Rhonda Graham, Sedgwick County’s Community and Economic Development Director, is driving efforts to secure the county’s selection for the federal Opportunity Zone (OZ) program, following a recent regional meeting that included officials from the northeastern side of Colorado down to Lamar. The entire county is expected to be included, which is significant as Sedgwick County is one of the few counties in the region that constitutes a single census tract, and there was “no opposition for Sedgwick County in its entirety” to be nominated for the program.12
The federal government has recently released new census tracts for every state, making 360 in Colorado available for the OZ designation. The Governor must narrow this list down to 90 by mid-September. The designation is expected to bring “significant changes” that benefit rural communities, particularly by offering…
