Congratulations to the people of Norton, Kansas! Nex-Tech, in partnership with the KOBD and other stakeholders in the Norton community, has delivered free, reliable Wi-Fi to Elmwood Park, a central hub for events, sports, and recreation. Learn more here.
Opportunity is in Rural Kansas
Happy New Year, friends and stakeholders of Nex-Tech,
It’s amazing how we’ve moved from 2025 to 2026. 2026 is bringing lots of changes. Times of change and transition may naturally stir uncertainty. But I believe that cycles and seasons are a good thing. Most times, uncertainty comes before certainty. What is known today was once unknown. Even the weather shows us that. The arrival of winter guarantees that spring and summer will come. Come to think of it, winter brings its own kind of energy. A quiet energy. As the trees go bare and the snow and freezing cold whip through the plains and prairies, we know that it’s temporary. The future will be better than the past. We have a sense of hope that spring will come. So, we can look to the future with quiet confidence, approaching this year as we have approached the last. A focus and dedication to the things we hold dear: family, faith, community, peace, and a constant desire to widen the pool and range of opportunities that communities in northwest and central Kansas can have.
Below, you will find some examples of what we have been up to in the last few months. If you have any thoughts, just reply to this email. I will be happy to hear from you.
Friday Otuya, Nex-Tech
Your Connection Guide
New Business Highlight
Empower Health (Colby) and Bricks Co-Working Hub (Russell).
Projects, Grants & Giving Back
The Nex-Generation
Youth Development Updates
Nex-Tech Impact Stats
Smart Communities powered by Fiber
Sights of Western Kansas: McCarty Family Farms
Public Sector Engagement
Video Spotlight
Loan & Grant Deadlines
Business Loans (March Funding Cycle) - February 15, 2026
$5,000 FRS Community Grant: June/July 2026
Sponsorships & Donations: Rolling Deadline. Apply here.
New Business Highlight
Empower Health, Colby, KS
Congratulations to Brittany and the team for the launch of their new clinic! Empower Health helps people recover and feel better. They are a specialized place for healing from operations or managing swelling problems. Learn more here.
Check out Empower Health’s Facebook page here and website. Please plan a visit to support this promising local business.
Congratulations to Dr. Tyrel and Jessica Somers! They are starting a co-working Hub in Russell. On top of that, they are making other investments to improve the quality of life in the area. Keep an eye out for details on their story on our news page next month!
The Great Bend Public Library received a $5,000 grant to fund its early learning stations for kids. The funds will be used to replace the library's specialized educational workstations. Designed for children, these systems are "plug-and-play" and are typically not connected to the internet to ensure a safe learning environment. Learn more here.
Revolving Loan Fund
Click logos below to check out ventures we are invested in.
2025 Investment Facts
5+ loans approved for 5+ new businesses
20+ advisory meetings with 10+ entrepreneurs and business stakeholders
$300k+ invested
15+ jobs created
5,000+ people served & supported
2 interns + 1 volunteer engaged
Testimonials
Don’t take our word. Hear from our beneficiaries.
1872 Restaurant, Stockton, KS
Bryant Apartments, WaKeeney, KS
“Thanks for your assistance in making Bricks happen in Russell. We are dependent upon our partnerships with excellent partners like Nex-Tech. We are grateful for the opportunity that your assistance will provide for the small businesses and entrepreneurs of Russell County and the surrounding area.”
Nex-Generation Round Up for Youth (NGRUFY) provides practical internship, entrepreneurship, and career opportunities in western Kansas.
Student applications for summer internships are open now until March 1, 2026. They have over 350 positions available, so ask your students to apply to fill them.
Fall 2025 Internship
Last Fall, we had the privilege of working with Oscar Busch, a senior at Hays High School.
Kansas was awarded $221 million to support the first year of the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) - an unprecedented $50 billion federal investment in rural health. RHTP seeks to transform the entire healthcare delivery ecosystem through innovative tech-driven system-wide change. See the Kansas plan here.
