Reno County

How Reno County’s Salt Mines Built America’s 11th Most Diverse Economy

From 650 feet beneath the prairie to billion-dollar power plants, Reno County proves that economic resilience comes from the most unexpected places.

Six hundred and fifty feet beneath the Kansas prairie, in chambers carved from 275-million-year-old salt deposits, lies one of America’s most unusual economic foundations. The Hutchinson Salt Company mine, operating since 1923, represents just one facet of what economists have identified as the nation’s 11th most diverse county economy. Reno County’s 61,700 residents live atop geological treasures that have shaped both their industrial heritage and economic resilience.

“I would say as far as tourism type deals go, we’ve got Strataca, the Salt Mine Museum, the only one in the United States that you could actually enter and go into,” explains Commissioner Don Bogner, Chairman of the Reno County, Kansas Board of County Commissioners. While there are 15 salt mines operating across the United States, Strataca is unique as the only one accessible to tourists. Globally, only three underground salt museums exist: in Kansas, Poland, and Austria, making Hutchinson’s facility exceptionally rare. 

“We also have the Cosmosphere, a world-known space museum here in Reno County, city of Hutchinson,” Bogner adds. The Cosmosphere houses over 13,000 spaceflight artifacts, making it the world’s largest combined collection of US and Russian space memorabilia. As Kansas’s only Smithsonian-affiliated Museum, it’s one of only three museums globally displaying flown spacecraft from all early manned programs: Mercury Liberty Bell 7, Gemini 10, and Apollo 13 Command Module Odyssey.

“One of the distinct advantages of Reno County is that we do have one of the most diversified economies in the country, and economists that we consult with regularly actually ranked our county economy as the 11th most diverse economy,” explains Debra Teufel, President & CEO at Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce. The county employs 29,200 people across sectors from advanced manufacturing to healthcare, with manufacturing alone accounting for 4,476 jobs.

Three major salt companies—Cargill Salt, Morton Salt, and Hutchinson Salt—have operated here for over a century, earning the region its “Salt City” designation. The underlying Hutchinson Salt formation mine covers 37,000 square miles across central Kansas, formed when an ancient Permian Sea receded 275 million years ago.

Manufacturing Momentum and Entrepreneurial Growth

Manufacturing represents the county’s largest employment sector, supporting nearly 4,500 workers across facilities serving domestic and international markets. Established companies continue expanding while new ventures take root in revitalized downtown corridors.

“Our manufacturing sector is really where we’ve seen a lot of continued growth and prosperity,” Teufel notes. “Some companies that have continued to grow and invest here include Superior Boiler, who have multiple facilities here now and are building industrial boiler systems that they ship globally.” The manufacturing base includes Siemens producing wind turbines, Collins Bus serving municipal and school transportation, and Wifco Steel.

“Companies like Wifco Steel started out making products for the oil and gas industry but are now diversified into the automotive and agriculture sector as well as building systems for the growing data center industry,” Teufel explains. Agricultural equipment manufacturing thrives given the county’s central location, while two Tyson Foods facilities anchor food processing. Technology companies include 60-year-old DCI providing banking application support, SDI/MAPS a firm supplying McDonald’s point-of-sale systems, and IdeaTek, which grew from local startup to broadband deployment leader.

“We have a whole entrepreneurship entity here in Reno County called StartUp Hutch, and they support entrepreneurs and help them with business planning,” Teufel says. “Over the last decade, we have seen about 70 new businesses start up here that you would consider small mom and pop companies, and many of those located on the Main Street corridor.”

Downtown revitalization centers on major projects like the Meyer Landmark renovation. “One of those revitalization projects I would love to point to is a former historic hotel that served at one point as an apartment building but now is under a $15 million renovation,” Teufel explains. “It’s going to culminate in 36 new units of moderate-income housing on our downtown corridor, opening in June 2026.”

Year-Round Tourism and Recreation

Tourism anchors a significant portion of Reno County’s economy, generating consistent revenue through attractions that operate regardless of seasonal fluctuations. The underground salt museum and space center draw hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, supporting the hospitality, retail, and service sectors throughout the region.

“Tourism is a mainstay of our economy, and we really have not seen it slow down,” Teufel reports. “Even during the COVID pandemic, because we have a very unique underground salt museum here that you cannot find elsewhere, it draws a lot of people into our community.” The Cosmosphere amplifies this draw with space science camps attracting students during summer months and year-round educational programming serving the Midwest.

“We have some great partnerships with national organizations related to sports tourism, and the largest of those would be the National Junior College Athletic Association,” Teufel explains. “We have been hosting, for over 75 years, the National Junior College Men’s D1 Basketball Championship. We also host women’s volleyball and track and field championships on a rotating basis.” The county’s golf offerings include Prairie Dunes, a nationally ranked course scheduled to host the U.S. Senior Open again in 2029.

Bogner highlights outdoor recreation that often receives less attention. “We do have several hunting lodges in Reno County that are well-known in this part of the United States,” he says. “Great turkey hunting, great deer hunting. That’s a sport that often gets overlooked, but it creates quite a few jobs here and brings in a lot of tourists.”

