City officials hope that a deadline extension will spur more businesses to apply for COVID-19 relief grants. Labette County and the city of Parsons received $132,000 each in a special disbursement of Community Development Block Grant funding. The county also has about $67,000 left from a 1999 business loan program that will be added to the grants. The money is allocated for reimbursement of expenses to help businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 50 businesses expressed interest in receiving grant money, but only 18 qualified businesses had applied before the July 8 deadline, Laura Moore, community development director, said. Eleven others applied but either weren’t eligible to receive funding or decided against it. Fifty-one businesses that expressed interest hadn’t responded to inquiries from the city as of Tuesday morning.
(Read more: Parsons Sun)

The city of Erie is moving forward with the purchase of the town’s only grocery store. … The city has been considering the possible acquisition of the store since last summer after the Mahurins introduced the proposal. The Mahurins haven’t been able to find a buyer for the store, and the council wants to prevent the store from closing. An economic development committee negotiated a deal with the Mahurins to pay the couple $300,000 for the building and fixtures, plus inventory value at the time of the sale and 0.5% of gross sales for 10 years.
(Read more: Parsons Sun)

Oswego city crews and others continued the cleanup Monday in Oswego from Saturday’s storm that brought large hail and high, sustained winds that toppled trees and snapped others 20 feet in the air. No injuries were reported, but four to 10 homes may have been destroyed. That assessment is still in progress, according to Oswego Mayor Daniel Chapman. The high wind, estimated between 70 mph and 100 mph, came from a possible microburst, which is a large column of sinking air (a downdraft) from a thunderstorm.
(Read more: Parsons Sun)