NICKERSON, Kan.— Lt. Governor Lynn Rogers kicked off his Rural Prosperity Tour with a stop in Nickerson Monday night.

The evening started off with the audience breaking down into groups to discuss three issues. What they see as prosperity, what the community is doing well and the roadblocks stinting prosperity.

After that, each group showcased the important points of their discussion. The most discussion centered on the community’s strong education system, attractions and a strong chamber. The challenges centered around substance abuse and treatment, housing and declining tax base. All things that Rogers says they expected. “There’s a lot of issues similar to urban Kansas, mental health issues, rehab issues and drug use,” Rogers said. “They don’t necessarily surprise me but I’m glad people are talking about that because it shows involvement with the local community.”

This is the first of more than a dozen stops on the tour. Rogers says after some rest they will breakdown what they learned from this stop and if they will change anything during the second go around. “We’ll talk about it a little bit. I’m not sure there’s a lot we will change,” Rogers stated. “I really feel energized by all of the comments and the thoughts and the support. You know, there’s great interest in rural Kansas and I think that’s a message I’ll take back to Topeka.”

The tour is intended to foster new ways to help rural Kansas communities by hearing from the residents themselves. The tour serves as the first phase of the new Office of Rural Prosperity, which has been approved for a $2 million allocation in the newly approved FY 2020 budget.