Building a Stronger Allen County
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Building A Stronger Allen County Allen County Community Well-Being Report 2008 Neosho River Bridge at Humboldt, 2008 Dear Neighbor: As the old saying goes, in order to know where you’re going you first have to know where you are. This report attempts to tell where we are, and to give us a road map for where we hope to go. Much of what you find in this report is numbers and data. But there’s more to it than that. Allen Countians are down to earth and practical. We are creative, energetic and talented. We work hard. We are closely tied to the land. We lend a helping hand when disaster strikes. We believe in the importance of community. Life is also hard for many of us. Some of us have difficulty making ends meet. Our physical health and well-being causes many to suffer physically and emotionally. Some of us may not have families that can help. Others may not have the skills needed to compete in our workforce. We cannot begin to tell everything there is to know about the individual people who live here, but we can talk about who we are collectively. This report presents information about population, age, health and poverty levels in Allen County, first on a countywide basis and then, on a limited basis, by each community in our county. (Note for residents that live in Bayard, Geneva and Petrolia: we are sorry that your communities could not be included. We could not find enough data about your communities through the census bureau or other reliable sources to include here. In the future we hope to do a detailed report focusing on the unincorporated communities with 100 or fewer residents, including Bayard, Geneva and Petrolia). This report has been made possible through a grant from the REACH Healthcare Foundation. REACH has been a true partner to Thrive, and to organizations throughout our community, in the effort to improve health conditions in Allen County. We are fortunate to be one of the six counties in REACH’s service area, and to have the support of REACH’s Board of Directors, CEO Brenda Sharpe and their top-notch staff. Thanks, REACH! In closing, we want to warn you that you’re going to see lots of bad news in this report. You’ll see some good news, too, but you may be left feeling overwhelmed by the challenges we’re facing as a county. If so, remember that many Kansas counties have the same situation, or even worse, than what we’re facing here. What makes Allen County different is that we’re doing something about it. It’s not too late. We can turn this around if we just make up our minds to do it, and if we agree to work together around a common vision for what our county can be. We hope you’ll join us in the effort. Allen County is our home, and it’s worth fighting for. Dr. Brian Wolfe David C. Toland Chairman Executive Director 620-365-8128 ~ 2 East Jackson Ave ~ Iola, KS 66749 Allen of Ohio on land inhabited in part by Osage Indians. The county was settled by its first OVERVIEW AND Caucasian settlers in 1855, HISTORY and the county’s first town Allen County is a and county seat, Cofachique community of 13,414 (pronounced “coff-a-chee”), people (2007 U.S. initially flourished. Census estimate) situated in the In the days of “Bleeding Kansas” southeastern corner a struggle between pro- and anti- of Kansas. The slavery residents ensued, with county has a total Allen County Country Club the county siding firmly against area of 505 square slavery by 1858. The free state miles, 2 square miles stronghold of Humboldt was of which is water, Allen County’s most aggressive sacked and burned by forces and extends 21 miles period of development came loyal to the Confederacy in the from north to south after the discovery in 1893 of early part of the Civil War, but the and 24 miles from natural gas in Iola. This discovery county was otherwise relatively east to west. of what was then the largest untouched by violence during known gas field in the world led the war. Established in 1855 to the rapid industrialization of as one of the first 33 Iola and the establishment of Following the Civil War the counties in territorial the towns Bassett and Gas. This county grew steadily, though Kansas, Allen County “gas boom” period peaked in slowly, for several years with the was named in honor 1907 and ended two years later county’s economy and social of United States when the major gas fields in the life based primarily around allen county Senator William county were depleted. agriculture. The end of the Gas Boom caused a major economic and population decline from which the county has yet to recover. That said, our county has managed to make significant periodic gains that have slowed or abated the decline