The Kansas Department of Commerce has allocated $92.3 million in Recovery Zone Facility Bond authority for 11 business projects and $13.845 million in Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds for three public improvement projects, officials announced today. The Department is also accepting applications for an additional $18.8 million in Recovery Zone Facility Bond authority and $38.3 million in Recovery Zone Economic Development Bond authority.

Kansas has been ranked No. 3 in Southern Business & Development magazine’s annual “Top Deals and Hot Markets” report, the state’s highest-ever finish in the survey, officials announced this week.

For the second straight year, Kansas has been ranked the nation’s No. 7 most business-friendly state in the Pollina Corporate Top 10 Pro-Business States report, the Kansas Department of Commerce announced today.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, this forum facilitates trade and economic discussions between Sub-Saharan African countries and U.S. businesses. The forum will provide attendees an opportunity to discuss trade and capacity-building opportunities with African decision-makers. The two-day agenda includes workshops, roundtable discussion and face-to-face networking with African ministers and businesses leaders.

Kansas has been ranked No. 11 in CNBC’s annual America’s Top States for Business report.

The Kansas Department of Commerce today announced Dodge City as the newest member of the Kansas Main Street program, bringing the total number of Kansas Main Street cities to 26.

The Kansas Department of Commerce has awarded $4.13 million in Community Service Tax Credits to 21 nonprofit organizations around the state, officials announced today.

HAYS ─ Governor Mark Parkinson tonight named Landoll Corporation of Marysville the winner of the Governor’s Award of Excellence, while Osborne Industries of Osborne was named the Governor’s Exporter of the Year, at the annual Kansas Cavalry Encampment at Fort Hays State University.

TOPEKA ─ Governor Mark Parkinson will host the new Consul General of China to Chicago, Yang Guoqiang, tomorrow afternoon in the Capitol to renew business ties between China and Kansas.

Kansas has been named one of the nation’s 10 most competitive states for capital investment and new facility development by Site Selection magazine, a leading publication for site location consultants.

The Kansas Department of Commerce has named 26 Regional Business Excellence Award winners and 105 Merit Award winners as part of Business Appreciation Month, the Department’s annual celebration of Kansas businesses and their contributions to their communities and the state economy.

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Commerce unveiled 26 new Kansas promotional videos today as part of the state’s “Come Home” campaign to help Kansas businesses and organizations with their recruitment and retention efforts.

The Kansas Rural Center and the Kansas Department of Commerce will host a series of five direct marketing workshops for agricultural producers beginning April 27 throughout Kansas.

The Kansas Department of Commerce, in conjunction with the Kansas International Trade Coordinating Council, has announced the five finalists for the 2010 Governor’s Exporter of the Year Award, which is presented to a single Kansas company for outstanding international marketing achievements.

Great Bend will host the 2010 Heartland Byways Conference, representing the scenic byways of 10 Midwestern states, April 7-9 at the Best Western, The Page and the Kansas Wetlands Education Center.

Plastics manufacturer Spartech Corporation will expand its Wichita production facility, adding 18 new jobs and $4.4 million in capital investment, officials announced today.

The Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns today launched its new employer-focused Web site, www.kansasemployability.com, as part of its local effort to support the national “Think Beyond the Label” marketing campaign to promote the hiring of workers with disabilities.

The Kansas Department of Commerce has awarded the City of Neodesha with $390,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding so the City can provide a working capital loan to Airosol Company, which blends and packages automotive, household and industrial products.

The Kansas Department of Commerce has allocated $30.617 million in Recovery Zone Facility Bond authority for four business projects and $11.93 million in Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds for three public improvement projects, officials announced today.

The Kansas Department of Commerce has awarded the City of Burrton with $490,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding so the City can provide a working capital loan to Hardwood Cabinets, LLC, a manufacturer of custom and semi-custom cabinets.

Rural Telephone Service Co. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Nex-Tech, has been awarded more than $101 million in Recovery Act funding for broadband Internet infrastructure improvements in central and western Kansas, officials announced this week.

Fourteen Kansas communities will share a total of $3,515,026 in federal grants through the Community Development Block Grant program, the Kansas Department of Commerce announced this week.

Eighteen Kansas communities will share $6,955,094 in Water and Sewer grants through the federally funded Community Development Block Grant program, the Kansas Department of Commerce announced today.

The Kansas Department of Commerce will host the second Kansas Wind Supply Chain Workshop on Jan. 14 from 1–5 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency in Wichita.

J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services has signed a 10-year lease to occupy a new headquarters on the Sprint Campus in Overland Park, Kan., creating 800 new jobs and at least $44 million in capital investment.

Independence-based employees of Standard Motor Products who became totally or partially separated from employment beginning Sept. 22, 2008, through Oct. 23, 2011, may be eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance through the Kansas Department of Commerce, officials announced today.

The Kansas Department of Commerce has awarded nearly $1.2 million in federal Kansas Small Towns Environment Program (KAN STEP) funding to the cities of Sterling and Mankato, as well as Pratt and Anderson counties. The funding will be matched by more than $1.1 million in donated equipment, labor and cash from recipient communities and private donors.

The Department of Commerce has awarded tricycle manufacturer Midwest Contracting & Manufacturing (MCM) Inc. with $4,000 in Kansas Industrial Training funds to create eight new jobs at its WaKeeney facility.

