This balance of industry, agriculture, and small-town life has resulted in an enviable employment rate. “Our unemployment number moves between 1.9 and 2.3 percent,” Becker says. “Basically, if you want a job, you should be employed here. If you do not have a job, it is because you do not want to work.” EDUCATING FOR INDUSTRY The transformation of McPherson College is one of the most exciting developments in the city. Mayor Brown believes the impact will be far-reaching.“The endowment just happened in the last 18 months.The first 50 million dollars built a new student commons, right as you come into town. As the college grows, it will make us truly a college town. Being a college town will give us the retail we have not been able to get just from industry.” The connection between education and industry is a key part of McPherson’s future. “The college will offer engineering degrees tailored to our industries. Students will be able to do internships and apprenticeships, and some will stay here to work in local companies,” Mayor Brown says. Healthcare education is also becoming a priority.“We have a new osteopathic medicine hospital in Wichita, and we are working to be part of a three-plus-four program where students go to college for three years and then complete four years of medical training,” Mayor Brown explains.“It is state-of-the-art.You can use goggles to walk inside a holographic heart. If we connect to that, we will be providing state-of-the-art medical services.” AUTO RESTORATION EXCELLENCE McPherson College is also home to the only auto restoration program of its kind in the country, a distinction that has brought national recognition to the city. “We get thousands of applications and can only take a small percentage,” Mayor Brown says. “These students work on classic cars, and last year they took second place at Pebble Beach with a 1953 Mercedes Cabriolet that had been restored by different groups of students over 10 years.” 79 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 10 MCPHERSON, KS
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