The Great Bend downtown loft program is now open, said Sara Hayden, president of Great Bend Development Inc., the entity spearheading the project.  With applications now being sought, Hayden said she will hold a question-and-answer session at 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 26, at the Great Bend Events Center Santa Fe Trail conference room. “Great Bend Economic Development, with support from the city, is thrilled to be able to offer this grant program to help enhance our downtown corridor and bring more opportunities for business and housing to the community,” Hayden said. “This program allows us the chance to get a lot [...]

Vintage computer motherboards, action figures with weapons, car parts, clock gears, and a visionary worldview – these are Mri-Pilar’s materials. Her installation, The Garden of Isis, fills the main floor of the Florence Deeble House in Lucas, and is an ongoing project 20 years in the making. This summer, Pilar installed 50 new pieces on a wall she titled “Continuum.” The works were made in the spring at an artist’s residency at the Red Barn Studio in Lindsborg. “The wall is a mosaic,” Pilar said. “It is very dense and close together with few breathing spaces, but as it moves out, [...]

Ellinwood Recreation Commission, the City of Ellinwood and Sunflower Bank announce the recent grant they received from the Golden Belt Community Foundation. The Ellinwood Community has been awarded The CPI Qualify of Life Barton County grant in the amount of $4,300, which will go toward new basketball goals at the city park. The money received will go toward two ultimate HangTime adjustable basketball systems with moveable extension arms to allow rim height adjustment from 7 ½ to 10 feet. Rim height adjustment can be accomplished by means of hand operated bevel gear crank located on the pole. Source: Great Bend Tribune

The Barton County Commission wants downtown property owners countywide to be able to put their best face forward, spark economic prosperity and to revitalize business districts. To this end, commissioners Monday morning will consider a proposed Barton County Facade Improvement Grant Program.  “The goal is to provide financial assistance to businesses and property owners for downtown building front improvements to increase economic prosperity, accessibility, and quality of life in Claflin, Ellinwood, Great Bend and Hoisington,” County Administrator Phil Hathcock said. The county has determined communities’ retail centers are areas of “priority funding,” and maps of these defined districts will be available [...]

There will be three separate City of Great Bend sales tax initiatives on Nov. 2 general election ballot. These would help fund quality of life improvements, pay off the city’s debt incurred for a new police station and cover the cost of changes to the benefit package for the Police and Fire departments. This was the consensus of the City Council after over two hours of arduous soul-searching discussion during a work session following its regular meeting Monday night. The session was called to finalize the tax questions so they can be submitted to the County Clerk’s Office. A formal council [...]

The artist known as ARCY began work Friday on a mural at the corner of Forest and Williams in Great Bend. The work will be a “salute to Barton County’s rich history tied to the B-29 airfield here in Great Bend, and all the brave men and women who were based here during World War II,” said Rachel Mawhirter with the Barton Arts Movement (#BAM), the local volunteer initiative that is raising funds for the project. Source: Great Bend Tribune

Barton County will join forces with Great Bend Economic Development Inc. to the tune of $40,000 for a national campaign aimed at bolstering the county’s and Great Bend’s profile, and making them more competitive. The County Commission approved the funding Wednesday morning for advertising and project development support, doubling what was sought by GBED. While all commissioners favored the initial $20,000 requested, support for the increased amount was not unanimous. GBED requested the $20,000 to help with targeted advertising to aid in recruiting new businesses and individuals. With county funds included in the overall marketing budget, GBED would have the funding [...]

Although it did not garner unanimous support, the Great Bend City Council Tuesday night approved spending half of the city’s $2,271,654.71 in American Rescue Plan Act funds for a downtown rehabilitation project to assist in sprinkler system installation and other improvements to downtown lofts. The city will receive two equal ARPA installments, with the first direct payment coming by July 31. The second half will come about a year later. Great Bend Economic Development Inc. President Sara Hayden proposed using half of those funds to reimburse owners of multi-story buildings in the downtown district on an application basis. The council action [...]

Great Bend USD 428 will save more than $36,000 next year by purchasing its property and casualty insurance from the Kansas Educational Risk Management Pool (KERMP), Superintendent Khris Thexton said. The school board held a special meeting Tuesday morning to approve the policy and make budget transfers and expenditures to wrap up Fiscal Year 2020-2021, when ends today. Only Kansas Association of School Boards members may join KERMP, which was started several years ago by 15 schools. The member-owned consortium is comprised of public K-12 school districts in Kansas, and last week Barton Community College became the first Kansas community college [...]

In an effort to rekindle downtown Great Bend and make the community more competitive, the City Council Monday night approved a resolution creating a common consumption area in the city’s center to be known as Great Bend Alive Plaza. The request for the designation came from Great Bend Economic Development Inc. for Forest Avenue from the west side of Main Street to the east side of Williams Street. Great Bend Alive Inc., a non-profit offshoot of GBED, will be licensed to operate the area. “This is an opportunity to provide another gathering spot and other area for people to come downtown, [...]