Latest News

Senior Living Center in Historic Building Reflects Dickinson County Character

Thursday, December 03, 2020

Dickinson County, Kansas, is a community featuring a rich, historical heritage with a vibrant population focused on the future. The most recent illustration of that is the recent opening of The Garfield Senior Living, a senior living community located in the renovated Garfield Elementary School. “There was definitely a community need, as there was not a market rate independent senior living facility in the Abilene market,” said Andy Gilmore, president of Gilmore & Associates, the owners of The Garfield. “Seniors were reaching out to us from neighboring communities saying they wanted to be in Abilene, but there was nowhere for the...

10 Businesses Receive Funding From Network Kansas During August

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

E-Community Loans - ~Toms Kountry Kitchen in Kinsley. Partner: Edwards County Econ Dev ~Arrowhead Family Chiropractic in Dodge City. Partner: Dodge City/Ford Co Dev Corp. ~Eclectic Bistro in Dodge City. Partner: Dodge City/Ford Co Dev Corp. ~JAM Partners, LLC in Dodge City. Partner: Dodge City/Ford Co Dev Corp. ~Bombshells Beauty Lounge in Russell. Partner: Russell County ~MAS Properties, LLC dba Cradle to Career Literacy Center in Emporia. Partner: Emporia Main St. ~Orange, LLC in Colby. Partner: Thomas County Econ Dev Alliance Read full article.

Infrastructure Investment as an Economic Stimulus Tool

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

In times of economic struggle — such as the recession that abruptly arrived with the COVID-19 pandemic — analysts and advocates promote an array of options as effective tools for stimulating the economy. One of the most frequently suggested options is infrastructure spending. Proponents of infrastructure spending during dire economic times view it as a productive job creator and essential foundation for a long-term recovery and return to sustained prosperity. Brian Raff, director of Communications and Public Affairs for the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), cites a 2015 study by the Duke Center on Globalization, Governance, and Competitiveness to demonstrate infrastructure investment’...

Registration Now Open: The Aligned Leader, A Six-Week Virtual Leadership Series

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

The Great Bend Chamber of Commerce is excited to bring a unique and powerful program to Central Kansas and beyond in a time when many business owners and leaders are uncertain of just where and how to move their teams successfully forward. We believe now is the time to grow your leaders from within and arm yourself and your team with the tools and resources needed to take your business to the next level. The business environment has changed dramatically in the past several months. As more and more companies have remote workers, the need for Aligned Leaders has never been greater. It’s easie...

Russell Stover is Sweet on Abilene

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

For those seeking employment in the midst of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, finding a well-paying job can be an extremely sweet moment. Almost as sweet as biting in to a Russell Stover Pecan Delight. The combination of finding that job at the Russell Stover Abilene facility offers an opportunity that is beyond sweet. That connection is currently available, as the company is seeking to fill 200 jobs at the Abilene manufacturing facility now. Following a strong fiscal year in 2019 while focusing on driving operational efficiencies, Russell Stover Chocolates growth plans required the company to close a Colorado facility but expan...

Could a Post-Pandemic National Industrial Strategy Advance the Cause of Advanced Manufacturing?

Monday, September 28, 2020

As the coronavirus pandemic disrupted global supply chains, a new report released in April by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) urged the U.S. government to develop a national industrial strategy to strengthen the competitive position of advanced, traded-sector industries that are “too critical to fail.” “Even before this pandemic, China posed an unprecedented competitiveness challenge in the advanced industries that are most critical to America’s economic wellbeing and national security,” said ITIF President Robert D. Atkinson, the report’s author and a past contributor to Site Selection. Read full article.

First Person: Effects of the Global Pandemic on Company Supply Chains

Monday, September 28, 2020

AD: Will more companies be re-shoring or near-shoring as a result of the global pandemic? Jensen: For certain, most companies are closely examining the options available to them to avoid future supply chain interruptions. Part of the challenge of making a decision on a future sourcing direction is that this story isn’t over. As the pandemic progresses, every week, sometimes every day, brings new information to light regarding risks associated with both the supply available for companies to transact business, as well as the fluctuations in the demand associated with their specific product offerings. It is very safe to say that at present...

