By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Rush County is among the latest beneficiaries of a Historical Economic Asset Lifeline (HEAL) grant. On Monday, Kansas Commerce Secretary David Toland announced 17 recipients for spring grants for projects totaling nearly $918,000 in matching grant funds. Rush County Economic Development Director Brad Penka explained how the $17,462 grant will be used.
"It's to restore some type of historic structure to get it back and make it economically viable," he said. "This one is going to be used for, it was an old service station in Otis. It's a 20s-era building, and it's being restored to become an office for a business there in Otis."
Other spring recipients around the state will renovate restaurants, a brewery, childcare centers, a sewing shop, and a coffee shop and bakery. A total of 30 HEAL grant applications were received for the spring round. The grants are part of a partnership between the Patterson Family Foundation and the Kansas Department of Commerce.