Kansas county at U.S. geographical center is dying
Kevin Murphy
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) – One of the newest businesses in Smith County, Kansas is a gravestone maker.
This land of flat prairie boasts two claims to fame. Smith County is the geographic center of the 48 contiguous U.S. states, marked by a small monument and picnic ground. And the high school football team in Smith Center, the county seat, had the nation's longest winning streak snapped at 79 games in 2009.
Smith County also has the distinction of experiencing one of the state's steadiest population declines, more than 17 percent in nine years. Its population of 3,753, according to a 2009 U.S. census estimate, is less than when the county was organized in 1872.
Quietly, the population of Smith County is dying off.
"Kids go away to college and they never come back," said Smith County Commissioner Arthur Kuhlmann. "There is nothing to come back to."
Rural counties across the Midwest averaged a 5.1 percent population loss between 2000 and 2009, according to Liesl Eathington, an economist who studies Midwest population trends at Iowa State University. Kansas and Nebraska had the highest average losses at just over 11 percent.
The main reason is that family farms are being sold to bigger operations and people move away or get old and die. U.S. Census figures for 2010 are expected to show continued erosion of rural populations.
TAX BREAKS
Kansas Gov-elect Sam Brownback wants to ease the exodus from places such as Smith County by giving ten years of income tax waivers to people who move there from other states. Any county that lost population in the past 20 years would qualify.
Smith County officials appreciate the gesture but doubt it would help.
"It's a good idea, but there are no jobs here for people to take,'' said Joe Kingsbury, presiding commissioner of Smith County. "There is no industry, there is nothing for them to do."
Brownback's tax break plan probably would have only limited impact in the counties that are suffering most, Eathington said.
"We've had similar proposals in a lot Midwestern states," she said. "Sometimes these tax incentives will grab a few people, but when you look at the balance sheet, it works for very small numbers of people."
It may only make sense for those who live in one county and travel to another more populous county to work, she said.
Distances are often great between large towns in areas such as north central Kansas, where Smith County is located. Businesses struggle to get customers, school enrollments dwindle. The biggest employers in Smith County are the school district and hospital, with over 100 employees each.
Amid the gloom, there are some signs of hope. In the past year or two, a young doctor and pharmacist returned to Smith County to work after getting their degrees and so did a young man who started a limestone monument business, said Pam Barta, director of Smith Center Economic Development.
Tourists still come steadily to see the site of the country's geographic center, but that's about it.
"We have some historic sites to look at," Kingsbury said, "but that doesn't bring us jobs."
(Editing by Greg McCune)
Jan. 8, 2011