Category Archives: Business

Business, Fort Scott

5K Fun Run and Walk hosted by Mercy Health Foundation

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Fort Scott – On Saturday, September 13th, Mercy Hospital partnered with local area agencies to remember our fallen soldiers who have given their lives for the ‘war on terror.’ Mercy hosted a 5K fun run and 1 mile walk for those interested in joining in the activities of the day. The race course started near the Fort and concluded on Main Street, where participants could hear the names of those being remembered being read aloud.

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A total of 71 participated in the Symbols of Sacrifice Memorial 5K Run and 1 Mile Walk on Saturday, Sept. 13. The event was co-hosted by Mercy Hospital and the Friends of the Fort. “We want to thank our corporate sponsors and Mercy volunteers for their support in making the event successful and safe for our participants,” said Reta Baker, President of Mercy Hospital Fort Scott.

Proceeds from the event will assist the Symbols of Sacrifice committee with the purchase of a track chair for a local veteran as well as a health care project funded by the Mercy Health Foundation Fort Scott.

Race sponsors included: All Hit 103.9, Cancer Center of Kansas, Cheney Witt Chapel, City of Fort Scott, Colbalt MedPlans, Fort Scott Community College, Mercy Clinic, Medicalodges of Fort Scott, Nitro Promo and Pepsi.

For more information on Mercy Foundation and keep up on the latest events, check out their Facebook by clicking here!

Media Contact:
Tina Rockhold
[email protected]
Phone: 620-223-8094
Cell: 620-224-8842
Fax: 620-223-5327

Business, Fort Scott

Fort Scott Farmer’s Market

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Fort Scott, KS Love fresh, home-grown vegetables? Have you come out to Fort Scott’s Farmer’s Market? The FS Famer’s Market ramped up for the first time this year in May, according to their Facebook page. Farmer’s Markets are becoming increasingly popular across the country, for many reasons. Locally grown products and supporting local farmers and business tops the list.

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The FS Farmer’s Market is farmer organized and run and designed for a place local famer’s can come together to create a marketplace for local foods. For the first year, the operation is going well. I would love to see more vendors filling up the whole Skubitz Plaza every Saturday morning and Tuesday evening.

Last Saturday, there were even free muffins being given away. Of course, I cannot promise they will be there every time the market is open, but I will say you missed out if you weren’t able to try them! The mission of the Farmer’s Market is to provide a safe friendly venue for the sale of the freshest local produce possible for the citizens of Fort Scott Kansas, with an emphasis on building a strong community.

I would say they are well on their way, but they can’t do it alone! I hope you are able to come out and support the hard working folks who are making this possible.  If you want the latest information on what is going on with the market, you can check out their Facebook page by clicking here. I’m sure they are always looking for more vendors.

Skubitz Plaza ( In Front Of The Historic Fort)
Saturday Mornings 8:00am to Noon
Tuesday Evenings 4:00 to 6:00 pm
From The First Weekend in May to The Last Weekend in October

Mail:
Fort Scott Farmers’ Market Association
P.O. Box 1011, Fort Scott KS, 66701
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (620) 857-4190 (ask for Mary Corpstein)

If you have a story you think we would be interested in covering, send us an email: [email protected]

Business, Fort Scott

Common Ground Coffee Co.

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I like coffee just as much as the next guy, maybe a little more, so it was a real treat to connect with Common Ground Coffee Company on Main Street. I was able to spend a little time with Dav Mohler, store manager, and here about all that is going on. If you haven’t been, it’s high time you stop in for a coffee or the Sandwich of the Day.

Common Ground Coffee Company has been on Main Street for a year and a half. The java joint was an idea brewed up by the leadership at Church of the Nazarene, Fort Scott. “It was designed as a way to give back to the community,” Mr Mohler said. “Not only do we have great coffee and a place for high school and college students to hang out, but we are creating jobs and skills students can take with them.” Currently, two former baristas who have moved away to further their education, continue to work in coffee shops.

