Economic Development Projects
Funded by Lottery Dollars

New Reason to "Get the Heck into Dodge!"

There’s a new reason to “get the heck into Dodge!” The historical western town recently became the newest member of the Kansas Main Street program. The designation means residents and visitors will soon notice a revitalized downtown Dodge City.
Read about Dodge City's new Main Street designation.

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Follow the “Yellow Brick Road” Through Kansas

The Kansas Travel & Tourism Division is encouraging Kansans to get out and experience their state this summer and has created a special program called “Yellow Brick Road Trip” to help the initiative. The centerpiece of the Yellow Brick Road Trip program is a new website featuring itineraries from eight regions of the state. The website www.yellowbrickroadtrip.com makes it easy for the public to enjoy trips encompassing the state’s most interesting destinations and attractions.
Read more about the Yellow Brick Road initiative.

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Kansas Lottery Revenue Supports Governor's Exporter of the Year Program

Each year, the Governor’s Exporter of the Year Award is presented to a Kansas company for excellence in international trade and marketing. The award encourages the growth of the state’s international commerce by showcasing successful exporters as role models to the Kansas business community. The recipients are prime examples of how exporting is a significant catalyst for company growth and diversification.
Read about the role the Lottery plays in the Exporter of the Year Award.

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"Rural Kansas: Come and Get It" Program Seeks to Increase Rural Tourism

One way to keep rural Kansas communities viable is to increase their potential to draw tourists. Increasingly, today’s travelers are looking for the kind of authentic experiences and hidden treasures that are found in abundance right here in Kansas. Thanks to a $50,000 grant from the Travel & Tourism Division of the Kansas Department of Commerce, the Kansas Sampler Foundation is leading a new initiative called “Rural Kansas: Come and Get It.”
Read more about "Rural Kansas: Come and Get It."

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Veterans Benefit Games Support National Guard Museum Expansion

Revenue from the sale of Kansas Lottery Veterans Benefit games is making it possible for the Kansas Museum of the National Guard to expand its facility. July 11, 2009, marked the beginning of construction on a major addition to the 12-year-old facility. Located in Topeka, the Museum is dedicated to preserving the heritage of the Kansas National Guard and honoring the memoires of the soldiers and airmen who have served Kansas and the United States whenever the call was made.
Read more about the Kansas National Guard Museum expansion.

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Lottery Revenue Helps Restore Historic Coffeyville Midland Theater

The Midland Theater Foundation’s goal is to restore the historic Midland Theater in downtown Coffeyville to its original glory. The Foundation is a little closer to reaching that goal, now that it has been awarded nearly $15,000 in Incentives Without Walls (IWW) funding to use in the restoration of the theater’s original stained-glass windows.
Read more about the Midland Theater project in Coffeyville.

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Kansas Visitors Guide and Calendar of Events Now Available!

Visitors to Kansas, and Kansans themselves, will find two new state publications to be excellent resources for everything there is to see and do in the Sunflower State. The 2009 Kansas Visitors Guide and the 2009 Kansas Calendar of Events are published by the Travel & Tourism Division of the Kansas Department of Commerce. Both publications are available right now at travel centers statewide and online at TravelKS.com.
Read more about the Visitors Guide and Calendar of Events.

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Simply Kansas Says "Quality"

When you see a Simply Kansas logo displayed on a product, you will know it is a product that is grown, raised or made in Kansas. Being able to use the Simply Kansas logo on packaging and promotional materials is just one of the benefits the new trademark program offers participating Kansas producers. Participants also receive marketing and technical assistance, as well as educational opportunities, and are included in an online product directory at www.SimplyKansas.com.
Read more about the Simply Kansas program.

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Find a Kansas Ready-Made Adventure!

