A new report from the Kansas Department of Commerce concludes a state program that provides cash incentives for those who move to rural areas failed to influence relocations or curb systemic population declines across the state.
Commerce secretary David Toland told lawmakers in hearings this week that rural communities would be better served by offering a menu of region-specific incentives that have yet to be identified.
Kansas between 2012 and 2018 spent about $12 million on the Rural Opportunity Zones program. More than 2,000 individuals received either income tax credits or student loan assistance.
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)