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CITY OVERVIEW |
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The City of Goodland was incorporated as a city of the third class
on September 5, 1887. The founding and incorporation of the city of
Goodland was the outgrowth of a bitter rivalry between a number of pioneer
towns, all located within a few miles of each other, and near the present
site of Goodland. In a special election, Goodland was overwhelmingly
selected as the county seat of Sherman County. When the Rock Island railroad built its line through northwest Kansas, Goodland was made a division point, greatly stimulating the growth of the City. On December 9, 1893, Goodland was made a city of the second class and has had a Commission-City Manager form of government since 1982. The Goodland City Commission is comprised of five members elected at large. Each year the Commission chooses one of their members to serve as their chairperson. This individual is referred to as the Mayor, however under this form of government this position has no more authority than any other commissioner. The City Manager is appointed by the City Commission and acts as the City’s chief executive in accordance with state law. The City Manager is responsible for appointing all other city employees. The City Commission sets the policy for the city and the City Manager is responsible for the administration of the municipal government. The City Commission meets on the first and third Mondays of each month. If a regularly scheduled meeting falls on an official city holiday, the meeting is re-scheduled to the next business day. The City Commission meeting begins at 5:00 p.m. in the Commission Room located on the second floor of City Hall, 204 West 11th Street. All formal actions of the Commission are considered during these meetings. All meetings of the Commission are open to the public and are accessible to persons with disabilities. In limited cases the City Commission is allowed to discuss certain issues in an "executive session" closed to the public, however the Commission must take any formal action in open session. The City of Goodland, the county seat of Sherman County, is located in Northwest Kansas. It is conveniently located 17 miles from the Colorado border. Interstate 70 and Kansas Highway 27 serve the City. Goodland is two hours and thirty minutes east of Denver, Colorado and six hours west of Kansas City, Kansas.
Goodland is the primary retail trade center for northwest Kansas, southern Nebraska and eastern Colorado, and contains an approximate 40,000-trade population within an eighty-mile radius. Goodland has a population of 4,948 according to the 2000 census. Sherman county has a total population of 6,760. The local economy has transformed in the past few years due to growth in the sunflower market. Goodland is one of only two marketing centers for sunflowers in the United States and Sherman County is the largest producer of commercial sunflowers on the High Plains. Goodland is the official “Sunflower Capital of the Sunflower State”. Vegetable oil from oil sunflowers and confectionary sunflower processing is the area’s largest industry. |
History Goodland History 1890 1930 1958 SECTION 2 SECTION 3 SECTION 4 |
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