This week, I finally delivered on a Christmas present to Makayla. I wasn’t five months late; rather the concert was just scheduled for May. What seemed like a long way away in December got here before we knew it. We both traveled to Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, Missouri, for an enjoyable evening together (picture here).
Legislative Coffee Wrap Up
Last Saturday, nearly thirty community members came to the Ottawa Police Department to take part in our Legislative Action’s wrap-up Legislative Coffee (pictures here). This was a busy day throughout town with OU’s graduation and city-wide garage sales taking place simultaneously. Our local legislators appreciated the fact that this group was still interested in this ongoing discussion about what is happening in and around our state’s government. If you are interested in watching this back, you have a few more weeks to do so here on our Facebook page (see that here). Facebook recently announced new policies regarding live-streamed videos. These are now removed from one’s page after 30 days, whereas before, they could be left indefinitely. We do have those downloaded internally and are thinking through how to best give access to interested parties moving forward. In the meantime, check out this most recent video on our page while it lasts!
On to the topics touched on at the Legislative Coffee. The first question asked was which piece of legislation they personally worked on that made it through, and something that didn’t ultimately get passed.
- Caryn shared that removing the one-and-a-half mills that the state collects was a big win that she played a part in. She mentioned she was disappointed that the maximum 3% increase on property taxes (regardless of valuation) didn’t make it through.
- Rebecca shared that her efforts towards getting the judicial selection on the ballot and in the hands of the voters was her highlight. She also echoed the fact that further property tax relief not being accomplished was a letdown.
- Carrie shared that her sponsored bill protecting whistleblowers was accepted unanimously. She was hopeful that a piece of legislation protecting property owners against predatory practices from wind/solar companies would have made it further than it did, as it did not make it across the finish line.
The hour also included discussions of the Department of Education, healthcare, Promise Scholarship, Health Departments, Star Bonds, and more. Our Committee appreciates our legislators participating in these events and giving their honest feedback about what they are seeing, hearing, and doing during the legislative session. If you would like to get hold of your reps/senators during the off-season, use the KS Legislature website to find their contact information (view that here).
KC Region Gears Up for World Cup 2026
This week, Franklin, Linn, Anderson, and Miami County Economic Development agencies scheduled a time for KC2026 to come and share updates about World Cup 2026 as it pertains to Kansas City being a host city. There are 16 host cities among the three host countries (USA, Canada, Mexico). KC is the smallest city in population, but what’s unique about our location is the fact that we sit centrally located right in the heart of North America (map here). As of today, there are only 398 days until the first game starts in the tournament, and 403 days from KC’s first match at Arrowhead Stadium (where all eight of the games in Kansas City will be hosted). One of the many things I learned from this meeting was that prior to that first game, Arrowhead will be completely stripped of all its branding and outside advertising. FIFA will come in and dress the location up with all of its own branding and commercial partner signage. They are also having to make some changes to seating on the lowest levels to accommodate the field sizing needs. These are all small prices to pay to host matches of this magnitude on the world stage.
This tournament is the most-watched sporting event on the planet, with 3.5 billion onlookers in over 200 countries. The last and only time this was hosted in the United States was in 1994, where 3,587,538 tickets were sold over the course of the tournament. Along with the economic impact driven by locals, there will be an immense return on those visiting our area over the summer of 2026. It is estimated that there will be 650,000 visitors within a two-hour radius of KC alone. These visitors are expected to be coming from around the world, with 54% being international, and only 41% of them are likely to be fluent in English. This opportunity to host such a diverse group of visitors is equally exciting as it is daunting. KC2026 shared that these international visitors will stay an average of 10 days in one city, likely visiting multiple major metropolises throughout the country during their vacation. All of this activity from visitors and locals alike will result in 653 million dollars in direct impact on our region (that 2-hour radius of KC mentioned earlier). Although these sound like crazy numbers, they shared that these are conservative estimates! Though we are an hour away from the metro, this could be huge for our community, as we can expect an uptick in activity during this period of time. And what a chance it is for our entire nation, as it celebrates its 250th anniversary.
As stated earlier, KC will host eight games, including a round of 32 and a quarterfinal match (full match list and dates here). There are 26 days separating the first match and the last match played in KC. In those nearly four weeks, it’s safe to say there will be a significant amount of traffic throughout our region. Check out this “Sonic ID” for Kansas City, featuring Tech N9ne (view that here). Along with coordinating matches, KC2026 will also be hosting watch parties. These will be taking place outdoors at the WW1 Memorial, with a capacity of 25,000 participants at one time. There is also the potential for up to three teams to have KC as their “home base” for the tournament. This includes Sporting Kansas City and KC Current training facilities, and the third possible location being KU’s facility just north of us in Lawrence. These home bases are bound to attract their fan bases, regardless of whether they play a game at Arrowhead or not. Knowing who these might be will allow our community to have a better idea of which nations we might see more often during the tournament.