Anyone looking for a ready-made travel adventure can find a great one on the official State of Kansas Travel & Tourism website. Relive history. Hike the Flint Hills. See the "quirky" side of Kansas. It's all there - and Kansas Travel & Tourism has made it easier than ever to plan your trip. Just visit www.travelks.com and click on "Kansas Ready-Made Adventures." You'll find something that's just right for you. Each of the Kansas Ready-Made Adventures lays out a 3-4 day trip, complete with maps and suggested itineraries, each centered on a unique theme. Themes include the Flint Hills, Cowboys & Cattletowns, Family Fun, Discovering Dinosaurs & Sea Monsters, and Quirky Kansas.
Read more about Kansas Ready-Made Adventure.

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New Kansas Commercial Scores Big at Orange Bowl

A funny thing happened when the Kansas Jayhawks took the field for the 2008 Orange Bowl in Miami. For a brief moment, Miami looked a heck of a lot like Lawrence.The transformation was the result of the Kansas Department of Commerce’s newest promotional video, which aired on the Dolphin Stadium scoreboard and during TV broadcasts of the game in five U.S. markets. The 30-second video showcases Kansas’ quality of life and is the latest installment in the state’s ongoing Brand Image Campaign to market the state as a great place to live, work and play.
Read more about the Kansas Orange Bowl commercial.

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Lottery Helps Develop National Orphan Train Complex

Were you aware that Concorida, Kan., is the site of the National Orphan Train Complex? Between 1854 and 1929 an estimated 200,000 orphaned, abandoned, and homeless children were placed out in what is known today as the Orphan Train Era. Trains were used as a mode of transportation to move these children across 47 states and Canada for adoption.
Read more about the National Orphan Train Complex.

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Lottery Helps MAMTC Help Kansas Manufacturers

The Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center (MAMTC) has been helping small- to mid-size Kansas manufacturers since 1991. MAMTC has initiated over 4,900 projects since it began.
Find out more about MAMTC.

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Parsons Helps Create New Community with Lottery Dollars

Like many communities across the U.S., Parsons participated in urban renewal projects in the 1960s to help “save” its downtown. Instead, these efforts decimated the town’s architectural heritage, as many historic buildings were razed to create a pedestrian mall. Later, merchant-led efforts to revitalize the downtown experienced another setback when a tornado hit the district in 2000. Today, thanks in part to the Kansas Main Street program, Parsons has turned itself around.
Read the Parsons Main Street Story.

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Cheyenne Bottoms Receives a $15,000 Attraction Development Grant!

Cheyenne Bottoms will receive a new addition to its world-class attraction in the spring of 2007. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks has received a grant for building the Kansas Wetlands Interpretive Center at Cheyenne Bottoms, where people can learn about the history and the wildlife that inhabits the Cheyenne Bottoms. Kansas Wildlife & Parks has partnered with many other public and private entities to secure the remaining funding required to complete this project. Read the Cheyenne Bottoms Story.

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Kansas Official Visitors Guide

Thousands of people read the Kansas Official Visitors Guide every year to find out what there is to see and do in the great state of Kansas. This year is no different. Read the Kansas Official Visitors Guide Story.

 

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Ernestine's Barbecue Sauce

Angela Bates wants to keep her late Aunt Ernestine VanDuvall’s legacy alive. Bates is doing just that with her From the Land of Kansas product, Ernestine’s Barbecue Sauce. Read the Ernestine's Barbecue Story.

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Sweet Granada Receives a $15,000 Incentives Without Walls Grant!

Chocolate always seems to put people in a good mood. Have you ever heard of someone coming into a chocolate shop in a bad mood? If you haven’t, neither has Kim Redeker, co-owner of Sweet Granada in Emporia, which is one reason why she loves her job. Read the Sweet Granada Story.

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Walters’ Pumpkin Patch Receives a $24,665 Attraction Development Grant!

Becky Walters has a passion for pumpkins. She grows all types of pumpkins. She has white pumpkins, red-orange pumpkins, peach pumpkins, black pumpkins, gray-green pumpkins and gray-blue pumpkins. Read the Walter's Pumpkin Patch story.

