Kansas Lt. Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland says while there is some uncertainty about the economy on a national level, there are positive signs in the Kansas economy. A significant development impacting economic development came last week when Moody’s upgraded the State’s credit rating.
Toland was in McPherson Friday to take part in the All Schools Day Parade, and he told Ad Astra News there is a lot of positive activity in that regard along the I-135 corridor in central Kansas, citing expansions at Viega and Johns Manville in McPherson, along with its strong industrial base as a whole
Even in his home area of southeast Kansas, parts of which have been plagued with high unemployment for years, there are signs of optimism. This includes a recent announcement of a company taking over a vacant industrial property in Fort Scott that will add some 40 new jobs in an area that consistently has seen some of the highest unemployment rates in Kansas.
Next month, a group of 20 site selectors who work with companies around the world will be making a trip to southeast Kansas, with stops planned in five counties.
Toland, who was one of four state-wide elected officials and several candidates to take part in the parade, said his family has a connection to the event which has taken place annually since 1913.
His grandfather Toland was born in 1907 and raised in McPherson County near Galva, went through 11th grade in McPherson before the family moved to Wichita. “I’ve always had a fond spot in my heart for McPherson, and having read letters where he talked about this parade and the Opera House and all of that, it’s special to be here for me.”
