Atchison, Kansas

Betting Big on Medical School Plans and Aviation Heritage

A historic Missouri River town leverages Amelia Earhart’s legacy and Benedictine College’s growth to transform from manufacturing hub to healthcare and aviation center.

In the rolling hills of northeastern Kansas, where Lewis and Clark first celebrated Independence Day west of the Missouri River in 1804, sits a small city with outsized ambitions. Atchison, population 10,813 (2024 U.S. Census), occupies a unique position in American history as one of Kansas’s oldest settlements, founded in 1854 and named for Missouri Senator David Rice Atchison, who allegedly served as U.S. President for a single day in 1849, though this claim is disputed by most historians. The city’s location along the Missouri River, just 35 minutes from Kansas City International Airport, has shaped its identity as both a historic crossroads and a modern hub for education and economic development.

“We are the smallest town in the United States where you can receive a private Catholic education from preschool all the way through a master’s degree,” explains City Manager Mark Westhoff. This distinction stems from the arrival of Benedictine monks and sisters around the Civil War era, who established multiple educational institutions including what became Benedictine College. The college now serves as the city’s largest employer and ranks as one of its top tourism draws, hosting over 1,900 full-time students along with numerous retreats, parent weekends, and special events throughout the year.

Mayor La Rochelle Young emphasizes the city’s remarkable historical legacy: “We had the very fortunate opportunity to have Dr. Wangari Maathai, who was also a Nobel Peace Prize winner, educated at Benedictine when it was Mount St. Scholastica College.” The city also boasts a connection to Abraham Lincoln, who visited in December 1859 to test portions of what would become his famous Cooper Union speech. Atchison claims Amelia Earhart as its most famous resident, with her birthplace serving as a cornerstone of local tourism alongside the recently opened Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum at the municipal airport.

Downtown Resurgence: From Walking Mall to Walkable Streets

Atchison’s downtown transformation is a counterintuitive approach to urban revitalization that has yielded unexpected results. The city’s 2021 comprehensive plan centered on converting a pedestrian walking mall back into a functioning street. “By getting rid of the walking mall, we actually increased the foot traffic to those businesses because now they’re easier to reach by car and then walk to the various businesses,” Westhoff explains. The project added over 100 new parking spaces to Commercial Street while updating storefronts and facades along the corridor.

The centerpiece of this downtown renewal was the renovation and upgrade of the historic Fox Theatre, which is now an entertainment anchor for the district. Mayor Young notes the community’s positive response: “Citizens really do enjoy the increased walkability of the mall. They enjoy the increased entertainment value with the theatre, and it has been a welcome change that really serves to revitalize our downtown.” The Commercial Street renovation was coupled with improvements on Main Street utilizing Kansas’s STAR Bond System which generate over $20 million in private investment within the designated district

The city maintains momentum through ongoing facade grants for businesses along Main Street and Commercial Street corridors. Atchison’s downtown benefits from abundant available commercial space, a legacy of ambitious 1950s planning that projected higher population growth than materialized. “We have a large downtown area for the size of our city,” Westhoff observes, noting that this surplus creates affordable opportunities for new businesses. The Locally Atchison Main Street Program now supports entrepreneurs through capital assistance and development microgrants up to $2,500 for planning and pre-construction expenses.

Incentives and Investment Opportunities

Atchison’s business-friendly approach combines practical incentives with streamlined municipal processes to attract new enterprises. The city has approved industrial revenue bonds to eliminate sales tax on new construction, property tax abatements for job-creating businesses, and maintains staff who work collaboratively on construction projects, planning, and zoning applications. “The city has always been committed to providing incentives to bring businesses in,” Westhoff states. “We have staff who are very easy to work with on construction projects, planning, zoning, all of those kinds of things.”

The STAR Bond district success story highlights the city’s strategic use of state funding mechanisms. This special financing tool, which includes portions of downtown and the airport, leveraged state bonds with private investment to create substantial development. “The creation of that district led to over $20 million in private investment within the district to pair with the bond that we got from the state,” Westhoff explains. The program funded a new downtown hotel, fast food restaurant, and the popular farmer’s market pavilions, which operate multiple days weekly during summer months.

Mayor Young highlights the entrepreneurial ecosystem taking shape: “Atchison boasts many legacy businesses that are the foundation of our economic structure. Additionally, our private investment structure provides incentive programs for new entrepreneurs spurring businesses such as coffee shops, clothing boutiques, and spas.” The Atchison Area Chamber of Commerce, representing over 200 businesses and individuals, actively supports this growth through networking and community engagement initiatives. Economic development efforts focus on leveraging the city’s manufacturing heritage, where nearly 25% of residents work in manufacturing jobs, more than double the national average of 12%.

Healthcare as an Economic Engine

The proposed Benedictine College School of Osteopathic Medicine is by and large Atchison’s most ambitious economic development project yet, with potential to fundamentally reshape the city’s future. “If they successfully open in 2028, which is what we understand is a targeted goal, this would be a massive economic development for our city,” Mayor Young explains. “It will spur housing and other initiatives.” The school would train 180 medical students annually, making Benedictine one of the few private colleges in America to operate a medical school focused on osteopathic medicine and Catholic bioethics.