Survey Reveals Manufacturers’ Post-Pandemic Plans

Monday, September 28, 2020

Few implications of the COVID-19 pandemic are as consequential to global manufacturers as disruptions to their supply chains. For many, this is the most consequential by far. Supply chains are always a work in progress as such market variables as transportation costs, tariffs and trade agreements force logistics managers to tweak their supply chains a little here, a lot over there and everywhere in between. That’s under normal conditions. Add a global health pandemic originating in the world’s second largest economy and the largest in industrial output, and it’s a whole new ballgame. Even as Western and other companies resume operation...

How Small Businesses in the Heartland Are Coping

Friday, September 25, 2020

The Brookings Institution hosted a webinar on June 10 titled “Mitigating the Economic Impacts of COVID-19 in Rural Areas.” Moderator Tracy Hadden Loh, a Brookings Institution Fellow, engaged three experts on rural economies in looking back at the pandemic’s effect on two small towns and across rural America, and how recovery steps are taking shape. The panelists were Lindsey Dotson, executive director of the Main Street Downtown Development Authority in Charlevoix, Michigan; Todd Wolford, executive director of Downtown Wytheville, Inc., Wytheville, Virginia; and Matt Wagner, vice president of revitalization programs at the National Main Street Center. Much of the discussion initiall...

Tech Talent & COVID-19

Friday, September 25, 2020

Beset by the COVID-19 pandemic and its recessionary shocks, companies across the globe are paring workforces at alarming rates. In the United States alone, some 40 million workers had filed jobless claims by the end of May, with the biggest losses occurring in the leisure and hospitality, professional business services, retail trade and manufacturing sectors. Driven, however, by the expectation of long-term social distancing, the remote economy is soaring, as is the demand for technology workers, especially engineers. Read full article.

Work from Anywhere?

Friday, September 25, 2020

Somewhere between your umpteenth Zoom meeting of the month and the latest webinar on the economic impacts of COVID-19, this thought probably crossed your mind: “How long will I be working from home?” While an exact answer to that question still eludes most companies, the effects of remote working are starting to come sharply into focus. Read full article.

Indemnification Provisions in Incentives Agreements: Best Practices and Special Public Entity Issues

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Indemnification provisions are an important part of the fine print of many contracts. These clauses generally operate to protect one party against the other party’s actions or failures to act that lead to a loss claimed by a third party (not a party to the contract). A common example is the indemnification provisions (or entire agreements) used in the rental car setting. Before you drive off the lot, the rental car company will require you indemnify (or protect) it against a third party (not you) bringing a claim due to your being in an accident. Similarly, most incentive agreements contain one-wa...

Optimizing Project Outcomes Through Advanced Project Planning

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

While APP involves a modest amount of additional upfront time for planning, the investment pays significant dividends throughout the project — and at the most critical times. Detailed planning is executed in advance, enabling the project team and stakeholders to discuss project objectives, prioritize needs, and examine costs from the very outset. This relieves some of the reactive urgency surrounding these decisions, when such issues are addressed amid the thin margins associated with not only time but also the cost of business today. Using APP, facilities that have inevitable downtime related to modifications can plan more efficiently. Read full article.

Site Selection 2020: The Importance of “Regional Depth” with Global Reach

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

The last several years of corporate site selection have been influenced by many trends. Among these are corporate tax cuts, a red-hot industrial real estate market, the explosion of e-commerce, increasing trade protectionism, record economic growth and, in a stunning reversal, a global health pandemic and recession. It seems the ever-shifting tide of global and domestic affairs can be confusing at best and downright frightening at worst to corporate executives evaluating where to locate their next headquarters, newest manufacturing plant, or distribution center. Risk and uncertainty have never seemed higher, and without looking deeper and thinking differently, it can b...

