Susan Thacker

The Great Bend City Council will be asked to play a role in projects that include a hotel with a nationally known brand and a restaurant on 10th Street, as well as major improvements to the Great Bend Expo Complex. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the City of Great Bend, Great Bend Economic Development and Great Bend Lodging LLC is on the agenda for the next Great Bend City Council meeting, at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7, at City Hall.

Sr. Jane Belanger from Heartland Farm pours samples of homemade beers during the first session of a Beer Brewing 101 workshop on Oct. 3. Attendees brewed a batch of beer and will return on Oct. 17 to bottle it. - photo by Susan Thacker

A crew from Mark’s Custom Signs of Great Bend installs a new sign in front of the former Highland Hotel property at 3017 10th St. on Sept. 26, 2022, after Great Bend Economic Development purchased the site with plans to develop it. The endeavor was dubbed “Project Change.” Now GBED has found a developer and hopes that with incentives from the City of Great Bend an 80-bed hotel and one or more restaurants can be built on the property.

Survey results reported by Forbes Advisor place Kansas in the Top 10 list of worst drivers in the United States. The Sunflower State scored 86.63 out of 100, ranking eighth on the list. Forbes Advisor notes:

The Great Bend City Council on Monday approved 2025 health insurance rates, which will increase 9%, and approved Blue Cross Blue Shield as the city’s third-party administrator.

The Great Bend City Council on Monday authorized the purchase of cameras for the Great Bend Police Department for the next five years. These include vehicle and body cameras purchased from Digital Ally, the low bidder, for $187,846.

There were a lot of zeros on this year’s Annual Security and Fire Safety Report at Barton Community College, and that’s a good thing, Title IX Coordinator Cheryl Brown reported Tuesday at a BCC Board of Trustees study session.

Barton Community College’s Nursing programs are celebrating a 100% pass rate on national boards so far – with one student who has not yet taken the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for Registered Nurses, according to Dr. Kathy Kottas, executive director of Nursing and Healthcare Education at the college.

Families take advantage of free costumes Saturday, Oct. 12, at the Great Bend Kiwani Club’s annual costume exchange. At the end of each Halloween season, the club collects gently used costumes and props and stockpiles some new items to give away the following October. Children can wear their costumes at the annual Kiwanis Halloween Parade, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, in Jack Kilby Square. Costumed children will make their way up and down Main Street and around the courthouse square collecting candy from area businesses and organizations.

Great Bend Public Schools won’t have regular after-school academic and enrichment programs this year, Director of Teaching and Learning JoAnn Blevins told the school board on Monday. Lack of staffing was the major obstacle.