Monday, March 14, 2011

Unemployment Drops Slightly

While the state saw a jump in unemployment claims in January claims were down in Mitchell County. According to the latest report from the Kansas Department of Labor unemployment in Mitchell County stood at 4.6% in January. That is down just one-tenth of a percent from December.

At the same time unemployment jumped from 6.4% in December to 7.4% in January for the state of Kansas.

North Campus Development Steering Committee Fine Tuning Recommendations

The North Campus Development Steering Committee conducted their final public meeting last week to discuss their vision for former Beloit Juvenile Correctional Facility property along U.S. Highway 24 and Walnut Street.

The committee will continue to fine tune their recommendations before presenting them to the Beloit City Council on April 5th. Currently the plans include a proposal to develop 15 acres of land to the west of the main campus for new homes. Ten acres along U.S. Highway 24 is being considered for commercial development and the remaining 20 acres between the highway and the main campus could be zoned for “mixed use” housing and light commercial development.

The committee is also working on recommendations for the city council to consider such as time limitations for those who purchase property. The committee has recommended those who purchase property be given 2 years to build on it.

The steering committee is encouraging the city to consider improvements to Walnut Street and to work quickly to provide some street access to the undeveloped land so it can be marketed.

The group will make their final recommendations to the Beloit City Council at thir first meeting in April.

Unemployment Continues to Decrease

While the state of Kansas saw a jump in unemployment claims in January claims were down in Mitchell County. According to the latest report from the Kansas Department of Labor, unemployment in Mitchell County stood at 4.6% in January. That is down just one-tenth of a percent from December 2010.

Meanwhile unemployment jumped from 6.4% in December to 7.4% in January for the state of Kansas.