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Floor Speech
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Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, this evening, I want to highlight a community in my State of Kansas that is a model for rural towns across our State and around the country. It is timely because, just yesterday, the New York City mayor joked that my home State of Kansas has ``no brand'' and then chuckled at his joke. I had planned to give this floor speech before the mayor of New York City used Kansas as a punch line, but now it seems a little more fitting and means even more.
Located in Allen County, KS, Humboldt is the home to about 2,000 residents. Like many small communities in rural America, Humboldt was facing declining population numbers as businesses moved away and buildings on Main Street were abandoned. Even the locally owned newspaper, which began business in 1864 and was the State's longest continuously running paper, the Humboldt Union, had to close its doors.
However, in the last couple of years, Humboldt has defied the odds. The vacant buildings on Main Street now boast thriving businesses and welcoming storefronts. Since 2020, Humboldt has gained a coffee shop, a variety of bars and restaurants, a fitness center, a microbrewery, a grocery store, a hotel, and the Humboldt Union has been reestablished. Even as the pandemic created new challenges for many small businesses, Humboldt's businesses were able to persevere.
In January, the travel desk of the New York Times selected Humboldt as a top destination in the world, alongside places like Greece, Australia, and Argentina--pretty ironic now.
The majority of growth and economic development in the community can be attributed to a civic organization called A Bolder Humboldt. This group was formed a few years ago by leaders like Paul Cloutier and is still going strong today.
Paul recently took me on a tour of downtown with the mayor, Mayor Nobby Davis, to see firsthand the renovations being done and to meet the owners of small businesses that are reshaping the town square.
Paul said:
I've lived in a lot of big cities, and the thing I loved about them was that they had complete neighborhoods, with a grocery store and a dry cleaner's and a bar and little restaurants, which is basically what a small town is or used to be.
A Bolder Humboldt is working to rebuild that ideal--that ideal American small town--for the 21st century.
I visited a cafe and a coffee shop owned by Josh Works, who is also involved in A Bolder Humboldt. His father owns B&W Trailer Hitches, and he set a standard during the recession in 2008 to prioritize and care for his staff and his community.
In addition, the community has rebuilt 10 blocks of the downtown streetscape with the help from a local business, Monarch Cement Company. Owned and run by Walter Wulf, this is a 110-year-old business, and it is a staple of this community.
The city has also developed Southwind Industrial Park, with the latest addition of Murphy Tractor and Equipment Company, providing new jobs for locals and new residents.
Humboldt has also gained fame as the hometown of Biblesta, which is an annual festival taking place this weekend, that has been going for six decades and features the world's largest Bible-themed parade.
Each year, City Manager Cole Herder addresses graduating high school seniors and presents them with mailboxes in the school's colors--black boxes with orange lettering. Each box has the student's name and ``Humboldt, Kansas'' stenciled in orange letters. Inside, there is an invitation. He appeals to students to pursue an education and new experiences, but he also encourages them to consider their hometown of Humboldt as the place to establish their careers and raise their own families.
The community of Humboldt is a success story, and it is a role model. It demonstrates how teamwork, creative thinking, hard work, treating others with respect, and caring about the future of your community can make a positive difference for your city, the State, and for our entire Nation. That is our brand in Kansas.
I am proud to recognize the efforts of Humboldt with what we have called the Building Better Communities Award.
Today, in the U.S. Senate, I offer my congratulations and my gratitude for the kind of leadership and effort among all residents of the community to see that Humboldt is a good place to live today and, perhaps even more importantly, a great place to live tomorrow.
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