By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
What is the purpose of Great Bend Economic Development’s Innovation Center on east 10th Street in Great Bend? Those answers are coming to fruition. Eco Devo Executive Director Jason Kuilan provided an update during Monday’s Great Bend City Council meeting.
“Our fire marshal’s walk through is planned for mid-September,” he said. “Our organization is planning on moving in September/October. We have our official first tenant with a signed lease, being the Chamber of Commerce, starting on Nov. 1, then our ABCC (Advancing Barton County Childcare) executive director will also be housed inside.”
The first events at the center have also been scheduled. KPERS, the retirement plan for state employees, will host a fall pre-retirement seminar on Wednesday, Oct. 28. The American Red Cross will also hold a blood drive at the facility on Friday, Oct. 30, to coincide with the last Final Fridays on Forest of the year. Network Kansas is planning a fourth-quarter training session, and the Center for Rural Innovation is planning an event for Saturday, Dec. 5.
Kuilan also noted the success of last week’s Final Fridays on Forest. Great Bend’s Jadynce Jean provided the music, and many residents lined up to try the Cousins Maine Lobster food truck. Kuilan said approximately 2,500 visitors attended the area on Forest at the car show at Jack Kilby Square. The goal now is to make the events better in 2026.
“Looking ahead to next year, we have several areas of focus that we’ll be looking to continue to improve to help support these events,” said Kuilan. “The first is shade. We really need a plan to create a permanent shade solution for the band. That will be vital for allowing us to continue to bring in top talent.”
The second priority is shade for attendees to reduce reliance on umbrellas that continue to break. A third priority is storage to reduce reliance on multiple travel trailers, which would reduce insurance costs, make setup and takedown easier, and lead to improved safety. It would also reduce the event’s reliance on volunteers with trucks to haul the trailers.