2024 in Review: Building a culture for Newton to thrive

By outgoing Mayor Rod Kreie

It’s been my privilege to serve as mayor of Newton in 2024, a year when our community has made tremendous progress toward our goals.

Here is a just a sample of the great things happening this year:

• GAF Materials broke ground on its $350 million development in the Logistics Park, the largest capital investment in the Wichita region in the past five years. This development and all the additional development it will generate are going to be historic for our community.
• Trailer manufacturer Hillsboro Industries also began construction on its planned 56,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on East First Street between Spencer and Hillside, with a planned $11 million investment and approximately 50 full-time jobs.
• We’ve also seen exciting growth among our existing local companies, including CD Custom Enterprises, Prairy Market & Deli, ComfortCare Homes, Central Kansas Community Foundation, Hope Women’s Center, Grace Hill Winery and more.
• We’ve welcomed many new local businesses this year, including On Fire Bar & Grill, The Glassman, Gambino’s Pizza, Angel Wings Learning Center, Catrina’s Mexican Restaurant, Abarrotes Min Mexican Market, Burger Garage and others.
• Housing development continues to boom, with 600-800 new housing units built or in the planning stages. In 2024 alone, we’ve had 109 new housing starts, a mix of 13 single-family homes, 58 duplex units, 27 triplexes, and 11 apartments. Our strategic work to alleviate our housing shortage is paying dividends in bringing in high quality new builds that will serve existing and new residents.
• In April, we opened our new state-of-the-art Newton Public Library. The new library has far exceeded expectations as a modern and attractive community space, and usage has increased tremendously, both in terms of community events and checkouts. I’ve been proud to show off the library to our guests to Newton in the past year – not many cities can boast a library as impressive as ours.
• Although not a City project, the All Together Now campaign inspired the whole community with its inclusive playground project at Slate Creek Elementary. I was privileged to participate in the fundraising as a member of the Asbury Park Foundation and Newton Rotary Club. The story of that playground will become part of the history of our town – the kids of Slate Creek saw that it wasn’t fair that all their friends couldn’t play together, and they went to work to solve the problem. If you haven’t yet been out to check out the new playground, you should. The City is so proud of the volunteers, donors, school staff and kids who made this amazing project happen.
• We’ve seen another group of community volunteers come forward with plans to improve Themian Park with a public/private partnership. The Railer Foundation is working with the City, the school district and the Rec Commission to create a plan and a fundraising campaign that will transform Newton’s oldest park into an incredible space for the neighborhood, Santa Fe school, and the whole community. I encourage you to donate or find out how you can volunteer to help support the cause.
• In July, Newton and Sand Creek Station Golf Course hosted the USGA’s 3rd U.S. Adaptive Open. This championship for disabled players is a national event on the level of the U.S. Open, and it was a tremendous opportunity to show off our first-class golf course and our whole community on a national scale. In fact, the event brought more than 2,000 visitors to Newton, and news media and social media coverage garnered more than 1.02 billion views. The personal stories of the players were incredible, and it was an honor for Newton to be part of their journeys. We’re hopeful the USGA will consider us to host again in the future.
• Our Main Street program continues to grow and develop. This year we introduced the façade improvements grant program and gave out 12 grants to help improve downtown buildings. We conducted a public survey and hosted a visit from Main Street America and Kansas Main Street to help our local leaders set goals for downtown. And we continue to expand engagement with business owners, building owners and other community volunteers to make our downtown more vibrant, attractive and successful.
• We also made progress this year on infrastructure projects, including repaving of Main Street, replacement of the turf at Fischer Field, and completion of the first of two new water storage tanks on West First Street and demolition of the deteriorating 1939 tank. We also received word that Newton was awarded $1.2 million in funding from KDOT for the next phase of K-15 construction in 2026-27.
• KDOT also announced this year that a new interchange at U.S. 50 and Meridian is being considered and hosted a public meeting to gather input. KDOT also started construction on the I-135 and 36th Street interchange, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025.
• Early this year, we welcomed new City Manager Daniela Rivas, who hit the ground running, getting out in the community, building relationships, and helping set goals that will strengthen our existing growth pathway and move our City forward.
• There are few things a community can do that are more important than choosing its leaders. To that end, Ready to Run, a newly formed nonpartisan organization, has designed a course to help prepare those interested in elected or appointed office at the local level. We will kick off the inaugural class next month, and I’m excited to see this program grow and help foster our pool of future leaders.

As you can see, Newton is on a very strong path. In the past several years, City Commissioners and staff have put intentional focus on long-term planning, and we’ve been blessed to build a culture that allows the community to thrive. Our City Commission adopted a new strategic plan this year, and I’m excited for all we can achieve together.

We are blessed to work together as a team that deeply cares about our community. I’ve never worked with a group that works harder or cares more about the people they represent. It’s not easy, but we love what we do. Thank you for allowing us to serve.

Newton is headed in the right direction. I would invite my fellow Newtonians to join us in helping build up our community. Let’s all focus on the good things happening and how each of us can make a positive difference. Consider how you can volunteer your talents for a local nonprofit, service club, or advisory board; be a positive voice for Newton on social media; and don’t forget to make your voice heard in our local elections.

Thank you again for the opportunity to represent you this past year as your mayor and in the future as a City Commissioner. I wish you all a very happy holiday season.

Rod Kreie has served as a Newton City Commissioner since 2018. He can be reached at rkreie@newtonkansas.com.