Common Ground also hosts a number of different events. Just a few events coming up include a FSCC Video Game Tournament FINALS, September 12th @ 6pm. September 13th, Matt Harper will be performing live music starting at 7pm. Throughout the year, they will host a number of different performing artists and open mic. If you are a performer or know any musicians who are looking for an outlet, Dav would love to talk with you. (Call him at the number below).

The vibrant, warm atmosphere is a great place to work, study or socialize. Of course, there is free wi-fi and ample room for lunch meetings or classes. There is a calendar of events that offer various classes on occasions, such as knitting or learning essential oils.

Dav also said many volunteers really help keep the shop in great working order. From baking pies to making grocery runs, he is always on the lookout for folks who can come and spend some time working to keep the vision alive.

Hopefully, you will be downtown this weekend with all the events going on at the Fort. Make sure you stop in, grab a coffee and say hello to Dav and meet the other baristas. Keep up with currents events on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/fortjava OR you can text “commonground” to 41411 for specials, coupons and event announcements.

Common Ground Coffee Company
116 S Main Street, Fort Scott
620.223.2499
[email protected]

Hours:

Mon, Tues, Thurs 7a-9p
Wed 7 – 6:30
Fri 7-10
Sat 8-10

Think you have a story we maybe interested in? Let us know: [email protected]

Bourbon County, Business

New Weekly Newspaper

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Wednesday April 4th, Bourbon County will have a new newspaper. H & H Publishing is launching the Bourbon County Review to report on local news, sports and other “reader-driven” topics.  Jerrod Handly said that plans for the paper were started due to the overwhelming community desire for a locally owned newspaper in the county.

Mr. Handly said that he recently negotiated a deal that will let him keep the printing in Kansas. He said he is going to try to keep as much of his business within the state as possible.

The paper will be printed once each week and readers can subscribe to the print or online editions.

You can get more details from the press release. To subscribe to the paper check with H&H Publishing downtown or call them at 620-223-6200.

Business

Jukebox Barber Shop

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Jake “Jukebox” Johnson was born in Fort Scott, but raised in Iola. He was attending FSCC when he decided to stop by Boone’s Barber Shop to ask about careers as a barber. Encouraged by what he learned, Mr. Johnson enrolled in Wichita’s Old Town Barber College. After graduating 11 1/2 months later he took a job at Boone’s Barber Shop.

Now he is starting his own business with the Jukebox Barber Shop at 15 E. Wall Street where he offers $10 haircuts and $10 shaves. On a recent visit a record player in the corner was playing Johnny Cash and there were a number of guitars on display on the wall.

Mr. Johnson said the guitars are for sale. He also has strings, picks and other supplies that he said are hard to find in Fort Scott. He also offers guitar lessons. His goal with the guitar, lessons and supplies isn’t to make a large profit–he just wants to get more people interested in music.

The Jukebox Barber Shop is open from 8 to 7 Tuesday through Friday and 8 to 1 on Saturday. The telephone number for voice and text is 620-224-7798. The shops website is: http://jukeboxsbarbershop.com/

 

 

 

 

Business

Boeing Plans to Close Wichita Plant

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Boeing has announced plans to close their Wichita plant which will cut over 2,000 jobs. According to Senator Moran, less than a year ago Boeing had pledged to add 7,500 jobs to the Kansas location as part of the tanker contract they were awarded.

City officials from Wichita helped Boeing in their efforts to win the tanker contract based on the new jobs it would create, so they feel a bit betrayed that the aviation/defense company chose to not only move the tanker jobs to Oklahoma City and San Antonio, but also shutdown the rest of their Kansas operations.

Officials were also disappointed that Boeing didn’t talk to them about the changes before making the announcement so they weren’t able to offer any incentive for the corporation to stay.

 

Business, Fort Scott

Espressly For You

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Expressly For You is a coffee shop located 19th street and 69 across from Shepherd’s car dealership. It is owned by Judy and Phil Friedrick and opened for business about 5 1/2 years ago.

