NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — James Fisher with the Kansas Fairgrounds Foundation explained that a $450,000 SPRINT grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce will help with two projects that his office has been raising money for.
"The projects that we're working on are the Capper project, which includes the complete rebuild of the House of Capper," Fisher said. "Right next to the Capper is a building we call the Fountain House, right next to the interactive splash park on the Fairgrounds."
The hope is to finish the funding for the House of Capper with a portion of this grant.
"We are still waiting on the paperwork to get back from the Department of Commerce and the grants managers there to find exactly how they've divided those funds for us to spend on which project," Fisher said. "We don't really know how much we need yet for each of the two projects. The Capper project is almost done."
The Capper Project is a tribute to the work of Arthur Capper in rebuilding the structure to its original state and to develop and build the Capper Cooperative Park to celebrate the Capper-Volstead Act of 1922, which allowed for the creation of cooperatives in the United States. The Fountain House project is designed to give another year-round space to use on the Fairgrounds.
"The Fountain House is what we're calling a part of our TAG 2023 program, which we'll feature this fall into the State Fair," Fisher said. "That's Together Achieving Greatness. We want to achieve greatness on the Kansas State Fairgrounds for our state and our community here in Hutchinson and Reno County and the surrounding areas, to help bring more people here."
The estimated final cost of the Capper project is about $1.1 million and they hope to get the Fountain House done for $750,000.
CLICK HERE to download the Hutch Post mobile app.
CLICK HERE to sign up for the daily Hutch Post email news update.