Osage County Kansas, Economic Development

06/13/2026

💙❤️O S A G E C O U N T Y❤️💙
🇺🇸 EXCITEMENT is BUILDING! 🇺🇸
❤️AMERICA’S 250th Birthday! 💙

One of BNSF's 3 locomotives painted for America's 250th passed by the depot today. The scheme is based on the one Santa Fe did with 5 locomotives (one of which is preserved in California) for the Bicentennial. Photo by Robert Youngers

06/12/2026

✅ THIS is what COMMUNITY looks like!!
💙 Many Congratulations to All!! 🙌

🎣🐟 COPS AND BOBBERS 2026 – THANK YOU! 🐟🎣

As we wrap up another successful Cops and Bobbers Fishing Derby, I want to take a moment to express my sincere appreciation to everyone who helped make this event possible. 🙏

👏 First and foremost, thank you to all of our volunteers who gave their time, energy, and talents to ensure the kids and families in attendance had an incredible experience. Events like this simply do not happen without dedicated people willing to step up and serve their community. ❤️

🤝 A special thank you goes out to our sponsors and community partners whose generosity provided fishing equipment, prizes, food, supplies, and support for this event. Your commitment to investing in our youth and strengthening community relationships is greatly appreciated.

🏕️ Thank you to our partners at Pomona State Park - Kansas Wildlife & Parks, Fishing's Future,and all of the organizations and individuals who worked behind the scenes to help make the day a success.

🎉 We truly outdid ourselves this year! Thanks to the incredible support from our volunteers, sponsors, partners, and community members, we far exceeded our anticipated number of young anglers. Seeing so many kids and families enjoying the outdoors, catching fish, and making memories together was absolutely amazing. The turnout and enthusiasm made this our biggest and most successful Cops and Bobbers event yet! 🏆🎣🐟

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Most importantly, thank you to the kids and families who came out to enjoy a beautiful day at the lake. Seeing young anglers catch fish, make memories, and spend time with our Deputies is exactly what Cops and Bobbers is all about. 😊

💙 We are proud to serve a community that continually supports events like this and helps us build meaningful relationships with the people we serve.

🚔 From all of us at the Osage County, KS Sheriff's Office, thank you for making the 2026 Cops and Bobbers Fishing Derby another tremendous success! 🎉

📸🐟 AND DON'T GO TOO FAR! 🐟📸

🔥 Stand by for the official Cops and Bobbers Photo Dump coming soon! 🔥

We captured a ton of great moments, big catches, smiling faces, and memories that will last a lifetime. 🎣😁📷🏆

👇 Feel free to start dropping your favorite photos in the comments—we'd love to see them! 👇

❤️ THANK YOU, OSAGE COUNTY! ❤️

~ Sheriff Chris Wells

06/12/2026

It's almost time for the Melvern Sunflower Days Fair. Mark your calendars for June 19th-21st!!! Don't forget to help share the word by sharing the post!! Thank you🥰

06/11/2026

🇺🇸 HELP US MAKE IT HAPPEN! 🇺🇸
🔹 Venmo: (last four 6898)
🔹 Drop Boxes: At the state park gate and marina
🔹Mail: Pomona State Park, 22900 KS-368, Vassar, KS 66543

Your support helps fund the fireworks show and keep this local tradition going strong. Thank you! 🤩

Learn more at discoverosage.com/lamont-hill-4th

Our next Indepedence Day announcement is Stars & Stripes on the Hill at Lamont Hill 🇺🇸✨

Join the fun on Sunday, July 5 at 6 PM for an evening of kids activities, discounted golf, great food, and patriotic spirit under the summer sky!

Bring your lawn chairs and enjoy one of Osage County’s favorite summer traditions. Visit bit.ly/lamont4th2026 for all the know-before-you-go details.

Stars & Stripes on the Hill sponsored by: Lamont Hill, Pomona Lake Marina, US Army Corps of Engineers, Pomona State Park - Kansas Wildlife & Parks, Friends of Pomona State Park, Osage County Travel & Tourism

06/11/2026

🇺🇸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Curious about the Welsh roots of our communities?

Join the Arvonia Historic Preservation Society for a fascinating look at the journey of two young Welsh men, Dan and Griff, and how their story connects to the rich history of Arvonia and the Welsh settlements in our area.

📅 Saturday, June 27
🕙 10:00 – 11:00 AM
📍 Arvonia Township Hall
32358 Arvonia Rd.
Osage City, KS 66523
(4 miles north of Lebo)

Discover how Dan and Griff found their way from Wales to Ohio and explore the impact of Welsh immigrants on the preservation of Arvonia’s unique heritage.

☕🍰 Welsh cakes and tea will be available!

Bring a friend, enjoy a morning of local history, and learn more about the stories that helped shape our community.

06/11/2026

Thank You to friends, families, neighbors who visited local businesses and created beautiful memories together at the Carbondale Friday Nite Bites Event!🙏🏼💗

Shout out to City of Carbondale Government, The Goods, Backroad Grill, Unique Treats LLC, Pinecrest Marketing Group, Alcove Development, and Osage County Kansas, Economic Development for making Carbondale's first Friday Nite Bites a great one! And thanks to everyone who came out for a snack, drink, or dinner, and supported the event. They had a great turnout and are looking forward to the next one on July 3 (first Friday of every month through October). To keep up with all Osage County events, bookmark discoverosage.com!

If you are a food truck, beverage vendor, dessert vendor, or specialty food vendor looking for a great location to serve customers, they'd love to book you for their upcoming Friday nights! They offer daily and annual food truck permits for vendors interested in operating in Carbondale.

Contact for more info:
📞 785-836-7108, Option 3
✉️ [email protected] & [email protected]

06/05/2026

✅ Super excited to partner with organizations across the county on beautification projects as we work to revitalize and build thriving communities!!

➡️ TONIGHT ~ the City of Carbondale launches Friday Nite Bites at The Crossroads a monthly Food Truck Fest designed to bring neighbors together in a relaxed outdoor setting while bringing foot traffic to local businesses and fostering community connections!

🔹 Friday Nite Bites is a fantastic community builder and will create family friendly traditions while keeping revenue circulating within the neighborhood!

Details: 👉 https://www.facebook.com/share/1DJsSC6dhu/?mibextid=wwXIfr

🔹 This is just the beginning. A steppingstone to the ultimate dream for Carbondale residents; a permanent, brick-and-mortar restaurant at Carbondale Crossing.

🔹 The journey from the monthly Friday Nite Bites to bringing a permanent modern-day restaurant will not be easy, however we are giving it our all!

🔸 We’re honored to play a role in Carbondale’s next chapter and grateful for the partners, city leaders, and residents who believe in the vision.

🔸 Huge Thank You to Carbondale City Government, Alcove Development, Retail Strategies and Pinecrest Marketing Group for your investment in Osage County and Carbondale community development.

06/05/2026

Huge Thank you to everyone who attended today's outstanding presentation by University of Kansas Small Business Development Center Regional Director Kristina Edwards and Business Advisor Carrie Poe.

Kristina & Carrie are a wealth of knowledge and passionate about building thriving businesses.

We covered vital topics that will help small businesses countywide. We learned about FREE services, training, one-on-one advising, marketing strategies, additional resources / data available to our businesses and communities.

📍We are planning our next workshop on July 9th, 2026, focused on Smart Marketing made Simple. More details to come.

A special Thank You to Stone Hall at The Shepard House: Burlingame KS —for hosting, for the scrumptious ice cream bar and making these important conversations possible. We look forward to building on today's success and strengthening our businesses in the coming year!