Jackie Webster looks out the drive through window.

Expressly For You serves breakfast and lunch with specialty drinks, soups, waffles, cookies, sandwiches and much more.

When I visited I spoke with Jackie Webster who was working the front. She said that most everything they serve is homemade. She said it can take a few minutes to make the drinks or cook a waffle. If customers are in a hurry they can call ahead so it will be ready when they arrive.

The inside of the store is nice decorated, clean and friendly. Having never been in the store, it was quite a bit bigger than I expected.

Expressly For You is open 7 – 2 on Monday through Friday for drive up and in store service. If you want to call ahead, their number is 620-223-1333.

Business, Fort Scott

Chamber Coffee – Ruddicks

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The Chamber Coffee on December 1st was held at Ruddicks at 117 S. National. Ruddicks was started in 1934. The current owner is Terry Davenport. He has been at Ruddicks for 40  years–first as an employee and now as owner.

In addition to furniture, Ruddicks also offers sound equipment and floor materials and installation. Mr. Davenport said that they can order nearly anything and encouraged people to ask if they need something that they don’t have in stock.

 

Business, Fort Scott

Larkin Witt Christmas Open House

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Larkin Witt Financial Group held an open house December 1st from 10 to 2 at their office at 207 E. 1st Street.  The event drew quite a number of people with over 60 individuals visiting before noon.

Bob Larkin has been involved in financial services for over 40 years. His first office was in Security State Bank in 1974. He grew up on a farm in Fulton, still farms today and was even the co-owner of a local John Deere dealership.

Jordan Witt graduated from PSU (finance) and KU (MBA) and is heavily involved in the Fort Scott community. In the last election he successfully ran for the U234 school board and has been serving there.

The office recently launched their new website at www.larkinwitt.com. The site has a number of financial calculators, articles, research and forms for requesting quotes on insurance and other services.

Business

Hairbow Center

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In 2008 Kristi Banwart started making hair bows for her daughter and even sold a few of them at craft shows. She soon found that there was a big need for quality ribbons and other supplies for her projects. Eventually she purchased a large supply of good ribbon, but it was much more than she could use on her own. After listing for sale online, she found there were a lot of people looking for the same thing and the ribbon sold quickly.

There are probably thousands of hairbow makers across the US, who have run into the same problems locating good ribbon making supplies. Most people just stop at this point and make do with what they can get, but Kristi’s entrepreneurial streak kicked in. She began researching global suppliers and looking for manufacturers who could make high quality ribbon.

Finally she sat down with her husband, Trent, and asked, “How much do we have on our home equity line of credit?” And that is how Hairbow Center was started.

With the line of credit, the Banwarts were able to order a shipping container full of high quality grosgrain ribbon, hair clips, and all the other supplies that you need to make hair bows.

As the first container crossed the ocean on its way to Fort Scott, Trent mentally calculated how long it would take to sell the inventory based the bulk products they were splitting up and selling. The answer was measured in decades.

When it arrived, the inventory filled their garage. With an online webstore to sell the product, sales exploded. People all over the world discovered that www.hairbowcenter.com in Fort Scott Kansas was the place to go for quality ribbon and quick shipments.

Trent didn’t have to worry about his garage being stuck with the original inventory, but it wasn’t long before the garage couldn’t fit all the product they needed to inventory.

Eventually they built a warehouse on the East side of Fort Scott. They now have 7 employees working out of the 6,500 square foot, high efficiency facility where they ship an average of 100 orders each day and maintain an inventory of over 3,000 items.

The Hairbow Center is now creating ribbon with custom printed designs and even a custom line of specialty ruffled ribbon. So some of the products shipped from their warehouse aren’t available anywhere else in the world except Fort Scott.

Rural Kansas isn’t usually the first place businesses think of to build a large online business, but Haribow Center is finding a lot of advantages in Bourbon County. Land, electricity, construction and labor are all relatively inexpensive. By selling on the Internet, the Banwarts are able to stay a part of the community they love while tapping into a global demand for their products.