The Kansas Main Street quarterly workshop on September 7-8 in Salina is designed to help merchants maintain a competitive advantage against “big box” stores, Amazon, and shopping malls by providing cost effective tips to survive in the ever-changing retail environment.

The training will be presented by Mark Miller, Small Business Consultant with Main Street Arkansas. Mark has been with Main Street Arkansas since January 1996.  He is Certified Business Retention and Expansion Consultant through the University of Minnesota.

Kansas Main Street Design Specialist Robert McLaughin will talk about design and the built environment and how it impacts business development in your downtown.

All training sessions will take place in a conference room at the Homeward Suites Hotel in downtown Salina.

While the hotel deadline has passed, you can still register for the event by clicking here.

Zach McHatton, Newton Community Development Director, and Chris Tuohey, general manager of Sand Creek Station Golf and regional GM for KemperSports, gave a presentation to the Newton Area Chamber of Commerce members on August 18 at the Meridian Center about projects taking place, as businesses, developers and organizations Choose Newton.

The U.S. Golf Association selected Sand Creek Station to host the 2024 U.S. Adaptive Open Championship in July of 2024.

McHatton debuted this video of developments taking place around Newton, including construction of the new Newton Public Library.

You can help the Choose Newton Main Street Beautification Campaign reach its first goals with donations of as little as $25. The campaign hopes to raise $100,000 by the end of 2024 for the purchase of replacement Christmas decorations and a public address/sound system for Main Street. Click here for more information about the campaign and how to donate.

The first phase of the ongoing campaign is 16 percent of the way to its goal thanks to donors highlighted in this video.

The Newton Area Trails & Parks map has arrived and is available at Newton City Hall as well as other locations throughout the city. Follow us on Facebook or watch for more details in other media to find out where you can pick one up.

For those who want to have maps available for customers or in bulk, contact Toby Carrig at tcarrig@newtonkansas.com or by phone at 316-284-3642.

The map also is available as a PDF through the Choose Newton website. The printed product folds down to credit card size with a hard cover, perfect to take along on a bike ride.

Partial funding for the project came from a Kansas Tourism marketing grant.