The Office of Rural Prosperity (ORP) advocates for and promotes rural Kansas and focuses on efforts designed to aid rural improvements. Through ongoing conversations with rural stakeholders, ORP identifies key policy priorities and blends administrative action with legislative work to remove barriers for prosperity. Led by the Lieutenant Governor, ORP recruits subject matter experts to develop solutions, places a premium on listening to Kansans, and highlights successful communities and projects.

Establishing ORP was one of Governor Kelly’s first priorities upon taking office to ensure rural communities were elevated and programs and services that were badly damaged over the previous decade were rebuilt. Lieutenant Governor Lynn Rogers was charged to lead this work and hit the road for the 2019 ORP Listening Tour. After connecting to hundreds of Kansans, one thing was clear: rural Kansans consistently felt the leaders in the Statehouse were not listening. They felt as if they did not have a seat at the table. These discussions established the foundation and priorities of ORP.

ORP is a nonpartisan initiative and is housed within the Kansas Department of Commerce (KDC). It invests in programs, realigns existing resources, enhances technical assistance provided to local leaders, and expands on successful programs to better focus on the needs of rural communities. In January 2021 Lieutenant Governor Rogers was appointed by Governor Kelly as the 41^st Kansas State Treasurer in recognition of his 40 years of leadership in the banking and ag lending industry. KDC Secretary David Toland was selected to expand his role as the next Lieutenant Governor. ORP is poised to accelerate its work under Lieutenant Governor Toland’s leadership and looks forward to continuing to work with KDC to help rural Kansas tackle some of the state’s most important issues.