Water recreation centers on Cheney Reservoir that serves both locals and visitors from nearby metropolitan areas. “Cheney Reservoir attracts many visitors from nearby Sedgwick County and Wichita – the largest city in Kansas, bringing both recreational activity and economic impact to Reno County,” notes Randy Partington, Reno County Administrator. The Kansas State Fair represents the county’s largest single tourism event, with the fairgrounds hosting over 500 events annually beyond the main 10-day fair in September.

Recent investments support expanded tourism capacity. “The YMCA here is actually in the midst of a $30 million investment in a new facility to serve the community,” Teufel notes. Both Visit Hutch and Hutch Rec programming help draw sports tourism events that fill hotels and restaurants while showcasing recreational amenities to potential residents and businesses.

Building Infrastructure and Housing for Growth

County government plays a limited role in infrastructure development, with most utilities falling to municipalities. However, Reno County has taken strategic action in areas where unincorporated communities require support, particularly rural water and sewer systems serving residential and industrial development.

“As a county, we don’t do a lot of that kind of work,” explains Bogner. “That goes to the cities. We do have a couple rural water districts and sewer districts, including one in the HABIT industrial park. We have recently secured new water resources and are currently expanding the sewer systems in both areas.”

Partington details major infrastructure projects supporting economic development. “We have two sewer districts, HABIT and Yoder, and they’re going to be combined in about a six-million-dollar project,” he explains. “The Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center is expanding and will be doubling in size.  The sewer upgrade is important for their expansion.” The center provides essential training for law enforcement statewide.

Housing development receives county support through financial incentives designed to stimulate new construction and property renovation. The Neighborhood Revitalization Plan operates countywide, offering tax relief for both residential and commercial properties. “Most counties have some kind of housing problem,” Bogner observes. “This should give incentives to keep up appearances and renovations that should help housing last longer.”

Partnership approaches characterize the county’s housing strategy. “If it’s in the city of Hutchinson, if it’s a housing development of nine or more houses, they can get some money to help with the infrastructure from the county,” Partington explains. Smaller cities qualify with four-home developments. First-time homebuyers in these developments receive $5,000 toward closing costs. Housing partnerships exist with the South-Central Kansas Economic Development District (SCKEDD) and Interfaith Housing to help with housing renovations county-wide. The Hutchinson Community Foundation is also active in partnerships with SCKEDD and Interfaith Housing.

The Make My Move partnership expands benefits to out-of-state relocators, offering the $5,000 down payment assistance plus approximately $4,000 in amenity packages from local businesses. “It’s not all government,” Bogner emphasizes. Regular meetings with municipal mayors help coordinate efforts across jurisdictions.

Looking Ahead with Billion-Dollar Investments and Mega Projects

The largest private investment in Reno County’s history will reshape the regional economy over the next decade. Evergy recently received approvals to build three natural gas plants: two in Kansas and one in Missouri, and two solar farms, one in each state, allowing the company to move forward with the projects that will cost more than $2.75 billion. Evergy’s natural gas power plants and solar farms signals confidence in the area’s long-term prospects and creates a foundation for additional industrial growth.

“There have been some announcements that have been made here recently,” Bogner notes. The Chamber has worked very hard on this. Evergy’s new electric plant that will bring in a lot of jobs, both temporary and long-term jobs. Along with that, there’ll be construction jobs for a while.” The two 710-megawatt facilities, located in Sumner and Reno counties, are expected to cost $788.75 million and $800.52 million, respectively. The Reno facility will generate over 500 construction positions and 20 to 40 permanent skilled positions.

“They have committed to building the electric generation facility that will generate over 700 megawatts of power every year, with an expected operating date in 2029,” Teufel explains. After a 10-year tax exemption, the facility will contribute more than $500 million in tax revenues over its operational life.

Industrial development encompasses more than the power plant itself. “The new plant is located just north of a large industrial site that we have been working together with the county and the city to develop,” Teufel says. “The new industrial site is a 500-acre rail-served site slated for industry, anything from advanced manufacturing to data center development.” The location offers four-lane highway access and planned water infrastructure delivering over 3 million gallons daily.

“This 500-acre site is just the beginning,” Teufel explains. “We’re working with adjacent landowners to option additional ground that will probably give us about 1,000 acres to develop for that purpose.” Bogner acknowledges ongoing negotiations for additional projects that could further expand industrial activity.

The convergence of power generation, industrial development, and infrastructure improvements positions Reno County for unprecedented economic expansion. With manufacturing already the largest employment sector and economic diversity providing stability, the county appears well-positioned to capitalize on these investments. As billion-dollar projects move from announcement to construction, Reno County’s role as an economic anchor in central Kansas seems likely to expand significantly.

AT A GLANCE

Name: Reno County, Kansas

What: America’s 11th most diverse county economy, built on century-old salt mining operations, world-class space museum, advanced manufacturing, agriculture, and billion-dollar energy investments.

Where: South-central Kansas

Website: renocountyks.gov