The Kansas Department of Commerce has appointed five agritourism business owners/operators to the Agritourism Advisory Council, the group that works alongside Commerce to promote the state’s agritourism industry.

The Kansas Department of Commerce’s Travel & Tourism Division, in conjunction with the Travel Industry Association of Kansas, will host the 2009 Kansas Tourism Conference on Oct. 18-20 at the Sheraton Overland Park Hotel at the Convention Center in Overland Park.

The Kansas Department of Commerce’s Office of Minority and Women Business Development will host its 25th Annual Minority and Women Business Awards Luncheon on Oct. 15 at noon at the Ramada Inn in Topeka.

The Kansas Department of Commerce will award $75,000 in Incentives Without Walls funding for eight community improvement projects in Chanute, Holton, Hutchinson, Manhattan, Phillipsburg and Seneca, officials announced today.

The Kansas Department of Commerce will host the annual Kansas Downtown Symposium on Oct. 21-23 at the Riverfront Community Center in Leavenworth.

The Kansas Department of Commerce’s Travel & Tourism Division will promote its popular KANSAS! magazine from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Pride of Kansas Building each day during the Kansas State Fair, Sept. 11-20.

The KANSASWORKS Chanute workforce center invites all employers and job seekers to an open house Sept. 16 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. to learn about workforce services available through the center.

The Kansas Department of Commerce is accepting nominations for membership on the Agritourism Advisory Council, the group that works alongside Commerce to promote the state’s agritourism industry.

It’s 7^th Heaven for Kansas business leaders this week, thanks to the state’s No. 7 finish in CNBC’s annual America’s Top States for Business report.

TOPEKA ─ The Kansas Department of Commerce today launched Connect Kansas, a new initiative designed to increase broadband Internet access throughout rural Kansas.

OVERLAND PARK –– Governor Mark Parkinson tonight named BTI of Greensburg the winner of the Governor’s Award of Excellence, while Cereal Ingredients of Leavenworth was named the Governor’s Exporter of the Year, at the annual Kansas Cavalry Encampment at Johnson County Community College.

For the second straight year, Kansas has been named a Top 10 pro-business state by Pollina Corporate Real Estate, one of the nation’s premier corporate relocation firms.

 The Office of Minority and Women Business Development is accepting nominations for Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week, the State’s annual celebration of women- and minority-owned businesses in Kansas.

Governor Mark Parkinson will announce the Governor’s Award of Excellence and the Governor’s Exporter of the Year Award at the annual Kansas Cavalry Encampment on June 25 at Johnson County Community College.

Few states can claim as important a role in the Civil War as Kansas. And few places can give you a glimpse back in time like Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area, which is featured in the summer edition of KANSAS! magazine, released statewide this week by the Travel & Tourism Division of the Kansas Department of Commerce.

Kansas businesses totaled a record $12.47 billion in exports in 2008, marking the fourth straight year Kansas has achieved an all-time high and the fifth straight year of overall export growth, officials announced today.

Siemens Energy has selected Hutchinson as the site of a new wind turbine equipment production facility, state and company officials announced today. The operation is expected to create an estimated 400 green-collar jobs and will be the first large-scale wind turbine equipment factory in Kansas, which is ranked third in the nation for wind energy resource potential. The 300,000-square-foot facility and adjacent 80,000-square-foot service and repair facility will be built on more than 100 acres in Reno County, which is located northwest of Wichita on the Arkansas River. Construction is expected to begin in August.

The Kansas Department of Commerce will award more than $90,000 in Incentives Without Walls funding for community improvement projects in Coffeyville, Holton, Leavenworth, McPherson, Ottawa, Phillipsburg, Phillipsburg, Seneca and Sterling, officials announced today.

The Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns will present its annual advocacy awards and celebrate six decades of service on behalf of Kansans with disabilities at the organization’s 60th Anniversary Celebration on March 11 at 5:30 p.m. at the Topeka Shawnee County Public Library.

The Kansas Department of Commerce is inviting all Kansas agritourism vendors and agricultural producers to attend the 2009 Kansas Agritourism Conference on March 25-26 in Great Bend.

The Kansas Department of Commerce is inviting all Kansas agritourism operators to complete an online survey designed to help Commerce staff measure the economic impact of agritourism statewide.

The Travel & Tourism Division of the Kansas Department of Commerce will provide six tourism attractions and events a combined $129,670 in annual Attraction Development Grant funding, officials announced today.

The 2009-10 Kansas Visitors Guide and 2009 Kansas Calendar of Events, the state’s two most popular travel publications, are now available at travel centers statewide and online at TravelKS.com.

The Kansas Department of Commerce has awarded biomass pellet fuel manufacturer Prairie Fire BioEnergy Cooperative with $10,000 in Kansas Industrial Training funds to help the company add 19 jobs at its Healy facility.

BioTarget, a Nebraska-based drug company specializing in cancer treatments, will lease space for a new research and development facility on the University of Kansas Medical Center campus, creating 13 new jobs and $1 million in capital investment.

The Kansas Department of Commerce will host five Military Veterans Career Fairs today in five Kansas cities. The Veterans Career Fairs will provide Kansas veterans a chance to meet area employers who are looking to hire various full- and part-time positions. Career Fair attendees will also receive resume-writing and job-search assistance, as well as information on certification, training and educational opportunities for veterans.