Dixon becomes DKEDC Assistant

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Courtney Dixon has joined Dickinson County Economic Development Corporation (DKEDC) as an administrative assistant. Dixon joins DKEDC after she and her family moved to Woodbine in December of 2019 from Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Dixon has a diverse background, having held various volunteer leadership positions. She earned a bachelor’s degree in developmental psychology from the University of Wyoming and has spent time studying agricultural business, ag communications, and ag economics. Dixon grew up in Wyoming on a small operation raising horses, goats, and hogs. Dixon’s family enjoys showing and riding horses, fishing, playing cards and board games, camping, and spending time a...

Front Line: COVID-19 Spurs More Automated Manufacturing

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

The global pandemic has upended the labor market and dramatically and suddenly reversed U.S. economic expansion. COVID-19, especially, has caused U.S. manufactures to face unprecedented labor challenges. With COVID-19 and the need for social distancing, these shortages are escalating. Many factories have shuttered to protect workers and prevent COVID-19’s spread. Even before this global crisis, in 2018 Deloitte had already projected that manufacturers would face shortages of some 2.4 million workers through 2028. Read full article.

How are Uncertain Times Altering Company Location Strategies?

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

As corporate decision-makers develop their business strategies for the future, the markets they consider are rapidly changing. This dynamic trend was already in place before the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic as businesses sought to alleviate concentration risk. With the unprecedented impacts on the global economy of the current public health crisis, however, the search for alternative locations has taken on new urgency and quickly became a priority. While there is still much to be determined about the long-term economic effects of the pandemic (daily cases continue to reach all-time highs in the United States, as of the writing o...

New Strategies for Learning and Development in an Increasingly Virtual World

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Newly dispersed work teams are facing new challenges. During the early months of the global pandemic, more than three-quarters of organizations reported 80 percent or more of their employees were working from home, according to a global survey on workplace re-entry. While workplace mobility isn’t new, the scale of remote work has accelerated digital transformation, with rollout timelines shrinking from years to weeks. Workflows have also been upended as employees try to adopt new tools as part of their daily routines. Read full article.

Affiliation good fit for Lindsborg hospital

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Since affiliating with Salina Regional Health Center in 2012, the Lindsborg Community Hospital has benefited in two major ways. Memorial Health System of Abilene recently approved a Letter of Intent to affiliate with Salina Regional and is currently investigating the details. Larry Van Der Wege, chief executive officer in Lindsborg, said there are other pieces, but the hospital has seen benefits in financial areas and clinical areas. Those are the two key pillars. Read full article.

OCCK receives Innovation Award

Friday, September 11, 2020

OCCK Transportation was awarded an Innovation of the Year Award from the Kansas Public Transit Association at the 2020 Annual Meeting held virtually in August. Innovation of the Year Awards were given to OCCK Transportation, Topeka Metro, Dodge City Transportation and the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority for their use of free fares during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to provide social equity and are greatly appreciated by the transit dependent. OCCK operates the public transportation in Abilene. Read full article.

Land Pride revs up

Thursday, September 03, 2020

Touring Kansas on the Labor Day break, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran said he was able to visit a growing industry, one using cutting edge technology, an industry that is paying premium wages. That’s what Moran took away from his tour of Abilene West, Great Plains Manufacturing’s Land Pride Division facility west of Abilene. Linda Salem, president and chief executive officer of Great Plains Manufacturing, said the Abilene plant is on the move. Read full article.

Windfarm talk becomes official

Monday, August 31, 2020

A windfarm development company representative has offered to visit with Dickinson County Commissioners about expanding its Marion County wind project into Dickinson County. The company does plan to expand, but not until 2024. It’s long been known that Tradewind Energy, developer of the Diamond Vista windfarm in northern Marion County, plans to expand at some point; however, a number of overtures made recently to some landowners in the southern part of Dickinson County has led to speculation that the expansion may occur sooner rather than later. Read full article.

5 Effective Strategies for Employee Retention

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Effective hiring and retention practices are key to effective leadership. The reality is that managers that hire well and that are able to keep talented employees produce better results. Replacing employees is time-consuming, expensive, and disruptive. Plus, when an employee leaves, it can impact the entire team and cause a ripple effect of unhappiness or turnover. Read full article.

