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Goodland presenters outline 2026 events, business loans and murals as part of tourism push
Summary
Presenters Bert Mosher and Jessica Dinkle told the commission they are preparing 2026 events (including a Flatlanders Fall Festival), maintaining online outreach and assisting local businesses with loans and expansions; they cited visitor-book signatures and mural projects as community draws.
Bert Mosher and Jessica Dinkle updated the Goodland City Commission on tourism and local economic-development activities and plans for 2026.
The presenters thanked the city for support and said they are coordinating vendor registration and event schedules for the Flatlanders Fall Festival and other events. Jessica described ongoing outreach via a weekly Monday email, Facebook, and the community calendar to share flyers and keep potential visitors informed.
They reported visitor engagement metrics based on the museum guest book: about 1,200 signatures this year and an estimated long-run average of roughly 5,000 signatures per year (the presenters noted the figure undercounts visitors who do not sign the book). They said July is typically the busiest month.
On business support, staff highlighted several locally assisted projects: Network Kansas financing that helped veterinary student Rissa Wackenschaub purchase the Smith Clinic; assistance with an auto-body expansion for Jason and Marcy Finley; help for Mason Hitchens to start a plumbing business; and support for the Mason Dental second location and other startups. Presenters said they are sponsoring collegiate tournaments at the golf course and supporting attraction-development grants for the gun club and speedway events to bring visitors to Goodland.
They also described public-art activity: two large murals planned (one at the county museum and one on the Hallmark store), an easel repaint project with Cameron Cross, and a brochure listing murals for visitors.
"First of all, I just wanna say thank you for the city's support in everything that we do," one presenter said. The presenters asked commissioners to continue supporting outreach and event planning as a means to bring visitors and new business to town.
City officials thanked the presenters and had no further questions.
