kboish wrote:Johnson County is one of the only areas of growth for the state of KS. The state will do anything to keep JoCo growing.
At this point its practically the only. Lawrence and Manhattan have posted pretty nasty job loses since last fall, and everything Lawrence tries to subsidize either closes or never shows up like the Menards plant they were supposed to get. There was no chance of the state keeping Proctor and Gamble. The plant was old and they wanted a new one in a state with cheaper labor, a tax break, and less harsh environmental regulations. Topeka has also reported a population loss and it's not like Hays, Hutchinson, Salina, Pittsburg, and Emporia are doing much for the states economy. Hays at this point is pretty much solely relying on the college and hospital. The state has thrown bones to Wichita on several occasions just to have incidents like the Boeing disaster (take the incentives and run) happen every time. Wichita employers seem to be reluctant to work with the universities there and constantly complain that they can't attract a workforce when in reality there is no reason they shouldn't be able to train one with three colleges in the city, a tech school, and three community colleges and two private colleges within an hour of the city. With WSU. WTI, Newman, Friends, Hutchinson Community College, Butler Community College, Southwestern College, Cowley County Community College, Bethel University, Sterling College, Bethany, McPherson College, McPherson Christian College, KSU Salina, Kansas Wesleyan, and Heston College all right there, they have no room to complain. I've heard the same about KC and they're in the same situation with easy access to KU, MU, UMKC, Missouri Western, Washburn...