News and Media

Farm Bureau Financial Services - Mary Winter Agency Receives Small Business Award

Thursday, February 18, 2021

Mary Winters had been an Office Manager for five Farm Bureau Agents for several years when she was approached about becoming an Agent in the South Hutchinson Office. In 2004, she began her career as an Agent, and with a lot of hard work, dedication, discipline, and long hours, she soon realized she had been preparing for this role for many years. During her first year, she was awarded Rookie of the Year and Super All American. Since then, she has grown her book of business, achieving All American for 14 years, Super All American twice, six consecutive years a...

Nelson Heating & Air Conditioning Receives Small Business Award

Thursday, January 21, 2021

Rex and Marlene Nelson know the Heating and Air Conditioning business very well, having worked in Hutchinson since 1971. Marlene's parents opened Warrington Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning in the late 1950's and Rex joined the business as an employee in 1971. In the late 1970's, Rex and Marlene Nelson purchased the business from Marlene's parents and changed the name to Nelson Heating and Air Conditioning. Nelson Heating and Air Conditioning serves both commercial and residential clients, offering repair, installation, duct work, and Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) services. In addition, Nelson also provides 24-hour service, seven days a week. Whil...

New Initiative Encouraging Mask Wearing in Reno County Announced

Thursday, January 21, 2021

Through a partnership with the Kansas Leadership Center, a sub-committee formed from the Visit Hutch Tourism Coalition is excited to announce an initiative called ‘Caught in the Act Hutch’ (#GetCaughtHutch), with its mission to encourage mask wearing in Reno County. After announcing the statewide public health initiative “Kansas Beats the Virus” (#KSBeatsTheVirus) on November 18, the Kansas Leadership Center put forth the goal to activate and connect local leadership to combat the spread of COVID-19. The Leadership Reno County organization was one of the many statewide network of partners who fulfilled the role of ‘Facilitator’, which resulted in over 1,00...

Ashcraft Pharmacy Receives Small Business Award

Thursday, December 17, 2020

Good morning! Today I am honored to present the December Small Business Award to Ashcraft Pharmacy. Ashcraft Pharmacy was originally opened in 1980 by Steve and Jackie Ashcraft. They started the business with two employees and hired Tami to start working for them her junior year in high school. She continued to work for Ashcraft Pharmacy until she left for pharmacy school at KU. After graduating, she worked for another pharmacy until coming back to Ashcraft Pharmacy in 2003 as a staff pharmacist. In 2016, when Steve was ready to retire, Tami purchased the pharmacy from him. Ashcraft Pharmacy is a small...

Bluestem PACE to open new location with services for seniors in Hutchinson

Tuesday, December 01, 2020

Bluestem PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) of McPherson, will expand its services by opening an alternative care site in Hutchinson in spring of 2021. The PACE program, which partners with individuals aged 55 and better and their caregivers so seniors can remain safe and independent in their homes for as long as possible, has been serving seniors in McPherson, Harvey, Marion, Reno, Rice and Saline counties for four years. PACE participants are nursing home-eligible, however more than 95 percent are able to live in the community with the services and support they receive from PACE. “Establishing a location i...

Ken's Pizza Receives Small Business Award

Tuesday, December 01, 2020

The Hutchinson store opened in 1978, first as on operational location. After Marty Foster met the owner of the franchise through his fraternity in Tulsa, he purchased the franchise and brought on his brother, Paul Foster, to run the restaurant. Throughout the years they have increased their number of employees from 15 to 30, and while Ken’s was first known for its lunch buffet, they have now evolved to offer the buffet for lunch and dinner. Also, as young families have become more involved in activities, their carry out business has had a steady increase as well, and they continu...

Three-Year Contract Extension Announced For Kansas Beef Expo

Friday, October 23, 2020

The Kansas Beef Expo, Visit Hutch and the Kansas State Fairgrounds have announced a three-year contract extension that keeps the Winter Beef Expo in Hutchinson through 2022. Hutchinson and the Kansas State Fairgrounds have been home to the Kansas Beef Expo since they moved the show from Wichita in 1998. “The Kansas State Fairgrounds, City of Hutchinson and the surrounding area have been phenomenal to work with for the Kansas Beef Expo. Kansas has one of the best facilities to host a cattle event in all the Mid-West. We are excited about continuing our relationship with the Kansas State Fair an...