for limited periods of time. Moran Grain Silos, Moran Madison Avenue, Iola 1 Why is it important? the best teachers or to equip The basic building block of any classrooms with technologies county is its people. A declining to keep children competitive POPULATION population means less vitality, in today’s technology-based Allen County’s fewer businesses, and higher economy. population has tax rates for those remaining in declined in nine the county just to maintain the of the last ten U.S. same level of public services. censuses. From Simply put, the fewer the people, a peak in 1910 of the higher the tax burden to 27,640 residents, the maintain (for example) Allen county has since County’s nearly 1,000 miles of lost 51% of its 1910 roads. population. Declining populations The one period particularly impact our school of demonstrable systems, which in Kansas population growth are funded largely on a per- in the last century pupil basis. Fewer students was in 1980, means less state funding, and when industrial limits a district’s ability to pay Moran Days Parade recruitment efforts competitive wages to attract that occurred in the 1970s resulted Allen C ounty Population, 1910 - 2007 in a 4% increase in 30000 residents over 1970. 28000 Otherwise, the allen county 26000 decline in population 24000 has been relatively steady for 22000 nearly a century. 20000 P opulation How are we doing? 18000 The slow and steady population 16000 decline seen in the 20th century 14000 has gained speed dramatically 12000 since the year 2000. The Census 10000 Bureau estimates that Allen 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2007 Source: US Census Bureau County has lost 971 residents in the last seven years, which Accelerating Population Loss represents a 7% drop. 15000 1990 - 2007 14500 14000 P opulation 13500 13000 12500 1990 2000 2007 2 Allen County EMS Employees Source: US Census Bureau What can we do to improve? Stabilizing our county’s PERCENT OF SOUTHEAST KANSAS RESIDENTS population requires a multi- LIVING IN POVERTY (2004) pronged effort to: Crawford 16.4% Cherokee 15.6% 1) Construct new housing and Bourbon 15.2% rehabilitate old units; ALLEN 14.6% 2) Improve health conditions Labette 14.6% among residents in order to Montgomery 14.5% prolong lifespans and slow the Neosho 14.0% rate of premature deaths; Woodson 13.8% 3) Improve educational Wilson 13.7% systems and invest in quality United States 12.4% of life improvements that will State of Kansas 10.5% attract new residents and; 4) Recruit new jobs and retain Source: US Census 2004 existing jobs, particularly those that pay higher wages, by investing in workforce training that improves the skill levels of county workers. Most importantly, we must remember that we have done this successfully before in the 1970s. We can do it again! POVERTY The nine counties of Southeast Kansas have historically comprised the most impoverished region of the state. The most recent poverty data available (2004) shows Allen and Labette counties tied Abandoned building, Bayard as the fourth most impoverished counties in Southeast Kansas. Poverty has been a fact of life 428 People Left Allen County from 2006 to 2007. in our county for more than a century, with its roots being Where Did They Go? traced to the Gas Boom era. The Other Kansas availability of low cost fuel during counties 8% the Gas Boom of 1893 to 1909 resulted in rapid development Crawford County Neosho County and industrialization of Iola and 7% 18% surrounding areas. Thousands Douglas County Woodson County 6% of heavy industry jobs in zinc 10% Anderson County smelters, cement plants, 9% foundries and brick plants meant an explosion of population, with Out of State 42% Iola reaching a population peak 3 of 14,225 by 1907. Source: Missouri State Data Center; data based on IRS tax returns 2006-07. Allen County Employment By Sector (2003) (See KSU Situation and Trends Report: Allen County, 2008 for Health Services more information). Arts and 6% But when the gas Entertainment fizzled, most of Services 0% 16% Why Is It Important? these industries Government Finance, 21% Poverty is a key indicator of Insurance, Real closed. Company Agriculture community well-being, and it Estate 9% executives and 3% has direct correlations to health Mining middle management Trade and wellness, educational 3% workers left Allen 13% Construction attainment, teenage pregnancy Other County, and many 3% 4% and a host of other indicators. blue collar workers Manufacturing Intergenerational poverty is 22% soon followed. particularly challenging for a Source: KSU Research and Extension, The Importance of the Health Care Sector to the Economy of Allen county like ours because those Still, a sizeable County, October 2006.