Toland: Economic growth in Kansas means swinging for fences, asking hard questions
August 9, 2021
Despite a pandemic and ensuing global recession, 2020 stood out as an eye-popping year for economic development in Kansas.
Last year, the state closed 131 projects, creating 13,871 jobs and attracting more than $2.5 billion in capital investment — the highest amount since the Kansas Department of Commerce's inception in 1986.
"We've done a great job going out there, hustling for leads and, frankly, converting those leads into real investment and real jobs," David Toland, the state's lieutenant governor and Commerce secretary, said during a recent interview.
Even so, the state's second-in-command said he's "not satisfied" and thinks Kansas has significantly more potential to realize. As of August, the state is sitting at $2.49 billion in capital investment, with a goal of $3 billion by year's end, and 396 active economic development projects in its pipeline.
