Grant funds received by the Flint Hills Regional Council (FHRC) could be utilized to help with the development of the Kansas African American Historical Trail.

Junction City has two locations targeted for that trail – the Buffalo Soldier Monument, and Rathert Field.

Jim Sands, FHRC, spoke with JC Post about the potential use of $25,000 in grant funding.

“They want to make it interactive with Kansas tourism,” said Sands. “Twenty five thousand ($25,000) doesn’t sound like a lot, but if we get a good portion of that we can improve visitation and get ‘heads in beds’ in our own area.”

‘Heads in beds’ refers to creating overnight stays in local hotels.

The trail includes various locations across the state including Nicodemus, Minneapolis and Dunlap, among others.

The FHRC met on June 16th in Alma.

Earlier this year, the Geary County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (CVB) voted to recommend the approval of a $3000 expenditure to help pay for the installation of two signs for the historical trail’s stops in Junction City.

“Initially, out of the 14 or 15 points in Kansas, we were going to get one sign…[now] we’re going to get two signs; we have a lot more than that [as far as] historical sites in our city, but at least we’re on the map for the Kansas African American Historical Trail,” said Sands. “We’ll get people in [town] and once we get them in they’ll see the rest of it with our city efforts.”