(Pro tip: download & attach the document in any AI LLM and prompt it for specific info, like facts related to your county or city).
Bricks Co-Working Hub in Russell shared this story about co-working spaces in rural communities. Check it out.
We are installing solar charging tables in Great Bend. Read the full story here.
We made a $50,000 loan to support the opening of a new restaurant to serve the rural communities of northwest Kansas. Waldo Tavern in Waldo, KS, will serve famous American dishes, as well as specials from wherever Waldo travels to that month. Learn more here.
Friends, colleagues, and mentees gathered in Hays to celebrate Mike Pollock as he kicked off his retirement in style. We are grateful for Mike’s service, advice, and coaching. We wish him well in retirement. Learn more.
Smart Rural Community Showcase
Every town or city we serve with fiber broadband is a smart rural community. This means Nex-Tech enables better, quicker, faster, and improved ways of life with our technological solutions.
Does your town/city have Nex-Tech fiber broadband for residents?
Would you like a free Nex-Tech sign and certificate to advertise this?
If the answer is 'Yes', complete this form to request a Smart Rural Community Sign and Smart Rural Community Certificate.
Nex-Tech serves the following community institutions in our footprint with fiber broadband:
Rural Insights provides a bird’s eye view of Nex-Tech's impact on the state of Kansas and beyond. Click the image above to read the 2025 edition.
The future is digital. Don’t be left behind!
The Nex-Tech Academy for Digital Skills is available to our communities. Are you interested in putting together a training for your group or community?
In partnership with Barton Community College, we hosted a Nex-Tech Academy session in Great Bend last Fall.
Sites of Western Kansas
McCarty Dairy
McCarty Dairy needed fiber connectivity to secure a yogurt brand contract, but they were 8 miles outside our service boundary, requiring a 9-mile build that wouldn't be directly profitable. Recognizing the broader economic development impact, we built the connection anyway, enabling the farm to win the contract.
Since then, McCarty Dairy has nearly tripled in size, expanded to 2 additional fiber-connected locations, and now uses fiber technologies to monitor 32,000 cows, control processing plants, and deploy milking robots for 10,000 cows daily. The success created local jobs, sustained family livelihoods, and drove economic growth throughout the rural community, demonstrating how fiber broadband strengthens precision agriculture and America's food supply chain. See:
Our CFO’s team had a nice meeting at the dairy last year, and it was fun! Do plan a visit.
Public Sector Engagements
Executive Administrator for our CEO, Taryn Graham, poses for a photo with David McCorkle, Hospital CEO, and Jerry Moran, U.S. Senator during the ribbon cutting in January 2026.
Congratulations to Citizens Medical Center in Colby KS, for the recent opening of their new hospital! Nex‑Tech is proud to play a meaningful role in supporting the growth and vitality of northwest Kansas through our work on this project. Coupled with earlier investments that supported critical equipment upgrades and protected local jobs, this project reflects the powerful impact that technology and rural development partnerships can have in sustaining thriving communities.
Recently, we had a visit from Kansas Senator, Dr. Roger Marshall. The senator visited with our CEO, Jimmy Todd, and connected with our RLF loan clients. He heard about the impact that the partnership was having on the lives of people in the community. Sen. Marshall sits on the Senate Committee on Finance and the Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, both of which are relevant to sustaining Nex-Tech’s efforts to serve the people of rural Kansas. Learn more.
Our CEO, Jimmy Todd, recently joined other industry leaders to testify to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business.
Kansas U.S. Senator, Jerry Moran, raised questions and comments with FCC Chair, Brendan Carr, regarding broadband mapping and the importance of the Universal Service Fund. We appreciate his commitment to help technology providers like Nex-Tech serve rural Kansans. Click on the image to watch.
Video Spotlight
2025 Nex-Tech Intern Graduation Ceremony in Lenora, KS
How We Enabled the Success of a Rural Veterinary Clinic in Oberlin, KS
We Invest in our People - Snippet from Tech Edge 2025
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