Welcome to Junction-ville, the City’s business district where you can find food, entertainment and shopping.

Junction-ville was the name given to an idea to create a business district in the community in order to drive tourism. The idea was part of a joint meeting with City, County and School District representatives as they discussed ways to help the community to grow.

“The idea that was brought up by Mr. Brooks (USD 475 Board of Education) was to create a little area like Junction-ville or Junction City-ville and make that a little district of businesses, coffee shops and places to hang out,” said Phyllis Fitzgerald, Mayor of Junction City.

Although the name is quirky at best – the idea created discussion to reach visitors through a mobile app.

“Some people will say, ‘well there’s nothing to do in Junction City’ – well, if we had an app, a Junction-ville app for instance, and that app was tied to the current events and things that are going on, the businesses here, places to eat, and places to stay…it would be like a one-stop shopping for having fun, eating and enjoying your stay,” said Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald noted that “first impressions are lasting” and what may start as an influx of visitors, could turn into future homeowners.

City Manager Allen Dinkel said that it’s important to have the discussion regarding ways to promote the community with the three major entities – the City, the County, and the School District.

“If we get more people living in this town, that means more children go to school which means more State tax dollars for our schools which then drives population up, which then sells our community,” said Dinkel. “These three entities do need to work together and the more cohesive we get, the better we will be.”

No formal action was taken during the discussion.