Marathon Pundit: My Kansas Kronikles: Greensburg, the fall and rise, part three

Rebuilding Greensburg means a lot more than just putting up new homes. Businesses must be there to service the people of the town--or else no one will want to live there. Part three of my Greensburg post is dedicated to the returning businesses of the town.

Construction of the Kwik Shop isn't complete, and the parking lot needs work, but it's open for business on US 54, the old main drag of Greensburg.

Although there are a few of them in my home state of Illinois, to me a Cenex gas station to me is an indicator that I'm west of the Mississippi River. Near the Kwik Shop is a new Cenex. The grain elevator in the background is the same one that was prominent in the many day-after-the-tornado pictures of Greensburg. It survived the twister--most of the town did not.

I don't know how many banks were operating in Greensburg before the May 4 tornado, but the town now has three of them: The Centera Bank (above), The Greensburg State Bank (on the right), and the Peoples Bank (below).

One of my motivations for my Kansas trip was the negativity I encountered while reading Thomas Frank's bestseller, What's the Matter with Kansas? Frank seem puzzled that conservative radio hosts rarely discuss business issues on the air; after all, economic concerns are what drives society, and conservatives tend to be "pro-business." An interesting point to bring up. My guess is that politics is what attracts listeners to the Rush Limbaugh show--and keeps them coming back--and Limbaugh knows it.

Political bloggers tend to ignore business issues, but I try to mix some business news in from time to time.

But back to Greensburg. Even a small town needs a grocery store. Regional chain Dillons served that purpose, but as you can see, its Greensburg store was also destroyed on May 4. But as I blogged before I left for the Sunflower State, Dillons will rebuild there.

Both Dillons and Kwik Shop are owned by Kroger Co.

Greensburg faces many challenges, but not having a grocery store commit to the town would be a tough one to struggle against.

Earlier Greensburg posts:

My Kansas Kronikles: Greensburg, the fall and rise, part one

My Kansas Kronikles: Greensburg, the fall and rise, part two

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