These items and so many more were spoken about at this meeting. A cohort here in Ottawa will be meeting again soon to further coordinate programming, education for businesses, and other logistical opportunities revolving around the summer of 2026. This will hopefully lead to a community-wide “town hall” in the near future that will provide further details on what to expect, how to take hold of this opportunity (while avoiding copyright infringement), and how we can make our community an excellent place for guests to visit during this tournament. If you have an interest in being a community partner, let me know and I’ll keep you in the loop. Otherwise, be on the lookout for more information about World Cup 2026 soon!
Legacy Square Welcomes Farmers Market
This Wednesday was consistently rainy from beginning to end, but that didn’t dampen the Ottawa Kansas Farmers Market (OKFM) from having a good time in downtown Ottawa at Legacy Square (picture here). This was the group’s first official market held at this location, and they will continue to share time between their two locations throughout this season. On Saturday mornings, you can find them at Tractor Supply’s parking lot on the south side of Ottawa. Every Wednesday from 4-6pm, find them downtown.
Hundreds of shoppers came out this week, picking up breads, jellies, veggies, flowers, and more. Onward Ottawa, the community organization that fundraised for Legacy Square, was handing out $1 Chamber Currencies that could be used at the vendors. This small gift was a token of gratitude for the vendors who are taking a step out of their comfort zone and moving the market once a week this year. We hope they enjoyed their time under the large pavilion as much as we do for our regular community events (like the upcoming Treasures in Ottawa shopping day on May 17th). Big shout out to the Ottawa Police Department, who are always by our side helping make sure cars are moved when events are being hosted at Legacy Square. And thank you to all those regular Legacy Square parkers who made it a point to scoot outside the pavilion with their vehicle, even on a rainy day! Hopefully as the weeks roll on, everyone will get into the habit that Wednesdays are market days, making sure to park elsewhere, all the while stopping by after work for some goodies.
Five-Time Champs
This year, there have been loads of memorable moments throughout the different teams on Ottawa University’s campus. Women’s Flag Football has found success in abundance over the last half a decade. As of this week, they clinched their fifth consecutive NAIA National Flag Football Championship (pictures here)! Their win in Riverside, Missouri, versus the Florida school, Keiser University, solidified their name in the history books. This program has brought significant attention to OU and our community as a whole. Congrats to these ladies and go BRAVES!
OakStar Turns Two at 226 W 23rd Street
This morning, we celebrated with OakStar Bank, whose building turns 2 years old today (pictures from Coffee here). An anniversary that has come by so fast! It’s hard even to remember what the plot at 226 W 23rd Street looked like prior to the construction of the bank; I had to look it up (glimpse back in time here). This was such a dilapidated area prior to OakStar’s investment in our community. I have little doubt that this section of town will continue to flourish with commercial activity. Who wouldn’t want to be neighbors to a shiny new bank?
We’re blessed to have OakStar in our community, and its spectacular team (picture here of branch staff). Margie shared that in 2005, OakStar was born, having only one location. Twenty years later, there are now 25 banks in three states. Over the last year, there have been a couple of notable retirements at our Ottawa location. Nannette Maxwell and Paula Mages have entered the fun part of life after retiring in November and January, respectively. Margie Hinderliter and Steve Layton are joined by Dominee, Bryce, Amy, Jen, Stephanie, and Will. They all work to fulfill their customers’ banking needs, but also to “SERVE” our community. The word SERVE represents this group’s core values, which stand for stewardship, empathy, responsiveness, vision, and empowerment. These values are the mindset and heart that their team brings to our local office. I look forward to many more anniversary celebrations in the future!
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Next week we look forward to a handful of Chamber events taking place. On Wednesday, the KU SBDC will be in Ottawa, partnering with us on another Small Business Seminar (more info here). This free educational program gives you access to tips directly from the experts. This quarter’s topic is “Clicks & Community: E-Commerce Insights for Growth”. Friday morning, we have a Chamber Coffee for Exclusive Salon and Day Spa. Saturday, Legacy Square will be booming with over 70 vendors set up throughout the space, making for a great shopping day at Treasures in Ottawa―and throughout the whole community. Should be a great week! See you soon,
Ryland Miller
President/CEO
Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce
ryland@ottawakansas.org
785-242-1000