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Historic Abilene Receives A $75,000 Attraction Development Grant!

Old Abilene Town, in Abilene, Kan., could become a travel destination for people around the world.

General Managers and Co-Founders of Historic Abilene, Inc. Garry Adam and Terry Tietjens said that one of their goals for Old Abilene Town is for it to become a travel destination. Read the Historic Abilene story.

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Creative Hairlines Receives a $15,000 Incentives Without Walls Grant.

Creative Hairlines aims to be a cutting edge salon and spa that is located in the heart of Kansas. The salon and spa offers various services from a basic haircut, massage therapy, facial treatments, body sugaring to hair coloring just to name a few. Read the Creative Hairlines story.

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Country Stampede Receives A $20,750 Attraction Development Grant!

This year, Country Stampede, celebrates its 10th Anniversary. That's right! The Country Stampede has been bringing the hottest country music stars to fans throughout the Midwest for 10 years and Wayne Rouse, president and general manager of Country Stampede, plans to keep it that way. Read the Country Stampede story.

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Cloud County Tea Company is one of many Kansas businesses that take part in the From the Land of Kansas Program.

Lorraine Palmer is co-owner of Cloud County Tea Co., located in Clyde, Kan. She and co-owner, Johnita Crawford, said they came up with the slogan of "no strings attached," because they literally sell tea bags with no strings attached. Read the Cloud County Tea Company story.

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Kansas Companies

Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC) Applied Research Matching Fund (ARMF) program distributions include:

• Pixius Communications, LLC, Wichita, is one of Kansas' largest Internet service providers, supporting both wireless broadband and dial-up services. They will use $100,000 from KTEC and $151,067 in matching funds to develop a system that will allow grain cooperatives to constantly monitor the temperature of grain bins in real time.
• Wichita-based Equential Technologies will use $100,000 from KTEC and $150,000 in matching funds to develop a mobile solution for the construction industry. Their system will allow access to construction companies' enterprise resource planning, ERP, systems via handheld devices. The goal is to eliminate the paper interfaces between the largely mobile construction workforce and the ERP program at the home office. Construction companies can then access real time data about material and equipment use, job estimates and project costs.
• VasoGenix Pharmaceuticals Inc., Lenexa, will use $75,000 from KTEC's ARMF and $125,000 in matching funds to continue the development of three drugs.

Source: Flint Hills Express, Sedan, June 26, 2002

Travel and Tourism

Tourism and travel awards through the Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing include:

• US Women's Open golf championship in Hutchinson received a $100,000 attraction development grant which was spent on out-of-state advertising for the tournament.

Source: Topeka Capital-Journal July 14, 2002

Job Training

Training grants awarded by the Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing include:

• Farmers Insurance Group of Companies will receive a $125,000 Kansas Industrial Training (KIT) grant. The company has opened a new Customer Help Point Center in Olathe. The KIT will assist 109 new employees to receive training. The company will spend an additional $62,118 on training expenses.
• Black & Veatch Corporation of Overland Park will receive a $58,110 Kansas Industrial Retraining (KIR) grant. The KIR will assist 648 current employees to receive training. The company will spend an additional $58,110 on training expenses.
• Dimensional Innovations, Inc. of Overland Park will receive a $47,000 KIR to assist in the training of 47 current employees. The company is spending and additional $313,047 on training expenses.
• DLR Group, Inc. of Overland Park will receive a $6,932 KIR to assist in training of five current employees. The company is spending an additional $6,933 on training expenses for its employees.
• Audiovisual Inc. (dba AVI Systems) of Lenexa will receive a $4,061 KIR to assist in the training of 12 current employees. The company is spending an additional $4,062 on training expenses.

Source: Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing News Release July 31, 2002

For more information regarding the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation visit their web site.

For more information about workforce training programs, visit the Kansas Department of Commerce website.

For information regarding Kansas Lottery money distribution visit our "Where The Money Goes" page.