The project has gained significant momentum with key leadership appointments. Dr. Marla DePolo Golden, former dean at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine locations in Georgia, will serve as founding dean. Joining her is Associate Dean Deacon Kevin Tulipana, who previously served as president of City of Hope Phoenix, a top-10 cancer center in the United States. The school requires approximately $120 million in total funding and follows a clear timeline: securing preliminary accreditation by 2027, welcoming the first class in 2028, and graduating physicians by 2032.

“Benedictine happens to be our largest employer,” Mayor Young notes, emphasizing the college’s existing economic impact. The medical school would amplify this influence significantly. Westhoff observes the spillover effects already visible: “As Benedictine has been growing in the last decade, we’ve seen expansion in other industries around that growth, like healthcare. Our hospital, Amberwell Health, has grown a lot alongside Benedictine.” The osteopathic focus aligns with the college’s holistic educational philosophy, treating patients as complete persons rather than isolated medical cases.

Housing Solutions and Infrastructure

Atchison’s housing strategy tackles decades of decline through innovative land banking and strategic development partnerships. The city created a land bank to address dilapidated properties systematically. “Since 2010, we’ve demolished over 200 of those and purchased and maintained other empty lots in town,” Westhoff explains. “Those are now available for sale at low cost for infill housing projects that have already started and are continuing to grow.” This approach transforms problem properties into development opportunities while maintaining neighborhood stability.

New construction covers multiple economic segments, addressing diverse housing needs across the community. “We have more than 100 new apartment units downtown across all economic levels,” Mayor Young reports. “That includes from low-income housing to more luxury-type housing, historic building revitalizations, maintaining that historic nature of downtown while also meeting our housing demands.” The Raven Hills planned development south of Benedictine College will add over 50 new single-family homes, strategically positioned to serve anticipated medical school growth.

Infrastructure improvements support this housing expansion but present ongoing challenges. Parts of Atchison still operate on combined sewer systems that handle both sanitary waste and stormwater, requiring expensive separation projects. “We’ve been working with every entity we can—Kansas Development of Health and Environment, the Environmental Protection Agency, the US Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas Department of Commerce—putting together grant funding and congressionally directed spending funding for these large sewer separation projects,” Westhoff details. The city has invested millions in these upgrades over 20 years, with substantial capacity remaining in water treatment and sewer plants to accommodate future growth.

Airport Expansion and Aviation Opportunities

The Amelia Earhart Memorial Airport anchors a $15 million infrastructure investment that positions Atchison for significant aviation-related development. The centerpiece involves expanding the main runway, with completion targeted for early next year. “The runway will be expanded to 4,000 feet in length,” Mayor Young confirms. “We’re looking at a parking apron and a taxi lane expansion in the next three years.” Federal funding covers 95% of construction costs, making this expansion financially viable for the small municipality.

Airport improvements create immediate business opportunities. “We have a wait list for private hangar investment opportunities,” Mayor Young notes, indicating strong demand from aviation enthusiasts and businesses. The runway project involves replacing the problematic north-south runway with a new east-west configuration, freeing up valuable development land. “When the east-west runway is completed, we have the entire length of that old north-south runway that would be available for hangars, aviation-related businesses, really anything that the FAA deems acceptable,” Westhoff explains.

The airport already heralds tourism potential through the Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum, another STAR Bond success story, which opened in 2023 and houses “Muriel,” the world’s last remaining Lockheed Electra 10-E aircraft identical to Earhart’s final flight plane. The museum attracts visitors from across the country and internationally, generating economic activity that goes beyond aviation. “It really seems like everybody’s kind of waiting for that runway,” Westhoff observes. “With the wait list for the hangars and the success of that Hangar Museum, they built a whole new FBO lounge and office area. It’s brand new and waiting for pilots, but the runway has to be completed first.”

Tourism and Community Vision

Atchison’s tourism strategy capitalizes on its unique combination of aviation history and educational excellence. The Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum has achieved remarkable success since opening, drawing 53,000 visitors from 30 countries and all 50 states in just two years. “Obviously, the Hangar Museum has been wildly successful in terms of tourism,” Westhoff notes. The museum showcases interactive STEM exhibits surrounding “Muriel,” creating an educational experience that appeals to multiple generations.

Benedictine College surprisingly ranks as one of the city’s largest tourism drivers through campus visits, parent weekends, and retreat programs. “By the numbers, anyone who’s not from here who comes here counts as a tourist,” Westhoff explains. “Benedictine has sibling weekends, parent weekends, homecoming, and over the summer they host lots of retreats and visit weekends.” The annual Amelia Earhart Festival in July is the community’s signature event, featuring what Westhoff describes as “the fourth-ranked private fireworks display in the country.”

The city partners with the Atchison Area Chamber of Commerce through tourism tax revenue to expand programming beyond traditional attractions. “We partner with the Chamber of Commerce to help us with our tourism program,” Westhoff states. “They’ve been targeting smaller events, like a Scrabble tournament that brings in people, and you don’t need as large a facility or a big baseball venue to run those.”

Looking ahead, Mayor Young sees tourism as integral to broader economic growth: “We look forward to more population growth, which will obviously drive housing development. We also look forward to more economic growth as well, and we know that the college will be a part of that.” Atchison’s strategic blend of historical preservation, educational excellence, and infrastructure investment positions the community to build on its aviation heritage while creating new opportunities for the next generation.

AT A GLANCE

Name: City of Atchison

What: Historic Kansas city of over 10,000 residents betting on educational institutions, aviation heritage, and healthcare development for economic growth

Where: Northeastern Kansas

Website: cityofatchison.com