KEY QUOTE: “50,000 jobs represent 50,000 opportunities for Kansans across the state to achieve their dreams and provide greater futures for themselves and their families. These job numbers, combined with the record-setting levels of new private-sector investment, have driven down our unemployment rates to historic lows while underscoring the strength of the Kansas economy – both now and into the future,” Governor Kelly said. 

Kelly takes credit for new Kansas businesses

• The governor’s office has been taking on a busy September so far, with many tasks being tackled. One of the September announcements came out Monday regarding job creation throughout the state, with Governor Laura Kelly announcing since she took office in January 2019, her administration has worked with private-sector businesses in creating and retaining more than 50,000 jobs in Kansas, according to a release from the State of Kansas. 
• “Kansas is winning the battle for coveted economic development projects and the new jobs that come with them,” Tracey Osborne Oltjen, President & CEO of the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce, noted in the State of Kansas release. “The recent awards our state has received from economic development professionals is sending a strong message around the country - Kansas is open for business!” 
• Environmental matters have also remained important for the Kelly Administration, and an announcement came Tuesday regarding work with just that, with Gov. Kelly sending a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding its recently proposed change to the usage and label requirements of atrazine, an herbicide that helps Kansas farmers control weeds that can choke out crops.
• “Today's food producers need crop protection tools that are effective and environmentally sound,” Agriculture Secretary Mike Beam noted in the State of Kansas release. “The use of atrazine to control weeds allows the crop plant to maximize yield potential, optimizing the overall production efficiency and a decreased need for water and fertilizers. The potential adoption of a proposed level of concern far below the current level would significantly impair the effective use of atrazine on Kansas farms.” This is yet another way Governor Kelly has stood with the Kansas Ag community.

Under the Kelly Administration, Kansas agricultural exports exceeded $5 billion for the first time in history, and this year, Governor Kelly fully funded the State Water Plan Fund – a multi-agency effort to protect a reliable statewide water supply – for the first time in more than 14 years.