A slow but steady population loss in rural Kansas has hit Moran as hard as anybody, Mayor Jerry Wallis noted Tuesday. It wasn’t that long ago that Moran boasted three filling stations, multiple restaurants, a golf course, doctor’s office, grain elevator, two taverns and the Klein Tools plant north of town. But one by one, most of those have closed up shop. Wallis was among a crowd of about 25 residents taking part in a community conversation that centered on more than a few blunt comments about the community’s future. But while the solution to reversing the population loss is easy to diagnose — more jobs, quality (and affordable) housing and increased day care availability — turning those to reality has become a nut too tough to crack.
Source: The Iola Register
