Opinion: Unheralded heroes bring area economic boom

After a long struggle, Hutchinson is on a business winning streak.

Just this past week, Evergy announced plans to build a billion-dollar plant on a huge area south of Highway 50 recently annexed by the city of Hutchinson.

A new Hilton Garden Inn along Waldron off of 17th St, scheduled to open before the next NJCAA Men’s National Championship tournament in March will bring an Old Chicago and possibly a Popeye’s restaurant.

APAC Shears wants to expand with a new $5 million facility on the corner of Avenue G and Airport Rd.

Trinity Catholic Junior and Senior High School is building a $2.3 million addition on the corner of 17th and Lorraine.

The 1861 Club building on the Kansas State Fairgrounds opened in August. The fairground’s Bison Arena is undergoing renovation.

The Landmark Building’s renovation has begun, bringing more living and office space to the downtown area.

New housing projects will start near Plum Creek Elementary, on the grounds of the former St. Elizabeth’s Hospital at 20th and Monroe and near 11th and Hendricks, reversing a city- and county-wide housing deficit.

Eleven new daycare providers have opened, easing a critical shortage.

The Reno County Chamber of Commerce, City of Hutchinson, Reno County, and countless private citizens and businesses, along with non-profits, have worked quietly for years to bring business to Hutchinson, and those unheralded efforts are yielding fruit.

Businesses that invest in the community without the express aim of sending profits away are a welcome sight, as locally earned profits that stay within the area generate more economic activity. After a long period of economic stagnation and contraction in several key sectors, Reno County looks to turn a corner.