One of tourism’s main jobs is to show the world what makes us special! Why do we live in Mitchell County? Why do we love it? And how can we express it uniquely?

Putting 2 and 2 together

We have amazing artists in our area, a unique asset for a small rural county. We also noticed empty and old newsstands sitting in front of our local newspaper building, The Beloit Call. We put two assets together for a great idea!

County Attraction Newsstands

We acquired three newsstands from The Beloit Call, and with the help of Becker Autos and the automotive department at Fort Hays Tech-North Central, they were cleaned up, welded down, and rust was removed with a good power wash.

Next, we sent them to three local artists, Maddi Sutter, Kelsey Adams, and Joyce Benedick. Each with a unique style and all with a great knowledge of local attractions and what makes Mitchell County special. All we told them was where it would be located, and that we wanted to capture many attractions to show a potential traveler why they should explore our area.

These are final products:

Joyce Benedick’s newsstand is at the Lil’ Red Schoolhouse roadside park in Beloit:

Maddi Sutter’s newsstand is at the Waconda Cultural Museum at Glen Elder State Park:

Kelsey Adam’s newsstand is at the World’s Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City:

We hold free tourism materials in each box, including Kansas travel guides and maps, stickers, postcards, local walking tours, post rock information, lake information, and so much more! This is all to bring more awareness to travelers about what they can do and see in the county.

Billboards to Highlight

Our county has recently refreshed five of our billboards. It’s been about seven years since our tourism billboards have been renewed. We wanted a fresh new look that highlights the major tourism industries in our county. 

Our first one we updated is west of Cawker City on Hwy 24 about a year ago. Because there is no signage about the amazing Waconda Springs at Glen Elder State Park on the highway, we worked with the Waconda Cultural Association to highlight this important attraction of our county. We wanted to mix the history of the Springs with the replica that stands today. 314 Graphic Design out of Courtland helped put our vision to life. Here is the result:

The other three billboards are part of a series, looking alike but different in their content. Our vision was simple, striking, and personal. Here are the results:

Thank you to our Travelers

The funds from these projects came directly from guest tax dollars, which means the tax on travelers spending the night in our hotels and lodges in the county. Mitchell County Convention and Tourism funds only come from this tax, and it’s our mission to put that money right back into the county by highlighting the wonderful assets that would attract a visitor. So thank you to anyone who has stayed with us in the past and future. Your cozy night sleep helps us in so many ways!

Mandy Fincham, Mitchell County Tourism Director

mckstourism@gmail.com, 785-534-7472