TOPEKA - Secretary of Commerce David Toland announced Monday that four town halls have been scheduled to engage the public in the development of the Kansas Framework for Growth, the economic development planning process kicked off earlier this year by Governor Laura Kelly.&nbsp;“We’ve been very deliberate in engaging businesses and community partners in this process, and we’ve had great participation so far,” Secretary Toland said. “Now, we’re really looking forward to hearing more from the public about what they believe are our biggest opportunities and how we might overcome some of the challenges we’re facing.”&nbsp;The town halls are open to the public and scheduled at locations across the state in the evenings to encourage participation.&nbsp;&nbsp;Dec. 105-6:30 p.m.BriefSpace, Grow Hays Building219 W. 10th St., Hays, Kan.&nbsp;Dec. 115:15-6:45 p.m.Kansas City Kansas Chamber of Commerce727 Minnesota, Ave., Kansas City, Kan.&nbsp;Dec. 125-6:30 p.m.Equity Bank1700 N. Lincoln Ave., Liberal, Kan.&nbsp;Dec. 126-7:30 p.m.Citizens Hall, McPherson Community Building122 E. Marlin Street, McPherson, Kan.&nbsp;Each of the town halls will give the public the opportunity to view data around key indicators of economic performance in Kansas, including demographics, education, workforce participation, incentive efficiency and industry mix.&nbsp;“The development of a strategy to accelerate economic growth is a critical exercise to ensure that Kansas can compete in a global economy. Just as critical is ensuring all Kansans are represented and can participate in the development of the strategy,” Secretary Toland said. “We launched an&nbsp;<a href="https://gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.surveymonkey.com%2Fr%2FMLVNQHL&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C0c90fd6bf03246a03dae08d77735cd6e%7Cdcae8101c92d480cbc43c6761ccccc5a%7C0%7C0%7C637108945273035099&amp;sdata=kQIHThYLYJEE25UdeboRPdK%2BMmsJmWQ8c19oZk3Jy8A%3D&amp;reserved=0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">online survey</a>&nbsp;to get the public’s input when we kicked off the process in October, and these town halls are another important step to make sure all Kansans have the opportunity to engage in the process.”&nbsp;Kansas Framework for Growth is the first economic development strategy for the state of Kansas since the Redwood-Krider report was issued in 1986. For more information, visit&nbsp;<a href="https://gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kansasgrowth.com&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C0c90fd6bf03246a03dae08d77735cd6e%7Cdcae8101c92d480cbc43c6761ccccc5a%7C0%7C0%7C637108945273045089&amp;sdata=Pnj7QOGmWzr7O8esGqj4BoMVF5CTSDm%2BkTcXVO6nBhU%3D&amp;reserved=0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">www.kansasgrowth.com</a>.&nbsp;

Town halls to engage public on Kansas economic development