One of Governor Laura Kelly’s stops this past week in SE Kansas was the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Kansas Department of Commerce’s new Independence office to promote rural Kansas economic development.

The office of Rural Prosperity focuses on efforts to bring down bureaucratic barriers to prosperity and facilitate rural Kansas economic development. One of its main goals is to make sure rural Kansas has a voice and seat at the table in legislation, from development to implementation. They plan to work with rural stakeholders on literally hundreds of key priorities that are always changing, adapting, and growing to assist rural Kansans to take on the particular issues facing their community.