Transform Topeka Community Forum

We are working on a Transform Topeka Forum to allow futher discussions that we just don’t have time to cover on the blog. We welcome everyone’s opinions on the forum, but we will not allow flaming or trolling. We are a friendly bunch and want to extend that to the forum.

We are working on a button to put with our Linkden and Facebook bannere as well as a few “Link to us” buttons if you want to share our resources with your friends and family.

We encourage your participation in the forums, and we’ll hopefully meet up with a few of you next month at Gage Park.

Why I choose Topeka Kansas

Why do you live in Topeka Kansas? is it the schools, the great jobs, or the excellent community? The reason I moved here was to follow a girl, who I married shortly after! She was going to Washburn University so I knew it would be at least 2 or 3 years before we were moving, until she finished school…

I moved to Emporia Kansas when I was in the 6th grade. I finished high school and continued to live in Emporia a few years after graduation but the job market just wasn’t cutting it for me.. I had pretty much worked at every job in the town that I had any interest in, it was time to move on.

That’s where Topeka comes into my life… I was able to find a decent cooking job ($7/hr) within weeks of coming to Topeka. I did the cooking thing for a year and had made it up to 10 dollars an hour, which I thought was outstanding. I started looking around for better jobs, I was able to search the classified section online at cjonline and for free! At the time, the Emporia paper was a paid deal for the full online content.

So i won’t go further into my job resume, but I did find a better job and was at it for 4 years before I gave it up for bigger and better things. The point is this… One thing that has definitely kept me in Topeka is the job market.

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The JimCates radio show online archive

About Jim Cates.

Jim Cates has been a Topeka resident for more than 30 years, moving here from his hometown of Liberty, Mo.
Cates worked as an insurance consultant for the National Credit Union Association for 25 years. It was during that period he became involved in politics. His career in radio began in 1997 and last May, he joined The Topeka Capital-Journal to kick off online radio in Topeka.

And here are his radio shows up to the point of the post.

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The Apathy of Topeka

Those who do not make a choice, make a choice.

As we go forward on this journey, it is imperative that everyone realizes the future of the community is at stake. There are many people who live in Topeka who complain about anything and everything. The bigger issue is not the fact there are problems, there are problems everywhere, the fact that many fail to get involved in something bigger than themselves. The Apathy of Topeka is the greatest obstacle that lies ahead. We have a responsbility to inspire one another, to involve one another, and to listen to one another. Topeka is our community.

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Article about Visioning for Under 20

Visioning: If we ruled Topeka

>>> 20below staffers share ideas for a better downtown

If you haven’t heard the word visioning in the last few months, you haven’t been paying attention.

The Topeka community is all a buzz — as they should be — with the idea of planning for a better future. Where is this city going? Where do we want to be in 10, 15, 20 years?

Led by Heartland Visioning and members of the project’s steering committee, residents are trying to direct this town down the right path.

As teenagers, we don’t usually get asked what we think the "right path" entails. But when it comes to planning for the future, our opinions are significant because we are that future. We are the ones who will be in charge in 10, 15, 20 years.

Luckily, the folks at Heartland Visioning understand that, and they want the opinions of people our age. We, the 20below staff members, wanted those opinions, too.

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