How to Leverage LinkedIn for Lead Generation and Sales

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

With 700 million users, LinkedIn provides a massive opportunity for businesses to increase sales leads and revenue. In this video, the creator and host of “The Startup Story” shares tips for leveraging LinkedIn to start conversations with cold contacts, namely: Research, learning more about the contact you’re reaching out to from their profile as well as other social media accounts Requesting to connect, adding a personal message using the information you’ve discovered in your research and suggesting next steps Read full article.

Why Companies Should Onshore in Dickinson County

Friday, August 21, 2020

Nearly two-thirds of United States manufacturing companies surveyed by Thomas report business disruptions due to the COVID-19 crisis. As a widespread issue impacting virtually all industries, onshoring is top of mind for business executives who have watched their supply chains be disrupted and product deliveries delayed over the past six months. For four decades, companies have offshored manufacturing operations overseas in order to save costs. COVID-19 has forced companies to ask, “At what cost?” If the cost is an inability to supply customers and fulfil contracts, it may not be worth it. Onshoring is the logical solution to reducing th...

Grow Your Digital Presence

Thursday, February 06, 2020

Dickinson County Economic Development Corporation (DKEDC) to host a workshop on digital skills using resources from Grow with Google, Facebook, and Instagram. DKEDC is partnering with Pamela Starr of Grow with Google, and Elizabeth Collins of Webcom Resources to help our community learn digital skills, with a workshop at Sterl Hall (619 N Rogers in Abilene) on February 26th, from 8:30 am to Noon . At the Google Workshop, featuring Facebook and Instagram Marketing/Sales, individuals will learn the following: How do customers find your business online and how to promote your online presence using a free Google business listing, Facebook, and Instagram. Ho...

Activities Aplenty in Dickinson County

Monday, January 27, 2020

There’s always something to do in Dickinson County! Awesome natural beauty headlines the list. An abundance of parks, sports complexes, trails and outdoor spaces are perfect for all ages seeking recreation. Combine outdoor enjoyment with natural history at the Dwight Eisenhower Presidential Museum and adjoining parks. The avid golfer will find three beautiful golf courses, including the public Indian Hills Golf Course. Every summer, the Central Kansas Free Fair is the largest such event in the state. The feature attraction is the Wild Bill Hickok PRCA Rodeo, frequently regarded as one of the best outdoor rodeos in the country. Abundant activitie...

Russell Stover expanding in Abilene

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Russell Stover expanding in Abilene From: https://www.candyindustry.com/articles/88941-russell-stover-expanding-plants-in-kansas-texas-while-closing-colorado-facility January 14, 2020 Alyse Thompson Russell Stover Chocolates has announced plans to expand its production facilities in Kansas and Texas and close its plant in Montrose, Colorado next year. The Kansas City, Missouri-based company noted in a press statement the changes in its production and distribution networks will add approximately 300 jobs across its facilities in Corsicana, Texas, and Abilene and Iola, Kansas. The Montrose facility is set to close in spring 2021, accompanied by closures of select low-traffic retail stores over the next year. “Having been in business since 1923, we know the importance of keeping pace with the changin...

Holm Auto Good News: Fund available for storefront restoration

Thursday, December 12, 2019

https://www.salina.com/news/20191211/holm-auto-good-news-fund-available-for-storefront-restoration

See us on Our Town with Dennis Weese

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Very rare, but grants may be available

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Very rare, but grants may be available. Please go to https://ambergrantsforwomen.com/free-grant-tips/ for more info!

Congratulations to the City of Chapman, which received $600,000 in Community Development Block Grant Funds!

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dickinson County Housing Assessment

Friday, May 24, 2019

The Dickinson County Housing Assessment is available to view as a PDF. The report reviews local trends in housing since 2010, discusses opportunities and challenges in our communities, recommends a path for future success and showcases case studies of success stories from similar communities. View the assessment here.

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