Kathy and Tracy Dancer, owners of Cohn’s Cafe, 110 S. Main, hosted the quarterly Fort Scott Downtown Meet and Greet on July 9.
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce sponsors quarterly events to learn/tell of happenings in the downtown historic district.
Lindsay Madison, the Chamber’s executive director, told of the following upcoming events:
- July 13 sidewalk sales-11 stores participating with a Business Bingo, Riggs Chiropractic offering free screenings, and the Bourbon County Democrats with a booth.
- August 2-4 is the annual sales tax holiday weekend in Fort Scott.
- September 12 is the Fall Fest from 5-8 p.m.
- October 26 is the annual Halloween Parade at 11 a.m.
- November 7-9 the Holiday Open House with the main kickoff on Thursday from 5-8 p.m.
- December 5 is the Christmas Parade at 6 p.m. with the theme “A Storybook Christmas.”
- December 6-7 stores are open late for Christmas on the Bricks.
- New seasonal downtown light pole banners are being ordered featuring local veterans. The banners will be posted on Memorial Day, July 4th, and Veterans Day at a cost of $300 and the family gets the banner at the end. 30 banners have sold, so far.
- There are a few ad spaces available on the Downtown Directory Sign on North Main Street, $100 per year.
- The Chamber Golf Classic is this Friday, July 12. Raffle items and gift cards are welcome for this fundraiser for the Chamber.
- There will be an Election Candidate Forum on Thursday, July 25 at the Fort Scott High School Auditorium with a meet and greet at 5:30 p.m. and the forum at 6 p.m.
- Several business grants are available: e-community with 6% for 10 yrs., $5,000 to $50,000; Grow KS: maximum $100,000+, 4% for 5 yrs., 6% for 10 years; USDA REAP grant for energy efficiency and solar projects (the last round of grants deadline is Sept. 30); and HEAL Grants for downtown businesses.
Superintendent of Fort Scot National Historic Site Jill Jarworski said the fire suppression project is 50 % complete, the Blair House will soon have new siding, the infantry barracks will be renovated, three HVAC units will be replaced, there will soon be more accessibility at the Fort, Candlelight Tours are in the planning stages, the Naturalization Ceremony will be Sept. 20 this year, there is an app “Sunflower Summer” for 3-4th grade students is free and features Kansas attractions.
Downtown Trolley Tours has a new driver, Steve Allmond, with Friday tours on the hour starting at 11 a.m. and ending at 2 p.m.; Saturday hours start at 10 a.m. on the hours. There is a wheelchair lift available and at least 6 persons minimum.
Merita Meech announced her inaugural Jim Meech Agri-Medical Foundation event at Sharkey’s Third Floor on July 27, from 6-8 p.m. She has a web link for the event to help farmers/ranchers in the first 30 days following a crisis.
There will be a craft event at the River Room Event Center at Oak and National Avenue on July 27 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Fort Scott City representative Mary Wyatt said a new name for the golf course will be announced on August 15, a grant has been applied for Memorial Hall, KDOT recently awarded the city money for East National Avenue and the Third Street Park project is nearing completion.
Regional Economic Development Inc. Director Rob Harrington told of the Freeman Hospital opening in April 2025 at the former Mercy site. The health system is going through the Federal licensing process. At the August 2 Chamber Coffee, Kansas Renewal Institute and REDI will give tours of the newly renovated emergency department facility. REDI is having its annual gala on August 3 at the Liberty Theater with a live and online auction to provide scholarships for local high school students. He said in 2025, there will be many construction workers (solar energy) in the county that will need housing, and possibly be shopping and attending events in the county. He encourages welcome packets for them and “they will bring in a huge amount of sales tax.”
Open Mortgage, at Wall and National, has merged and will be getting a new name.
A new business, House of Cottonwood Candles,, there is opening in the former Common Ground building at 116 S. Main.
Jerry Witt, Riverfront Authority Chair, said that Riverfront Park will soon have some new features.
Two Fort Scott Community College Basketball Coaches attending said they are recruiting for the new season.
Konantz Cheney has a new website and can be followed on Facebook.
Madison said she and staff continually get compliments about the downtown area and thanked the downtown businesses.
In June 2025, there will be the all-school Fort Scott High School Reunion events.
The Bourbon County Fair starts next week and Meech encouraged all to walk through the fair and appreciate the effort the FFA and 4H youth have done throughout the year.