KMS, Inc. to Open Additional Location in Hutchinson

Thursday, October 22, 2020

KMS, Inc., a wholesale and distribution company headquartered in Wichita, announced today that it has purchased the former Eaton building, located at 3401 E. 4th Street, that was vacated in 2017. KMS Inc. was founded in 1976 and has over 40 years of experience in the wholesale and distribution of goods. “This large building presents a great opportunity for KMS to continue to grow and expand in our distribution business in the core of the country,” said Tom George, President & CEO of KMS, Inc. “We look forward to bringing jobs and this building back online.” KMS, Inc. currently operates four distributio...

Hutch Lawn Care Receives Small Business Award

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Greg Fast began when he was 29 years old by taking care of a neighbor's lawn. Shortly thereafter he had fifteen yards he was taking care of and then after three years, he purchased a business that had grown exponentially. His company didn’t have a name at first, but he purchased a small lawn care company's equipment and contracts and eventually Hutch Lawn Care was officially born. What makes Hutch Lawn Care special is the team always brings integrity to their work. They began on a solid foundation with old-school, high standards and the people of Hutchinson really understand and appreciat...

Grammy Award-winning artist Lauren Daigle to perform in drive-up concert at Kansas State Fairgrounds

Tuesday, September 01, 2020

HUTCHINSON — Two-time Grammy Award winner and multi-platinum recording artist Lauren Daigle will have a live drive-up concert event at the Kansas State Fairgrounds. Daigle’s concert is at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25 in the parking lot east of the Fairgrounds off Plum Street. It is one of two “Autumn Nights” performances. The other event takes place at Rogersville, Missouri. The drive-up concert series is being presented by a third-party promoter who is renting the lot. “Autumn Nights” will adhere to CDC recommendations and both local and state health and safety regulations and guidelines. The Fair is working with the Reno Count...

eNGines-LPG to Locate in Hutchinson

Thursday, November 08, 2018

eNGines-LPG, LLC announced today their plans to begin operations at the former bakery facility at 120 E 3rd Avenue in Hutchinson, Kansas. eNGines-LPG is a family-owned and operated industrial engine distributor and generator manufacturer. This facility will serve as their flagship headquarters where they will assemble, distribute, sell, and support eNGines-LPG’s product lines and be a showroom for innovation for current and future products. President of eNGines-LPG, Matt Roeser, explains, “Protecting the environment is our passion and culture – providing environmentally-safe engine solutions. eNGines-LPG is a concept to operate an engine which can run off both natural gas (NG) and propan...

2018 Wage and Benefit Reports Released

Friday, August 10, 2018

Hutchinson, KS – Greater Hutch, the economic development division of the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce, is pleased to release the Wage and Benefit Reports for 2018. The 2018 Reno County Wage Report is provided by the Kansas Department of Labor, 2018 Kansas Wage Survey. The report details annual estimated wage and occupational numbers for all Reno County and separated by occupational code. In May 2018, Greater Hutch conducted a benefit survey open to all businesses in Reno County. The 2018 Benefit Survey Report is an aggregate of those participating companies. Information collected covers all benefits that a company may offer an...

16th Annual National DII Christian Homeschool Basketball Championship Coming to Hutch

Thursday, February 04, 2021

The National DII Christian Homeschool Basketball Championship will kick off their 16th Championship in Hutchinson next month. The Championship will run March 4-6 at the Hutchinson Sports Arena and will be their largest in the organizations history. Currently they have nearly 80 teams registered from six states, which equates to approximately 3,000 attendees and family members. Over 100 basketball games will be played over the three days of competition in Hutchinson. In addition, there are free throw and 3-point shooting competitions held among the Junior High and High School divisions. Due to limited seating capacity and other COVID-19 safety protocols at th...

IdeaTek Wins CARES Funding to Fast-Track Rural Internet Access in Reno County and Surrounding Areas

Thursday, October 15, 2020

When Tamera Heitschmidt received a $600 cellular hotspot bill last spring, she was ready to pack her beloved rural Nickerson home and buy a place in town. The costs of running a website development business on a slow, spotty mobile hotspot connection were driving her to a breaking point. It was also the only tenable option available. Now, Heitschmidt and thousands of residents in more than 1,900 Reno County area homes can celebrate a breakthrough, thanks to rural internet pioneer IdeaTek and a Kansas Connectivity Emergency Response Grant (CERG). IdeaTek announced on Thursday that the company will complete a $2.5 millio...