and Kansas State,” West said.