New Kansas program to offer help, resources to rural towns

An improved Kansas Main Street Affiliate Community Program has been reintroduced in Kansas, and aims to help rural communities in the state.

By providing increased resources and technical assistance offered through the Kansas Main Street, the membership-based program wants to help small towns recruit and retain businesses that add to their downtowns.

Originally launched in 1985, the Kansas Main Street program helped dozens of mostly rural communities work toward ensuring their downtowns remain viable, according to a news release from the Kansas Office of the Governor. The program was ended by the Brownback administration in 2012 but brought back by Kansas’ current governor, Laura Kelly, in late 2019.

“My administration brought back the Main Street program because it is a proven tool to help Kansas’ rural communities recruit and retain businesses, and restore and preserve the unique history of their downtown corridors,” Kelly said in the release. “This Affiliate Community Program will bring more resources for downtown development to rural Kansas communities to maintain the health and viability of their downtowns.”

There are currently 25 designated Kansas Main Street communities in the program, the release said.