Mayor Mark Holland and Commissioner Brian McKiernan celebrated the opening of the county's first Hike and Bike levee trail on Saturday, September 20^th. The 1.3 new mile of scenic river trail officially opened with a special ribbon cutting ceremony in front of an enthusiastic crowd gathered under the Kansas Ave Bridge.

Mayor Holland, a huge advocate for walking and bike trails, raised his hands in the air with a big smile on his face. The excitement was more of a sign of relief than a symbol of victory. As part of his ongoing efforts to improve the quality of life and health throughout the county, Holland has been working tirelessly to provide residents access to levee trails for walking and biking for some time now.

"We have made a difference in Healthy Communities Wyandotte in changing the paradigm of how we think about the built environment. We already have dozens of miles of trails already built in our city waiting for people to make a healthy choice to hike and bike on them," said Mayor Mark Holland.

Another trail is being proposed as part of the Healthy Campus project to be built in downtown KCK.

As part of safety concerns, people weren't allowed access near the levee trail up until the opening on Saturday. The opening of route would not have possible without approval from the Kaw Valley Drainage District, which has been a great partner with the Unified Government in this effort.

Wyandotte County continues be one of the leading areas in the nation for creating new jobs.

The Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reports Wyandotte County ranks 5th nationally out of the 340 largest counties. Wyandotte County also leads all counties in the KC metro and the State of Kansas in creating new jobs.

The Federal Labor Report says that Wyandotte County's job growth rate was over three times the national growth rate for the period between March 2013 and March 2014. Wyandotte County had a 5.5% increase in jobs during that period, bringing the total number of jobs in the county to 85,100. Nationally, job growth was 1.7% overall.

A major contributor to the large number of new jobs is the opening of the first of the Cerner office building in Village West in June 2013.

Job Growth Rankings 2013-2014

                                    Job Increase                 National Ranking

Wyandotte County:          5.5%                                  #5

Clay County:                      3.6%                                 #42

Johnson County:                2.4%                                 #97

Shawnee County:               2.3%                               #102

Sedgwick County:               0.9%                               #207

The Kansas state highway system is ranked the nation's fifth best in overall highway performance and efficiency in a report released this week by the Reason Foundation.

The 21^st Annual Highway Report, which is based on 2012 data, ranked Kansas number one in the category of rural interstate pavement condition, third in urban interstate congestion and fifth in rural arterial pavement condition.

The state-controlled highway system, which is the 27^th largest system in the country, has consistently placed in the top tier of Reason reports. Kansas' overall rankings in recent reports are third in 2011, second in 2009, third in both 2008 and 2007, fifth in 2006, and third in 2005. There is no report for 2010.

"Kansans and their leaders should be proud of the highway system they have supported through long-term funding programs since 1989," said Transportation Secretary Mike King.

"We've built a system that effectively and efficiently serves Kansas families and businesses. And we continue to make improvements that strengthen the state's freight networks, boosting the Kansas economy."

The Kansas Department of Transportation is currently in the fourth year of the 10-year T-WORKS transportation program. In 2010, Kansas highways were ranked the nation's best in a report published in Reader's Digest magazine.

Reason Foundation's most recent top 10 rankings based on overall performance and cost- effectiveness:

1. Wyoming
2. Nebraska
3. South Dakota
4. South Carolina
5. Kansas
6. North Dakota
7. New Mexico
8. Mississippi
9. Montana
10. Kentucky

The full report is posted on the Reason Foundation website.