A national arts group found Wichita's nonprofit arts organizations are leaving a large economic footprint. Americans for the Arts conducted an Arts and Economic Prosperity Study to gauge the economic impact of the arts in Wichita and in more than 370 regions. In 2022, the arts generated more than $184 million in economic activity in Wichita, the report said. "There's so much more money out there being generated," said Lindsay Benacka, director of the Division of Arts and Cultural Services for the city of Wichita. "We're just looking at this slice of nonprofit as a general admission." Nonprofit arts organizations in Wichita support slightly less [...]

Firefighter Nathan Helten was tired of having wet gloves when heading out to a fire. He knew there had to be a solution, but he couldn't find any — so he invented one. After more than a year in the preliminary stages, Helten took his startup to market. With the advice of fellow Sedgwick County firefighters and the Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer at Wichita State University, the Handy Hook became a reality. "I knew there had to be a better way," said Helten, who has worked as a firefighter for more than a decade. "I've always had that mentality." Helten [...]

After more than a decade in the works, the Augusta Municipal Airport is getting ready to repave its runway. Because of disrepair and large bumps on the pavement, the runway will be fully shut down from Jan. 8 until mid-February, and then again in late March through October. As the airport has one runway, airplanes will not be able to take off or land during construction, which is an approximately $11-million effort. "The runway is in poor condition," said Ray Self, Augusta Municipal Airport manager. "It has pretty decent-sized cracks. It's pretty rough when you land on it." Along with being narrower and shorter [...]