About Coffey County, Kansas

Located in east-central Kansas between Wichita and Kansas City, Coffey County is a rural community of about 8,500 residents, and includes the towns of Burlington, Lebo, Waverly, New Strawn, Gridley, and LeRoy. Its location offers residents the close connections and quality of life of small-town Kansas while being within reach of larger metro areas.

True to its motto, “Come Explore Our Energy,” Coffey County is a literal and figurative powerhouse. The county is home to Wolf Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Kansas’ only nuclear power plant and one of the region’s most significant employers. Since beginning operations near Burlington in 1985, Wolf Creek has supported hundreds of specialized jobs spanning engineering, cybersecurity, information technology, radiation protection, and other technical fields, creating a deep foundation of expertise and technical talent within the county.

That energy legacy is increasingly being joined by a new generation of technology-driven companies. EMP Shield, founded and grown in Coffey County, has become a major manufacturer of electromagnetic protection technology, while Secure Semiconductor Manufacturing is developing printed circuit board assembly capacity connected to the reshoring of critical electronics manufacturing. Together with Wolf Creek, these employers demonstrate that advanced energy, electronics, manufacturing, engineering, and cybersecurity are already part of Coffey County’s economic identity.

The county is also investing in the people and infrastructure needed to sustain that momentum. Nearby Flint Hills Technical College provides specialized workforce pathways, including a Power Plant Technology program connected directly to Wolf Creek, while local schools, employers, libraries, and workforce partners are creating opportunities for career exposure, technical learning, internships, and hands-on training. With six branches throughout the county, the Coffey County Library System expands access to technology and learning through resources including a makerspace and Library of Things.

Add strong broadband, quality schools, healthcare, agriculture, outdoor recreation, and a central location near some of Kansas’ largest markets, and Coffey County offers an unusual combination of rural quality of life and sophisticated industry. Local leaders are building on those strengths with a clear ambition: create a place where young people can see a future, entrepreneurs can start and grow businesses, technical skills are accessible close to home, and emerging industries can take root alongside the sectors that have long powered the county.

Community Partners

Coffey County Economic Development

Coffey County Economic Development (CCED) strengthens the county’s economic vitality by working to attract, retain, and expand businesses and talent. Its work spans business startup assistance, industry recruitment and expansion, workforce development, professional support, and community development, emphasizing Coffey County’s central location, energy assets, and strong business environment.

CCED works with established employers such as Wolf Creek as well as growing technology and manufacturing companies, entrepreneurs, workforce partners, financial institutions, and community organizations to connect businesses with the resources they need to succeed.

Coffey County already offers compelling proof that sophisticated companies can start and grow in a rural place. CCED is building on that momentum by strengthening connections among employers, talent, training, entrepreneurs, and investment opportunities across the county.

Coffey County Chamber of Commerce

The Coffey County Chamber of Commerce serves as a connector and advocate for businesses across the county’s communities. Through relationship-building, promotion, networking, tourism, and business resources, the Chamber helps strengthen the local business environment while fostering connections among entrepreneurs, employers, residents, and community partners.

Its countywide role is particularly valuable in a place where economic opportunity takes many forms, from small businesses and agriculture to remote work, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, and energy. Working alongside economic development, education, workforce, and civic partners, the Chamber helps businesses navigate resources and makes it easier for local success stories and opportunities to reach people throughout Coffey County.

As the county works to create stronger connections between its established industries, emerging companies, entrepreneurs, and future workforce, the Chamber helps ensure that businesses of all sizes are part of that larger story.

“Being ‘rural’ should never be a barrier to being ‘cutting-edge.’ When we say ‘Come Explore Our Energy,’ we aren’t just talking about our power plant or our history; we’re talking about the untapped potential of our people.”

Jenny Tatman, Director, Coffey County Economic Development

What Being a Member of the Network Means to Coffey County

For Coffey County, joining the Rural Innovation Network is an opportunity to build on something the community has demonstrated for decades: rural and cutting-edge are not opposites.

The county already generates energy on a statewide scale, supports highly specialized technical careers, and is home to businesses working in advanced electronics, manufacturing, cybersecurity, and other technology-enabled industries. Network membership creates new opportunities to connect those local strengths with rural communities around the country that are similarly building new pathways for entrepreneurs, talent, and technology-driven economic growth.

It also gives Coffey County a platform to learn, exchange ideas, and bring new relationships and perspectives home while sharing its own experience of building from existing strengths. The next chapter of Coffey County’s economy is not separate from the industries, work ethic, and community connections that have long defined it. It is an extension of them, applying that same energy to new businesses, new technologies, and new opportunities for the people who call the county home.