Governor Laura Kelly announced today that Kansas has garnered Area Development magazine’s coveted Gold Shovel Award for the fourth year in a row. Since the start of 2019, Kansas has created 1,180 new economic development projects worth more than $19 billion in private sector investment and created and retained more than 67,000 jobs statewide. Kansas was recognized for its achievement in attracting high-value investment projects that will create a significant number of new jobs throughout the state. In 2023, there were 255 projects totaling almost $3.1 billion in private sector investment and nearly 12,000 jobs created or retained. The single largest project was Building Materials Manufacturing Corporation’s $350 million facility in Newton.