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 55 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 09 RENO COUNTY, KS
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