Photo 3: Members of the communities surrounding Fort Leonard Wood gathered Tuesday to discuss the U.S. Army proposal to remove troops from the fort. Under the proposal, the fort could lose as many of 4,000 of its troops.
Missouri and Kansas are in a tug-of-war. Each state is trying to sway businesses over to its side with enticing tax breaks. But Kansas wants people to know that it literally pays to move to rural Kansas. In 2011, the state launched a program offering financial incentives for settling in one of 50 designated counties. Reporting for Harvest Public Media, Justine Greve finds that despite cuts across the state budget, these Rural Opportunity Zones have lots of support.
A U.S. Army plan for possible personnel cuts at forts with more than 8,000 stationed troops could mean removing troops from Fort Leonard Wood in southern Missouri. Hundreds of residents from communities surrounding Fort Leonard Wood gathered Tuesday night to discuss the proposed cuts and the effect it could have on the economy of the area. KBIA's Katy Mersmann reports from Fort Leonard Wood.
