The Great Divide

The Great Divide
Determining economic and political
interdependence of rural and urban
communities within Kansas

Rural communities across Kansas have expressed increasing concerns about the “brain drain”, decline of retail establishments, and the potential loss of political representation to urban areas. Although urban cities are aware of these trends, few understand the economic implications on urban businesses, state government revenue, or the overall health of the state economy. This event will explore the reality of the trends, identify the economic linkages, and discuss how these changes might impact public policy and business demand.

Wednesday, May 22, 2019
8:30 - 10:30 a.m.

Eugene M. Hughes Metropolitan Complex - Room 132
5015 East 29^th Street North, Wichita KS 67220
(29^th Street N & Oliver)

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SPEAKERS - Wednesday, May 22, 2019 | The Great Divide

WELCOME REMARKS

EVENT HOST

SPEAKER
Benchmarking
Urban/Rural Trends

SPEAKER
Changing
Political Environment

SPEAKER
Changing
Political Environment

SPEAKER
Identifying
Economic Linkages

SPEAKER
Exploring Interconnections
of Communities

CLOSING REMARKS

TIME	TENTATIVE AGENDA ITEM - Wednesday, May 22, 2019
*8:00*	*REGISTRATION / NETWORKING*
*8:30*	*WELCOMING REMARKS* Jay Smith, President & COO INTRUST Bank
*8:35*	*BENCHMARKING URBAN/RURAL TRENDS* Evan Habluetzel, Research Assistant at the Center for Economic Development and Business Research Wichita State University This presentation will cover urban and rural demographic and economic trends. Benchmarking these trends will provide a clear picture of the state of rural communities in Kansas and set the background for the other presentations at the event.
*8:50*	CHANGING POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT - REDISTRICTING Gentry Thiesen Wichita State University The next round of legislative redistricting promises to increase the representation of suburban areas in both the Kansas Legislature and Kansas's U.S. House delegation, with rural areas losing representation. Census projections predict a difficult challenge for state government in fulfilling its constitutional obligation to adjust district lines to match population growth and decline. With divided partisan control in Topeka a near-certainty during the Laura Kelly administration, Kansas is set for another chaotic round of redistricting debate in 2021.
*9:00*	CHANGING POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT - ROLE OF RURAL KANSAS Neal Allen, Chair and Professor of Political Science Wichita State University Kansas is a state with a mostly urban and suburban population, but with a rural heritage. The November 2018 elections saw a surge of suburban voting for Democrats, but conservative Republicans made gains as well. No matter what emerges from the 2019 Kansas Legislative Session, a stable coalition in state government will have to include rural support.
*9:40*	*IDENTIFYING ECONOMIC LINKAGES* Mike Busch, Senior Research Economist at the Center for Economic Development and Business Research Wichita State University While rural and urban areas are geographically separated from each other, commerce connects them together. This presentation examines the connections between rural and urban counties in Kansas through retail sales.
*10:00*	*EXPLORING INTERCONNECTIONS OF COMMUNITIES* Pattie Bradley, Senior Research Economist at the Center for Economic Development and Business Research Wichita State University There are varying degrees of interconnection between the metropolitan, micropolitan, and rural counties in Kansas. This presentation is a look at the similarities and differences in the movement of people, level of production, and the flow of money between Kansas counties.
*10:30*	*CLOSING REMARKS / ADJOURN* Jeremy Hill, Director at the Center for Economic Development and Business Research Wichita State University

Presentations

Evan Habluetzel - Urban Rural Trends

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Gentry Thiesen - Redistricting

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Dr. Neal Allen - Role of Rural Kansas

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Mike Busch - Identifying Economic Linkages

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Pattie Bradley - Interconnections of Communities

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ATTENDEES

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Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Request for Accommodations
Please contact Jill.Johnson@wichita.edu to request an accommodation
for participating in the conference by April 22, 2019.