I like big Christmas gifts. I mean...a toothbrush is great and so is new undershirts...but I like the really big ones.  The game-changers.  The ones that require a reorganization of my barn in order to accommodate its hugeness.  Those are the presents that get me out of bed early on Christmas morning. I also like big economic impact projects.  These are not the projects we spend most of our time on at the Enid Regional [...]

Enid is one of three area county seats to have higher retail sales than reported in December 2016. Oklahoma Tax Commission reports for December show Enid sales are up $3.6 million, or 5.6 percent, from sales reported in December 2016. Overall, year to date, retail sales are down 0.1 percent. "This increase is an encouraging sign of improving sales tax receipts for the city," City Manager Jerald Gilbert said. Net taxable sales for Woodward, in [...]

Economic development is my passion, and I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to make it my career as well. Part of my fascination with economic development is the transformative effect it has on communities — the way it energizes places, people and economies. Our state must continue to engage in forward-thinking economic development initiatives. Such efforts create jobs, grow incomes and strengthen our tax base. However, we also need complementary, wraparound strategies for elevating [...]

Jiffy Trip will begin construction in 2018 on a new convenience store in west Enid. The 6,000-square-foot store — which will offer food and fuel — will be located on the northeast corner of Garland and Garriott. Plans for the 4.4 acres on that corner involve the store being developed on half of the land, and the rest of the land being available for future development. A number of trees on the property will be cleared [...]

Enid Sports is moving forward with the purchase of property for a new soccer complex in west Enid. The proposed location is about 126 acres on the northwest corner of Rupe and Garland, Enid Sports Executive Director Jessica Nelson told Enid Park Board Tuesday. "Right now, we're in the process of figuring out easements. There's some weird gas line that we've got to figure out the easement with, but we're steaming ahead on purchasing that property," [...]